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  • Two out of three European companies in the B2C segment use chatbots in their communication with customers
  • Almost one in two customer inquiries are already being resolved completely by the bot
  • The pressure is mounting: 61 percent are convinced that in the long term, every large company will need to offer a chatbot
Hamburg, November 17, 2021 – During the pandemic, enabling fast and direct contact to customer service was a challenge due to short-time working or lack of human resources. As a result, chatbots gained in importance yet again, as a recent survey in 14 European countries by financial services provider and investor EOS shows. According to the survey, chatbots are already being used in two out of three companies in the B2C segment. The survey also revealed that chatbots account for 30 percent of digital communication with customers, and that almost every second inquiry addressed to a chatbot is fully resolved by it. EOS is also using these digital helpers. Chatbots are already in use and communicating with defaulting payers at the company’s national subsidiaries in Croatia, France and Belgium.

“Since the rollout of our chatbot Tom, the number of calls to the service center has gone down,” says Wesley van de Walle, project manager at EOS Contentia in Belgium. “On average, Tom has more than 300 conversations a month with defaulting payers on simple matters. Since its last software update, the bot has also been connected directly to our debt collection system and can now process personal data. Following an authentication process, users can request information on their level of debt, due date of the next payment, or costs incurred. It offers genuine added value,” says van de Walle.

Chatbots especially popular in Poland and Switzerland

The survey found differences among European countries in the use of the technology: Whereas in Poland and Switzerland chatbots are highly popular, with usage rates of more than 70 percent, companies in France (54 percent) and Russia (46 percent) are still somewhat more reticent when it comes to chatbots. At present, the digital helpers are being used mainly for the initial contact (97 percent), followed by customer service (51 percent) and product advice (39 percent).
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