Best Buy Adds Generative AI to its Customer Service Toolkit
Best Buy is expanding its partnership with Google Cloud to leverage generative AI technology for new customer service tools. The retailer also is working with Google Cloud and Accenture to develop new AI-powered tools for its frontline associates.
As early as late summer, Best Buy customers in the U.S. will be able to connect with a gen AI-powered virtual assistant for help with tasks like troubleshooting product issues, rescheduling or combining order deliveries, managing software, Geek Squad subscriptions and My Best Buy memberships. The self-service tool will be available on BestBuy.com, on the Best Buy mobile app and when customers call the retailer’s customer service line.
In tandem with this customer-facing tool, the partners also are developing a set of gen-AI enabled capabilities that Best Buy customer care agents can use while interacting with a customer across various internal platforms. These tools will be designed to help reduce the mental workload for agents, allowing them to better focus on personally connecting with customers. During interactions between an agent and customer, the tools will assess, recap the conversation, detect the sentiment of the interaction and provide agents with real-time, relevant recommendations.
Finally, Best Buy is working with Google Cloud and Accenture to develop an AI-driven assistant specifically for its frontline employees. This assistant will aim to provide a broad array of solutions to support employees in stores with things like finding internal Best Buy company resources or pulling up specific product guides to help associates better serve Best Buy customers.
“These new gen AI-powered capabilities further enhance our commitment to deliver better, more personalized experiences to our customers by unlocking the power of people,” said Brian Tilzer, Chief Digital Analytics and Technology Officer at Best Buy in a statement. “We are excited to leverage and tailor these innovations with great partners like Google and Accenture so we can continue to serve our customers in unique and differentiated ways and make our employees’ jobs easier.”
Enhancing the Shopper and Employee Experience
To develop this suite of tools, Best Buy will tap into a range of Google Cloud products including its Gemini models, Vertex AI and Contact Center AI. Best Buy and Google already have a long-standing relationship with existing collaborations across other Google products and services, including advertising, hardware, Google Chrome and more.
“Retailers are increasingly tapping into gen AI to create more seamless customer experiences and empower employees with new tools to make their work more impactful,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud in a statement. “Our collaboration with Best Buy will help customers better interact with Best Buy’s brand and services, and employees will also gain more sophisticated tools to assist shoppers.”
“This collaboration further advances Accenture’s longstanding commitment to helping Best Buy achieve superior shopper and employee experiences, optimize costs and create growth,” said Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO of Accenture in a statement. “With a strong digital core and innovative generative AI solutions, Best Buy can tap the power of cloud, data and AI to do more efficiently what it does so well — take good care of its customers — and reach new levels of performance across the business.”
