Exploring Indonesian Companies’ Chatbots to Gather Customer Experience ^†

Abstract

We aim to explore whether recipients of the Indonesia Customer Experience Champions 2022 as Best of The Best Customer Experience Team prize use chatbots effectively to improve their customer experience. Using a qualitative method, we explore their programs related to customer experience, along with the information regarding their chatbots. Then, we directly use two chatbots to gather our personal experience. We found that only four of eight winners use chatbots. Next, from our personal experience, the two chatbots are not yet functioning optimally because of some inaccurate or unclear information. This can lower the level of customer experience. Therefore, companies need to improve the quality of their chatbots.

1. Introduction

The development of digital technology in the form of artificial intelligence takes an important role in business continuity. The emergence of chatbots plays a role as virtual assistants that are expected to be able to assist customers in obtaining information about products and other related information. The existence of a chatbot is also expected to in-crease efficiency because it is expected to be able to answer customer questions that are often asked.

The use of chatbots by companies can be said to be a part of marketing efforts. Through chatbots, companies are expected to be able to prepare accurate and reliable information to be able to have a positive influence on the company’s marketing efforts [1].

The role of chatbots on customer experience has been researched in several types of businesses, such as in luxury fashion brands [1], retail businesses [2], airline companies [3], and others. Ruan and Mezei analyzed customer satisfaction on the use of chatbots in tree online stores, namely, the stores selling air fryers, perfumes, and coats [4]. Chatbots have also been widely used in the banking industry, food industry, and other industries [5]. Not only in big companies, small companies also encouraged the use of chatbots to improve their customer experience, thus increasing their customer satisfaction [6].

Jiménez-Barreto, Rubio, and Molinillo stated that chatbots play a role in increasing customer motivation and curiosity for company services when customers interact with chatbots [3]. In addition, when a customer submits a routine request [7,8], or regarding product functional attributes [4], chatbots can resolve customer requests more quickly. This can help improve the customer experience more positively.

Furthermore, Chung, Ko, Joung, and Kim found that the use of chatbots as digital service assistants can form positive customer relationships [1]. In addition, the presence of digital tools in business also helps increase company–customer connections, customer satisfaction, and shopping experiences. With lower waiting times and accurate information quality, as provided by human frontline employees, the use of chatbots also provides higher customer satisfaction [4].

Another advantage of using a chatbot is that it can improve operational efficiency and cost-saving [4,7,8]. Nevertheless, AI training is needed so that the quality of services and information conveyed through chatbots can be more accurate and in accordance with customer needs [5].

Furthermore, as a form of appreciation for the company’s hard work in improving the company’s performance in terms of customer experience, SWA Magazine and Busi-ness Digest organized an event called Indonesia Customer Experience Champions. This award is intended to select companies that can implement customer experience programs to increase customer satisfaction. Companies are assessed based on four parameters, namely, the ability to identify problems, the quality of strategy and program design, the level of innovation, as well as the results and impact of the program [9].

The eight companies designated as the Best of The Best Customer Experience Team in 2022 are PT Prodia Widyahusada Tbk. (Prodia), PT Global Loyalty Indonesia (Alfagift), PT Mandiri AXA General Insurance (MAGI), PT Bank DBS Indonesia (DBS Indonesia), PT Wismilak Inti Makmur, Tbk., PT Great Eastern Life Indonesia (GELI), Badan Amil Zakat National (BAZNAS), and Lintasarta. Of the eight award winners, we are interested in ex-ploring whether winners of Indonesia Customer Experience Award 2022 use chatbots effectively to improve their customer experience. The rest of the paper is structured as follows. In the next section, we explain the methodology used in this research. Then, we report the results of our research. Finally, we discuss our conclusions and present our suggestions.

2. Material and Methods

In exploring the chatbots used by companies that achieved the Best of The Best Customer Experience Team, we used a qualitative method. First, we search for the customer experience programs of each company online, especially those related to the use of technology. Next, we look for information on the chatbots launched by each company, whether on the company’s website or other applications. Then, we do personal experience research to obtain personal experience about the available chatbots. From the results of our personal experience, we analyze the performance of the chatbot service and conduct an analysis based on customer experience.

3. Results

3.1. Customer Experience Program of Awardee

Not all companies report publicly about their customer experience programs, so not all award-winning companies can trace the suitability of customer experience pro-grams, especially those related to the use of digital technology in the form of chatbots with criteria set by the organizers. Researchers only found information about this program in the following companies.

As a health service provider company, Prodia states that it is running digital innovations to improve customer experience in the form of online results, doctor live chat, the Prodia queue system, a chatbot system named TANIA, Prodia teleconsultation, e-Home service, contact center, and sample pick-up services [10]. Furthermore, the steps taken by BAZNAS to improve customer experience are through Muzakki Services, with four paradigms, namely, seamless interaction, data-driven services, Muzaki loyalty, and service development [11].

Other customer experience development programs that researchers can find are those from the banking and insurance industries. In the banking industry, DBS Bank stated that it has carried out human touch-based digital strengthening, which empowers the multiskills team and the bot trainer team (a special team that conducts training for chatbots on the Digibank application to ensure that FAQs (frequently asked questions) and answer dictionaries available on the bot are always up to date, in real time) and applies customer science (in the development stage) [12]. Next to the insurance industry, GELI stated that it made improvements to the digital platform to provide a better experience for customers and to support existing distribution channels through several appropriate features [13]. Meanwhile, MAGI, along with two other AXA Mandiri companies, launched Emma as a comprehensive digital insurance and health service that can be accessed through one door that prioritizes ease and convenience of use [14]. For the rest of the companies, we could not find information regarding the development of customer experience, especially with the use of technology, which can be accessed by the public.

3.2. Company’s Chatbot

Furthermore, our exploration of chatbots from each award-winning company shows that not all companies use chatbot services to support their customer experience. Only four of the eight award-winning companies use chatbots, namely Prodia, DBS, GELI, and BAZNAS. Prodia launched a chatbot called Tania, which can be accessed through the company website and social media applications, such as LINE, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram [15]. Likewise, BAZNAS’s chatbot, named Zavira, can be accessed through the LINE application to obtain information about Zakat Infaq Shodaqoh (ZIS) and a zakat calculator [16]. In addition, GELI activates the chatbot service through the WhatsApp application [17]. Meanwhile, DBS Indonesia provides Digibot as a virtual assistant integrated into the DigiBank application [18].

Of the four available chatbots, Prodia, BAZNAS, and GELI chatbots can be accessed publicly. However, we selected Prodia’s Tania chatbot and BAZNAS’ Zavira via the LINE app for further exploration.

3.3. Researcher’s Personal Experience on Selected Chatbot

We conducted the first personal experience with Tania through the LINE application. Figure 1 shows the initial appearance of Tania’s response after we started the conversation. It did not take us long to obtain that first response.

From the information menu provided, we then selected branch location information. Tania then gave a response to write down the name of the city we wanted to visit. Then, we wrote Depok as our destination. Unfortunately, Tania’s response only repeated the previous question (Figure 2).

Next, we tried to write Jakarta to obtain information on the location of the Jakarta branch. However, what appears is information about the Kramat branch only (Figure 3). At the end of the response, it says ‘Type “Service Information (Branch Name)”. We tried to enter Depok branch information again by writing “Information on Depok Margonda services” (Figure 4). After waiting for a while, Tania then gave a response in the form of information on the address and operating hours of the Depok branch (Margonda).

Next, still through the LINE application, we tried to use BAZNAS’s Zavira service. Figure 5 shows the initial appearance when we started a chat with Zavira, which also responded quickly. In the information option, we chose the Zakat and Shodaqoh info service. This service contains various information regarding income zakat, zakat maal, zakat fitrah, shodaqoh, and fidyah (Figure 6). Next, we selected information regarding income zakat. Zavira explained the source of calculating income zakat, nishab, and then was invited to calculate zakat. After entering information on the amount of income per month and other income received (THR, bonuses, etc.), Zavira sent a response containing the amount of income zakat that must be paid. However, there is no nominal attached in the response. After the author asked how much income zakat has to be paid, Zavira’s answer was an explanation of information about fidyah, which is not matched to the information we needed (Figure 7).

4. Discussions

From our exploration, it can be said that both chatbots respond to questions on the information provided quickly. However, not all the information provided is in accordance with customer needs, whether it is incomplete, inaccurate information, no response, or even information that is not asked. For this reason, it can be said that the chatbot services have not been used optimally by the related companies. This shows that they have not utilized the chatbot service optimally, and they have yet to improve their customer experience through their virtual assistants.

We advise companies to continuously improve the performance of their chatbots as part of their marketing efforts. This can be done by conducting chatbot training [5]. Through the integration of chatbots in business, it is expected to increase business agility [19]. In addition, by improving the chatbot performance, it is hoped that the customer experience can be improved to increase customer satisfaction [6].