Vodafone Germany has made a major upgrade to its subscriber digital assistant, TOBi, by creating a real-world avatar for the assistant and equipping with a real voice. Subscribers of Vodafone Germany can now talk to a real avatar about their concerns on the MeinVodafone app. TOBi is now a full-fledged and reliable 'service employee' who offers a special and one-of-a-kind service experience.
TOBi was launched in 2019 as a text-based virtual assistant i.e. chatbot. Last year, casting calls took place for TOBi's new voice, with which he learned to speak. Thomas, a long-time employee at Vodafone, lent his voice to chatbot TOBi to allow it to develop a voice of its own.
In the MeinVodafone service app, TOBi now also helps customers as an avatar. Here he interacts in real time with gestures and facial expressions that match the content of the conversation. This creates a new, more interactive customer experience and offers the ability to resolve queries in a visually appealing way.
TOBi receives around 8 million customer concerns every year on the Vodafone website, in the MeinVodafone app, on WhatsApp or via SMS - and resolves around 65 percent of the concerns in the first contact.
Guido Weißbrich, Service Head, Vodafone Germany
We want to help our customers in the best possible way when they have a concern. Quickly and reliably. TOBi is an important part of our team. Equipped with artificial intelligence and now as a speaking avatar, he can solve more and more of our customers' problems all by himself. This is important because more and more customers like to use digital services - because they are available around the clock and often provide quick solutions,
