Britain's SimplyHealth said it has become the first company to use Salesforce's generative AI to respond to customer emails, using a personalized response template to take a fraction of the time it takes to prepare a response.
The health and dental plan provider already uses Salesforce's other AI technology to handle 20-30% of queries, said Dan Eddy, director of customer service.
But generative AI can understand customers' questions and provide a personalized response, he said.
Salesforce's Einstein GPT Trust Layer uses AI that uncompromises customer data to generate responses, while using trusted data to improve results, it said.
For Simplyhealth, the reliable data is 500 historical emails.
The first consultation came from a client struggling to change dental practices.
“We asked Einstein GBD to respond and it came back in three seconds,” Eddy told Reuters.
“The first thing he did was say, 'Dear Laura, first of all, I apologize for the frustration you've caused so far,' and then he got the empathy he needed.”
Salesforce UK chief executive Zahra Bahrololoumi said AI is transforming industries such as healthcare.
“Salesforce's trusted AI solutions deliver tremendous productivity benefits, not only helping the SimplyHealth team support customers faster and more effectively, but also personalizing support and further improving the level of care for the most vulnerable,” he said.
Emails are checked by a human to make sure they're accurate, said Chief Technology Officer Tim Goff.
“We're taking a test and learning approach to these new technologies,” he said. “We have internal safeguards in place and we have a specific forum to review the ethical use of AI technologies.”
Of the 65 emails produced so far, 11 needed punctuation correction or other salutation, he said.
But there were no “hallucinations,” he said, thanks to the controlled data. Hallucination refers to artificial content created by AI.
Response times have been reduced from 12 minutes to one, which Eddie says has allowed more time to resolve complex customer issues.
Henry Blackwell is a contributor at Mediarunsearch.co.uk, covering a wide range of topics including news, politics, business, technology, sport, entertainment, and lifestyle. He focuses on delivering clear, balanced reporting and useful information that helps readers stay informed about current events and emerging developments. His work highlights stories that matter to everyday audiences, with an emphasis on accuracy, relevance, and accessible journalism.