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18 www.utilityweek.co.uk/fLeX A I A N D C U S T O M E R S What the rise of voice assistants, chatbots and other AI technology means to improving service and reducing bills By Nadine Buddoo A l e x a , c a n y o u h e l p m e e n g a g e w i t h m y c u s t o m e r s ? U sing AI technology to ensure interactions with customers are simple, intuitive and engaging is a hot topic for water and wastewater company Welsh Water. e not-for-profit water utility is placing customer involvement and innovative communication at the heart of its business strategy. Morgan Lloyd, head of marketing at the company, says: "Welsh Water, like many utilities, are looking at how we can develop bots and AI to give our customers a better and quicker service. "In the short to medium term, this is likely to focus on using automation to allow customers to do the simple transactional tasks – from submitting a meter reading through a Facebook Messenger chatbot to finding answers to the more 'transactional' queries like checking your bill balance or getting information on water supply interruptions more quickly." Like many firms in the sector, Welsh Water is beginning to harness so-called machine learning technology, software that can crunch through vast amounts of data to 'learn' more human responses based on patterns of the data. While observers say AI has been slow to enter the utilities world, it is now waking up to the potential for AI technologies, including predictive analytics, chatbots and voice assistants. Welsh Water's foray into AI has seen it develop a Facebook Messenger chatbot to engage with customers. In 2017, the company launched a consultation, called Have Your Say, which gathered the views of thousands of people to help the business plan for the future and improve services for customers. e campaign's key focus was to build customer trust. Encouraging customer involvement in utility consultations can be notoriously challenging, so the company knew it had to take a different approach. e Facebook Messenger chatbot offered an opportunity to deliver the consultation in a quick and interesting way. Alongside a bespoke website and various events during Wales' summer festivals, the chatbot was one of the new ways the company hoped to reach out to customers. e bot, developed with digital agency Coup Media, allowed Welsh Water to engage with 18 www.utilityweek.co.uk/fLeX