Freshdesk

Description: We are seeking a highly skilled developer or team to design and construct an advanced AI-driven customer support system. The project requires seamless integration with multiple email platforms and CRMs, enabling robust ticket management, multi-language support, and AI-enhanced customer interactions. The system must also deliver comprehensive reporting and analytics to monitor performance and customer satisfaction. Key Features: Ticket Management: A robust system to track and manage customer queries, issues, and resolutions efficiently. Multi-Language Support: The system must support multiple languages to cater to our global clientele. AI Responses: Leverage AI to automate responses, perform sentiment analysis, and utilize customizable response templates to enhance customer service. Reporting and Analytics: Generate comprehensive reports and analytics to measure system performance, track response times, accuracy rates, volume of inquiries, and customer satisfaction. Email Integration: The system should integrate seamlessly with popular email platforms such as Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo Mail, with the flexibility to adapt to specific client requirements. CRM Integration: Experience with integrating CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho CRM, and Freshdesk is essential. The system should be capable of accommodating various client requirements and logging all communications in the CRM's history. Ideal Skills and Experience: - Proven track record in developing AI-driven systems with a focus on customer support. - Expertise in integrating with various email platforms and CRMs. - Strong knowledge of AI response capabilities, including automated responses, sentiment analysis, and customizable templates. - Proficient in creating scalable and secure systems that comply with industry standards (GDPR, HIPAA). - Strong analytical skills for generating and interpreting system reports and analytics. We are looking for a developer or team who can take on this exciting challenge and help us build a cutting-edge solution to revolutionize our customer support operations. If you have the experience and -skills to deliver on this project, we'd love to hear from you!

Freshworks, a provider of AI-powered IT and customer service management tools, has increased its annual revenue and profit forecasts following strong third-quarter results, driven by growing demand for its AI-driven products.

New approach empowers companies to scale their AI and automation investments in line with evolving customer and employee needs Today, Zendesk introduced their market-leading AI Dynamic Pricing Plan, a flexible pricing and usage approach designed to make AI in service more accessible and adaptable for businesses. This allows companies to adjust their investment between human agents and AI agents, providing the flexibility needed to be responsive as customer needs, business goals, and market demands evolve. "In just a few years, there will be a massive shift in the amount of service that is automated - we predict 100% of interactions will involve AI. With this in mind, we want to give our customers the freedom and flexibility to adopt AI and automation at a pace that best suits their business needs," said Tom Eggemeier, CEO of Zendesk. "The AI Dynamic Pricing Plan allows our customers to adjust as they learn and refine their approach to service without being constrained to one setup." According to Zendesk's Future of AI-Powered CX report, 83 percent of CX leaders in India predict traditional customer service will become obsolete in three years, with AI powering all service channels. Additionally, 92% of leaders believe AI is transforming customer experience, and expect an exponential rise in customer interactions by 2027, five times the current levels. This shift calls for flexible solutions like Zendesk's AI Dynamic Pricing Plan to ensure businesses can scale AI usage efficiently and manage the demands of increased interactions effectively. "AI is fast evolving from a distant vision to an immediate necessity for customer experience transformation among Indian businesses," said Maureen Chong, Regional Vice President, Asia, Zendesk. "With over 80% of CX leaders in India expecting all channels to be powered by AI, Zendesk's AI Dynamic Pricing Plan makes AI less daunting by giving organisations the flexibility to experiment with it in their own time. This approach allows businesses to deploy and scale AI strategically without any constraints of the traditional pricing model." Zendesk's model-the first of its kind in the market-offers companies flexibility in adopting AI for customer service by allowing them to adapt and scale their approach over time. Unlike traditional setups that can restrict adaptability, Zendesk lets businesses use human agents or AI agents, or a combination of both, and shift investments as needs evolve. This approach enables CX leaders to tailor their AI adoption based on the current and future requirements of the business. "The advent of AI and automation has transformed the traditional pricing model, as companies embrace outcome-based pricing that shows a direct link between AI and ROI," says Keith Dawson, Director of Research, Customer Experience, ISG Software Research. "However, as businesses adopt AI, they want to be able to adjust without the potential risk of extra costs or complex commitments. Zendesk's pricing model aligns with the market trend of companies seeking a way to explore AI and automation with the added flexibility." Following the successful launch of Outcome-Based Pricing, in which businesses pay only for the real results delivered by AI agents, the AI Dynamic Pricing Plan offers a flexible allocation approach. It allows companies to optimise their spending across different pricing models -- such as outcome-based and seat-based pricing -- ensuring they see a strong return on their AI investments. With this new approach, Zendesk reaffirms its commitment to being a trusted partner for businesses as they expand their use of AI, removing the constraints of traditional setups. By allowing customers to tailor their approach, Zendesk aims to make AI a practical and accessible choice for companies focused on enhancing both customer and employee service strategies. About Zendesk At Zendesk, we're on a mission to power exceptional service for every person on the planet. As the industry leader in customer experiences, we help businesses bring together the best of AI agents, workflow automation, and human agents for their customers and employees. With our software and expertise, businesses deliver service that increases customer loyalty and drives revenue at a reduced cost. Learn more at www.zendesk.com.

Big Bus Tours is using Freshworks technology to handle a growing volume of customer service requests. Ollie Wildeman, VP Customer at Big Bus Tours, explained to diginomica at Refresh 2024 in London how his company is using Freshworks Customer Service Suite, an omnichannel support software that includes AI-powered chatbots and ticketing, to manage disparate requests and to support a shift from reactive to proactive customer engagement: We've got a huge number of customers. There's always somebody on a Big Bus somewhere, any hour of the day. We needed a place to sit that volume of customer service requests in one spot so our agents could handle email and chat tickets. He explained how the Freshworks ticketing system is fed information from a contact form on the website. The firm also uses an AI-enabled virtual assistant from Satisfi Labs that connects to the website and deals with basic queries. Any issues that need escalation or clarification come through to a live agent via Freshservice technology: We needed a way to respond to all of these queries and figure out which ones are most important and which need answering straightaway. Wildeman says Big Bus Tours implemented the cloud-based support tool Freshdesk in 2019 to centralize customer service. Before implementing Freshdesk, the company managed service requests across 26 cities via email through local teams during business hours. The centralization strategy created a business process outsourcing (BPO) centre in Romania. Wildeman says Freshservice technology was crucial as service requests increased: We were coming out of COVID and suddenly had an explosion of inbounds and contacts. We grew the BPO team very quickly. I think we had four or five agents during COVID. And then we expanded to 20. And then last season, we went up to 35 agents. Wildeman says the number of customer service requests increased again in March 2023 when the company added chat to its companion app via Satisfi Labs technology: Our customers have a chat bubble, so at any point in their journey, if they have a query, they can get hold of us, and we react to it. That access increased the volume of requests massively. But the more people you speak to, the more issues you can identify and solve. And you also have an opportunity to upsell, too. Today, the BPO team uses Freshworks technology to deal with queries from around the world on a 24/7 basis: More recently, as we were installing our virtual assistant from Satisfi Labs, there was a business requirement to move to the most recent version of Freshworks technology, which was the Customer Service Suite, where you've got chatbots and ticketing close together and can report on everything from the same spot. The benefits of this integrated approach are clear - Big Bus Tours has much greater awareness of its customers and their requirements: We're now sat in front of far more people. I don't think many customers won't be in touch with us in some form, either online or with our street agents. Wildeman says that whilst his team has already started to take a more proactive approach to customer service requests, there's much more to come: We're not fully proactive yet. Our first objective was to deal with the volume of requests. We've started handling the volume effectively, and now the idea is to manipulate the data and use the insight to start reaching out and creating value. One of the next stages will involve using emerging technology, including Freshservice's generative tool, Freddy AI. Wildeman says switching to Customer Service Suite meant the company gained access to a Freddy copilot beta: We switched it on, and I was initially sceptical about how much usage we would get out of it. But the agents took to it quickly, especially for summarizing tickets. Wildeman says he asks service staff to write notes when they speak to a customer. Many conversations with customers are short, but the insights are invaluable. Generative AI gives support staff crucial and time-saving assistance: Writing notes can often take as much time as it does to solve the problem in the first place. So, the summary generator from Freddy is saving us minutes per interaction - and in high season, we're dealing with 45,000 to 50,000 interactions. The next stage will be to use these summaries to generate deeper understanding via Freddy Insights, which is a tool that allows staff to have a conversation with the generative AI tool through a prompt-based interface in natural language: We're still getting to grips with that technology, but you can start asking questions about what people say. It's no longer just about trying to get the feedback, it's now about trawling through the data and finding something useful to do with it. During the next 12 to 24 months, Wildeman expects proactive outreach from Big Bus Tours to pick up pace: As I said, we've got ourselves in front of more people. But that's not quite the same as reaching out to them before they contact us. While the exact details of this approach are still to be decided, he hopes that increased proactivity - with the help of Freshservice and AI - will become part of the sales process: So, perhaps you deliver their tickets via WhatsApp. In the app, you have the customer, their tickets, and their information, and if they respond and ask a question, you're already ready to reply. Or there's a bot that reaches out and offers an upsell, such as, 'We know you're travelling to London. Here are your tickets. By the way, did you fancy a trip on the London Eye?' He advises other digital and business leaders considering Freshworks technology to focus on getting as many services as possible into one place. This preparatory work will make it easier to embrace further digital transformation and AI:

Powerful voice AI, omnichannel AI agents, and next generation agent copilot offerings boost human and AI collaboration across workflows, solving major customer service challenges in India Today, Zendesk introduced a series of innovations, including AI-powered agents for omnichannel support, enhanced agent copilot, and agent builder. Leading in AI-powered customer and employee experiences through its complete service solution, Zendesk's new capabilities help companies deliver exceptional service in a way that is easy to use, scale, and drive meaningful business results. The company also announced a new fully-featured voice solution that can enable agents to deliver faster, personalised, and more human conversations, as well as the ability to solve more complex cases. In addition to the new innovations announced, other enhancements to Zendesk voice include upgrades to call monitoring, advanced routing, enhanced AI support and queue management, allowing human agents to skip repetitive tasks and focus on helping customers with escalations. "AI is now bridging the gap between high quality service, at a lower cost, while delivering much more personalised experiences," said Tom Eggemeier, CEO, Zendesk, noting 73% of consumers believe AI improves the quality of customer service. "Our latest innovations, including voice AI, assist human agents in working efficiently alongside AI to deliver tailored, efficient service. This partnership leads to faster issue resolution, higher customer satisfaction and provides valuable business insights." According to Zendesk's Future of AI-powered CX Report, a vast majority (89%) of CX leaders in India believe CX will undergo a period of unprecedented change over the next 3 years, with a similar proportion (83%) believing that all conversations will be AI-powered in the same timeframe. But there's another challenge to contend with -- consumer demand for phone support. As Indian consumers embrace a digital-first approach to CX, phone support remains one of the top three channels they prefer for more complex issues. At the same time, they also want the convenience of omnichannel support, with one-third going as far as saying the ease in getting help across channels determines their purchase decisions. "Even as consumers in India lead the Asia Pacific region in their attitudes and expectations towards AI adoption, phone support still remains an important communication channel. They want businesses to offer them options in how they choose to engage -- be it through email, chat, phone call, or self-service," said Maureen Chong, Regional Vice President, Asia, Zendesk. "The challenge for brands today is finding ways to manage CX costs while delivering exceptional service in whatever channels customers are on. Zendesk's latest AI solutions offer Indian businesses a seamless way to integrate AI across all channels, including voice, helping them manage the increasing complexity and volume of tickets while improving agent productivity and delivering on customer expectations." New voice innovation transforms the automated call experience Leaders are facing a reality of rising ticket volumes and increasingly complex issues, prompting them to transform traditional call centres into a modern omnichannel experience complete with new productivity tools powered by AI. Working together with the expanded AI agent and copilot capabilities, the enhanced voice solution allows companies to: Quickly and easily route, and resolve voice calls, plus report on voice metrics-such as call type, answer time, wait time, talk time, abandonment-now on phone alongside all other channels. Resolve customer calls with a new 24/7 AI agent for voice, powered by Poly.ai, that can autonomously resolve up to 50% of all calls. Provide more accurate resolutions, resolve calls faster and cut admin time with transcripts and summaries with enhanced Al-assisted support. Take action on churn risks and outliers with improved QA insights from evaluating 100% of human and AI agent conversations to pinpoint and fix gaps in customer experiences. Deliver faster, more personalised service to customers who call in with complex, high-value issues that require human assistance, with instant call insights and answers from the knowledge base. Combined power of AI and human agents elevate CX - across all digital channels As the industry shifts to completely automated interactions, new capabilities for Zendesk AI agents allow companies to tap into the full benefits of AI by: Delivering instant, accurate responses with generative replies and address more sophisticated issues with customisable conversation flows, now extending to email. Automating voice interactions in a new partnership with Poly.ai, ensuring seamless, consistent support across channels. Creating and controlling AI agents using a new AI agent builder, requiring zero training and offering full customisation-such as adjusting the brand's tone-while reducing the time to build, deploy, and maintain. Improved autonomy and proactivity for enhanced agent copilot In more complex, high-value interactions between human agents and customers, agent copilot can now: Anticipate customer needs, offer proactive recommendations, and take actions autonomously with the now widely available "auto assist" mode. Follow specific processes on behalf of an agent and instantly sync changes to ensure agents are always following the latest procedures with the new copilot business procedures. Surface relevant issues and proactive insights-such as similar resolutions-directly within the new AI-powered workspace, ensuring all tools are easily discoverable and keeping workflows uninterrupted. As part of the enhancements, agent copilot for voice* now provides instant call insights such as customer sentiment and intent, plus quickly surfaces answers from the knowledge base. This allows companies to deliver faster, personalised service to customers who call in with complex, high-value issues that require human assistance. Supercharged insights provide valuable and actionable business intelligence for CX teams Zendesk is introducing more AI-powered insights that analyse customer conversations across systems, extract valuable key insights, and enable real-time business intelligence. By surfacing strategic opportunities, leaders can apply these across teams and make changes needed to improve CX, which can in turn positively influence CSAT. With improved AI-driven insights, companies can now: Quickly uncover why customers are reaching out with granular details through enhanced intents and entity detection, enabling faster and more personalised resolutions. Proactively design and refine workflows using out-of-the-box insights from the new intelligent triage dashboard, ensuring critical issues are efficiently routed and automated. Use Quality Assurance across every touchpoint, now including voice and AI agents to automatically analyse and optimise customer conversations and agent performance. For more on the future of AI-powered CX, register for the digital broadcast of Zendesk AI Summit on Oct. 15-16 or visit the Zendesk Newsroom. *Agent copilot for voice will be available in H1 2025, more information coming soon. About Zendesk At Zendesk, we're on a mission to power exceptional service for every person on the planet. As the industry leader in customer experiences, we help businesses bring together the best of AI agents, workflow automation, and human agents for their customers and employees. With our software and expertise, businesses deliver service that increases customer loyalty and drives revenue at a reduced cost. Learn more at www.zendesk.com.