Sendbird launches omnipresent proactive customer support AI agent

Sendbird Inc., an artificial intelligence communications and conversation platform, today announced the launch of what the company calls  an “omnipresent” AI agent that can handle customer service issues proactively rather than just reacting to them.

“Customers don’t think in terms of channels and neither should your AI,” said Chief Executive John Kim. “They just want their issues resolved, fast.”

Omnipresence means the company’s AI agent can engage and respond to customers wherever they are: web, mobile, email, SMS, WhatsApp and voice – all without losing track of the conversation history. This means that a user could start a conversation on the web, grab their phone to leave the house and continue talking to the AI agent and it could pick up where it left off.

Sendbird said traditional customer service tools tend to erase all context each time a new conversation starts, having to rebuild with each interaction. The company believes by allowing users to pick a preferred point of contact they can feel more connected and part of the process.

The second promise of the company’s AI agent is proactive support, where AI agents react to potential problems and conversation moments before a customer contacts support. For example, when a delivery is on its way it might contact the customer on the last channel they messaged to provide an update. It can also anticipate disruptions such as flight delays, allowing real-time outreach and rescheduling.

“Customer support is evolving toward a future that is omnipresent, proactive and deeply personalized,” said Courtney Munroe, research vice president at International Data Corp. “Sendbird’s AI agent empowers businesses to move beyond siloed, reactive interactions to memory-rich customer experiences that reduce friction, anticipate needs and improve loyalty all at the same time.”

Most of the time, by proactively catching a potential issue and reaching out the AI agent can help the customer resolve the issue autonomously without needing to pull human customer service into the loop. For example, if there’s a delay that means a customer needs to cancel an order or change the address, an agent can do that. If the agent can’t resolve the issue, it can escalate it to a customer support employee who can take over the chat with the full context of what’s going on.

According to a 2023 Gartner survey, 74% of customers said that if they had easy transitions from self-service to assistance because their issues were fixed even by an employee they were more likely to go with self-service next time.

“The AI agent platform from Sendbird stood out to us for its clean interface and user-friendly design,” said Dave Singh, director of product management at digital health startup Transcarent Inc. “It’s clear they’re focused on building something easy to engage with.”

Sendbird’s communication platform is used by more than 4,000 apps, including DoorDash Inc., Match Group Inc., Noom Inc. and Yahoo Sports Inc.

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