How chatbots inspire customers and colleagues

Of all the dedicated insurance experts at ERGO, one has by far the most working hours because he works around the clock. //next reveals how Alfred, the digital assistant, supports customer service - and has become extremely popular with customers and colleagues as a result.

ERGO offers customers and prospective customers the opportunity to chat with a personal service employee on ERGO.de. This is where Alfred comes in: "Hello! I'm Alfred, your digital assistant at ERGO. I'll connect you quickly and easily with your personal insurance expert." So the ChatBot welcomes the user and forwards him to the right contact person.

What may it be?

The prospective customer can select one of four topics on which they would like advice:

• "Info on the product", 
• "My contract", 
• "Report a claim" or 
• "General question". 

If Alfred then finds out which product is involved, he forwards the user to the right colleague in the department to clarify the matter individually via chat. The flesh-and-blood insurance experts are of course also available for "general questions". Finally, the user can give feedback and save the conversation as a PDF.  

Across Germany, around 200 colleagues at six locations look after chat at ERGO. They work in shifts with service hours between 7 a.m. and midnight, seven days a week. One of them is always there: Alfred. In 2020, he assisted with an average of up to 23,000 enquiries per month.

Thanks to the smart ChatBot, customer concerns can be dealt with in real time. Users receive immediate help in the live chat. And the service staff at ERGO gain time to deal personally and individually with the concerns of customers and interested parties.

In addition to the customers and interested parties, they also benefit from the hardest-working colleague at their side, who never sleeps and is available around the clock. 

Text: Julia Schreier/Leona Treutwein