Telstra expands use of GenAI for frontline teams

[Correction: This story has been updated to correct references to Accenture's work with Telstra. Accenture was not involved with One Sentence Summary.]

Telstra has expanded the use of two internal customer service generative AI solutions following successful pilots.

One Sentence Summary and Ask Telstra were built using Microsoft Cloud and its Azure OpenAI capabilities to improve the efficiency of Telstra's frontline teams.

Using Azure OpenAI’s large language model, One Sentence Summary transforms recent customer notes, interactions and transactions into a summary of a customer’s recent history and status.

2023 trials showed 90 per cent of employees using the tool saved time and increased effectiveness, resulting in 20 per cent less follow-up contact.

Team members also noted the tool enabled them to more quickly understand challenging or sensitive circumstances, such as those in need of priority or financial assistance.

Telstra will roll out One Sentence Summary to all its contact centre and store teams throughout 2024.

Ask Telstra enables employees to search the company’s extensive internal knowledge bases quickly and easily for information.

Powered by the Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Search, the solution gives AI generated responses to employee queries, presented via a search interface.

Team members involved in the pilot were able to more quickly gather information to support customers, with over 80 per cent agreeing the technology has a positive impact on customer interactions.

“We’re at a profound juncture in a new era of transformation, and it's one that we're navigating in lockstep with our partners," Telstra's group executive of product and technology Kim Krogh Andersen said.

"Our deep, strategic relationship with Microsoft is positioning us well to unlock value and growth as technologies like generative AI proliferate at speed.”

“We’ve been on a journey of simplification and modernisation over a number of years. We've simplified our technology architecture and shifted to a 100 per cent API-first approach to product development."

"We’re also migrating workloads to the public cloud and building reusable AI capabilities. Our collaboration with Accenture is now helping to accelerate the work we have ahead."

"It's a massive undertaking, but it has put us in a position to now rapidly scale bespoke generative AI tools, like Ask Telstra and One Sentence Summary, that can really shift the dial when it comes to helping our teams provide quicker, more effective, and more personalised customer interactions.”

“Strong, strategic partnerships, like ours with Microsoft and Accenture, are critical to our shared success. By collaborating and leveraging each other’s strengths, we can ignite innovation and deliver the best products and services for our customers."

Microsoft Australia & New Zealand MD Steven Worrall said: “It’s exciting to see Telstra continue its leadership in AI, by harnessing the power of the Microsoft Cloud and Azure OpenAI Service to enhance their employee’s productivity and increase customer satisfaction." 

Initially available to 200 Telstra frontline team members in late 2023, Ask Telstra will begin to roll out to all contact centre and store teams through 2024.

“We are proud to be a part of this journey and look forward to seeing the continued impact these AI solutions have on Telstra’s frontline workers and more broadly across the organisation,” Accenture's group chief executive for technology Karthik Narain said.

“Our deep partnership with Telstra is focused on accelerating its efforts to become an AI-fuelled organisation. By radically simplifying and modernising legacy data estates, Telstra is building a secure digital core to adopt and scale more advanced generative AI capabilities."

"In addition, Telstra’s approach to developing and maintaining responsible and ethical AI is recognised by global industry bodies and will serve as a benchmark. We hope this market leading work will encourage further advancements through data and AI.”