Challenge

Nexus Parking Systems is comprised of 9 individual parking garages and lots located throughout New Jersey. They keep high standards for customer service to make sure everyone is satisfied by their services and has a smooth experience parking at their facilities. However, they were investing too much time in direct customer service interactions, whether by email or phone. DDA saw an opportunity to leverage the latest advances in artificial intelligence technology to create a customer service chatbot that would automate the process of responding to customer questions and directing them to the information they need.

Objectives

The new customer service AI chatbot would need to be very comprehensive, able to answer a wide range of questions in great detail. DDA used a FAQ page already in place and elaborated upon the information there and throughout the rest of the Nexus Parking Systems website which DDA itself had recently redesigned to create the core content upon with the customer service AI chatbot would be based. DDA also wanted to use the chatbot to help direct customers to specific forms like parking applications and payment forms that are available on the website to facilitate customers acquiring monthly parking accounts help bring in regular business strengthen Nexus Parking Systems.

Solution

DDA's professional copywriters began with the content found in the FAQ and other areas of the Nexus Parking Systems website to use as the basis for the conversational design. DDA then entered numerous intentions for each of Nexus Parking Systems' active 8 locations, with each intention identified by many utterances which govern what kind of phrasing the AI chatbot's natural language processing (NLP) will use to connect user's language with its own knowledge base. DDA's professional writers inputted the dozens of intents and over 4,000 individual utterances that comprised the conversational design that structures how the AI chatbot interacts with users. DDA's AI trainers then commenced with training the chatbot by testing it with real user interactions and correcting any erroneous responses by the chatbot to ensure proper functioning of the final version. Additional interactive features were programmed into the conversational design, such as suggesting topics for discussion or listing locations to clarify to which facility a user inquiry pertains.

DDA came up with the name Parker to provide an identity for the AI customer service chatbot, and created an avatar icon showing a garage attendent with a hat that featured some of Nexus's own branded iconogrpahy. DDA integrated the user interface and also added live agent support features. Administrators may view all conversations users have with Parker and jump in to provide live assistance at any time. Users of the chatbot may also request live agent support as needed. When Parker switches from AI to live agent support, the icon changes to a new female avatar without a hat to indicate to the user that they are now speaking to a live customer service representative. When no live agents are available, the chatbot informs the user and prompts them to leave contact information like a phone number and email address so that a live agent may follow up with the user at a later time.

The administrative area shows all conversations and highlights those that have yet to be viewed, so Nexus can ensure that all customer concerns have been addressed. Nexus can enter in common responses into the admin area so that they can quickly bring up common answers during live exchanges. The administrative area features robust reporting on the number of inquiries by topic and location, and lists all unresolved inquiries separately. Administrators can click unresolved inquiries to write suggested responses, with these responses sent straight to DDA's conversational designers to continue building and refining Parker's AI capabilities over time. Trending topics can also be seen to indicate what clients are inquiring into most, and a breakdown of time by inquiry helps Nexus understand how the chatbot helps them provide customer service at all times, including off hours when live support is typically unavailable.