Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the utility sector. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked startups building chatbots for utility companies.
Global Startup Heat Map highlights 5 Top Startups building Chatbots for Utility Companies out of 129
The insights of this data-driven analysis are derived from the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 2 093 000+ startups & scaleups globally. The platform gives you an exhaustive overview of emerging technologies & relevant startups within a specific field in just a few clicks.
The Global Startup Heat Map below reveals the distribution of the 129 exemplary startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research. Further, it highlights 5 startups that we hand-picked based on criteria such as founding year, location, funding raised, and more. You get to explore the solutions of these 5 startups & scaleups in this report. For insights on the other 124 startups developing chatbots for utility companies, get in touch.
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We Build Bots builds Energy Utility Chatbots
Since utilities are service-oriented businesses, customer communication is an integral part of their services. Although the utility sector receives a large number of queries and complaints on an everyday basis, providing 24/7 support is an uphill task. Chatbots, on the other hand, solve this problem by automating the most common replies using artificial intelligence (AI). Chatbots interpret user questions using natural language processing (NLP) and provide an instant pre-set answer. To support utilities with customer queries, many startups develop website-based chatbot solutions trained specifically for utility queries.
UK-based startup We Build Bots develops Intelagent, an energy and water utility chatbot for customer assistance. Intelagent is deployable on multiple platforms including websites and social media channels where utility customers usually ask questions. The solution ensures that energy utility companies do not lose customers even if they shift homes by facilitating efficient communications and support for the transition from one location to the next. Moreover, the solution also generates accurate bills that reflect the final utility consumption at the old address.
Set Sail Software develops Customer Center Chatbots
Increasing consumer expectations, aging infrastructure, and disruptive technologies are all changing the utility sector as we know it today. Companies also face a lot of competition in terms of customer service. Besides, most of the processes including handling utility bills, payment options, and promotional offers involve customer communication and can be automated. Therefore, startups develop chatbots to work in parallel with human agents to resolve both simple and complex customer inquiries.
Hong Kong-based startup Set Sail Software provides full-time contact center solutions for utility services. The startup develops virtual assistants to take on high-volume and repetitive tasks for information technology (IT) helpdesks, pre-sales inquiries, and human resource (HR) support. It is also integrable with Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, WeChat, LINE, Telegram, web-based chatroom, native mobile applications, and private APIs. Thus, the software reduces the company’s costs for hiring customer service employees and facilitates customer communication through multiple online channels.
Ambit works on Digital Employees
Hiring customer service employees puts a financial burden on utility companies. Also, it is inefficient for employees to manually handle customer queries because of their repetitive nature. In contrast, AI-based chatbots build customer loyalty through instant, positive, and frictionless service experiences, as well as reduce customer care costs through automation and self-service options. Hence, startups develop chatbots that instantly reply to billing, complaints, or other service requests. Especially while changing residence, chatbots ensure that utility customers continue the service by being in constant touch with them.
US-based startup Ambit offers a digital employee chatbot. The software replies to customers regarding billing assistance, relocation setup inquiries, new plans, promotional offers, and other queries popular in the utility sector. It uses AI to handle seasonal call surges and answers customers’ questions accurately and in a personalized manner. Moreover, it shifts the customers from chat to live calls, if needed, for the best customer service experiences.
Whenwhyhow provides Customer Behavior Analytics
As utility companies and sales are going digital, they do interact with the customers face-to-face anymore. This results in a higher churn rate and a decrease in customer loyalty. Therefore, it is important to understand customer behavior using AI-powered bots and analytics. Companies use data-driven techniques and chatbots to interact with customers throughout and provide personalized services, which also allow utility companies to cross-sell and upsell their products to the existing customers.
Spanish startup Whenwhyhow develops a behavioral customer data platform (CDP). It provides customer-mindset analytics and actionable AI-based digital empathy to improve loyalty, reducing churn. The startup’s chatbot maps customer’s online behavior and interacts with them when an opportunity comes up, as well as predicts the customer’s water or electricity demand and offers deals accordingly. It further allows utility services to cross-sell other plans to existing customers based on their interactions.
Alba Power focuses on Conversational AI
Peak management still remains a challenge in energy utility services. It is troublesome for service providers to manage demand-side electricity which results in electricity overload and complaints from customers. For such cases, startups develop AI-based solutions that allow customers to easily communicate with their providers. This, in turn, enables utility companies to gather actionable insights and manage resources accordingly.
US-based startup Alba Power provides conversational communication solutions for electric utilities. The startup’s AI-based assistant enables residential customers to participate in peak load, rebates, or other energy-related programs and offers a white-label communication extension to the energy services. Further, it reduces peak load for service providers, increases program enrollments, automates frequently asked questions (FAQs), and keeps customers engaged by simplifying home energy management.
Discover more Utility Startups
Startups such as the examples highlighted in this report focus on chatbots, advanced analytics, digital maintenance as well as predictive analytics. While all of these technologies play a major role in advancing utility management, they only represent the tip of the iceberg. To explore more solutions, simply get in touch to let us look into your areas of interest. For a more general overview, you can download one of our free Industry Innovation Reports to save your time and improve strategic decision-making.
