New virtual assistant to augment support staff
By Alan Wolf, YSN
Best Buy will unveil a new virtual assistant this summer that will augment, and in some instances supplant, its customer support staff.
The virtual assistant will employ generative AI to help customers troubleshoot product issues, make changes to their order delivery and scheduling, manage their software, and access their Best Buy subscriptions and loyalty program memberships.
The assistant was developed in partnership with Accenture, a global business consultancy and IT service provider, and leverages Google Cloud’s AI platform, Vertex AI and Gemini models, the retailer said.
Beginning in late summer, U.S. customers will be able access the AI-powered, self-service program via Best Buy’s website, mobile app or by phone. The company will later add a suite of gen AI-enabled tools that will provide its live support staff with customer recommendations based on real-time assessments of help-line calls. The tools will also summarize the conversations, detect customer sentiment and utilize data from the calls to help improve operations, Best Buy said.
While the company claims its AI initiative will “help us further unlock the power of people,” it may also serve to thin its employee ranks. According to Minneapolis’s StarTribune, Best Buy’s hometown newspaper, the CE chain laid off a wide range of Geek Squad tech support staff earlier this month, including field agents, home theater repair personnel and phone support specialists, amid a company-wide downsizing. CEO Corie Barry announced the restructuring in February, which is designed to stabilize the business after months of sales declines.
