How PolyAI brought its Omnichannel Intelligence Hub to Concierge Chat
PolyAI has long been recognized for its expertise in voice AI. Now, we're expanding our capabilities to include a comprehensive chat solution.
In building out our chat solution, we designed an extension of our conversational intelligence to the web, providing brands with a unified AI brain that can both speak and type. Our chat serves dual purposes: enhancing customer service and driving sales. It transforms the recommendation engine into an interactive experience, replacing multiple search queries with a single, concierge-like interaction.
Traditional chatbots are clumsy, only able to handle FAQs, and unable to understand questions stated in natural language (hence the predetermined query buttons). PolyAI’s chat agent is powered by our specialized customer service LLM, Raven, which means it can understand and respond to a more diverse set of questions phrased however the customer chooses to ask. And it acts on those questions. Capabilities include:
- Order management: Track, cancel, or modify existing orders.
- Customer service: Process refunds for price adjustments (e.g., items now on sale), and answer frequently asked questions.
- Product discovery: Recommend products, often via a visual carousel with direct links.
- Feedback collection: Prompt customers to take a survey about their experience.
Technical differentiator: Rich media & inventory integration
Unlike phone calls, web chat allows for visual selling. Our platform supports rich media cards — images of clothes, prices, and buttons — thanks to deep integration with the client's Product Catalog API, not just a static FAQ script.
Multimodal: A better way to have a conversation
Meet your customers on the channel of their choice.
The client success: Holiday rush
During the holiday season, a major retail client faced the ultimate stress test. They deployed PolyAI web chat to assist shoppers in finding gifts with natural language, such as "I’m looking for Christmas sweaters for girls."
But the deployment went far beyond just sales. The client needed a solution that could handle the messy reality of post-purchase support. The AI provided natural language assistance for order management, handling queries about late deliveries, missing items, or incorrectly placed orders.
The agent didn't just deflect these queries; it was empowered to act on them directly via the chat. By resolving these complex issues within the chat window, we successfully removed significant back pressure from the client's phone lines during their busiest season while providing stellar customer service in the customer’s channel of choice.
Performance at scale: The trust signal
Over the Black Friday weekend, PolyAI acted as a critical operational dam. The system successfully absorbed 27,000+ high-intent conversations, effectively shielding the client’s phone lines from a massive surge in support queries.
Put another way, we saved the client 2,250 hours of human labor in a single weekend. That is roughly the same as having 28 extra full-time agents working non-stop for 72 hours.
While the website saw millions of visitors, the AI specifically targeted and managed the most complex interactions, handling over 81,000 turns of dialogue. This ensured that the client’s human infrastructure handled peak shopping hours seamlessly, absorbing distinct usage spikes without any downtime.
The true signal of success was the client's reliance on PolyAI as a safety net. They trusted the AI to handle frontline support for sensitive issues like payment processing outages, ensuring brand reputation remained intact.
The Human in the loop: Handling handoffs
Our goal isn't just to deflect; it's to resolve. We achieved a 73.2% Containment Rate, meaning the vast majority of user needs were met entirely by the AI without human intervention.
For the 26.8% of cases that required a human touch, the experience was seamless. The AI facilitated 3,000+ live agent handoffs with zero queuing time. By filtering out the straightforward tasks (like inventory checks), the AI ensured that human agents were only spending time on high-value, complex support cases (~5,000 cases).
The result: Customers got instant answers from the AI, or instant access to a human. No hold music, no waiting, just resolution.
Conclusion
The new feature is just the beginning of PolyAI's expansion into a true omnichannel platform. With our expertise in AI and integrations, we're set to make chat an even more integral part of the user experience.
Ready to unify your customer experience across voice and web? Speak to our team today .
