In 2024 alone, Intercom’s artificial intelligence (AI) voice bot, Fin, tackled 13 million customer questions for over 4,000 businesses. And it’s not just chatbots. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 30% of enterprises will automate over half of their customer interactions, up from just 10% in 2023.

Clearly, AI voice intelligence in customer service is leading the charge.

However, despite its benefits, many business owners still wonder: will automation make customer interactions feel robotic? More importantly, how do you use voice AI in a way that actually improves customer experience?

This guide will break it all down — what voice intelligence is, how businesses use it, and the real impact it has on customer interactions across industries.

What is voice intelligence?

Voice intelligence is an AI-powered system that can understand, interpret, and respond to spoken language the way humans do.

Unlike conventional interactive voice response (IVR) systems, which rely on rigid menu-based navigation, natural language processing (NLP) in voice AI listens to callers' words, processes their intent, and delivers relevant responses.

For example, Apple's Siri goes beyond setting alarms or reminders and asks follow-up questions to maintain context in a conversation. Similarly, Google’s Gemini can summarize web pages, suggest replies, and help you with booking appointments. 

But how does it actually work?

How voice intelligence works

Voice intelligence combines AI tools like NLP, machine learning, and real-time AI-powered speech analysis to analyze calls, voicemails, and digital conversations, helping businesses respond faster and more accurately.

This means they can catch key issues, offer better support, and even automate certain interactions, without losing the human touch.

Let’s break this down with a use case.

User A calls their bank’s support line after noticing an unfamiliar charge on their credit card.

Speech recognition converts voice into text

At the core of voice intelligence lies speech recognition. It converts spoken words into text and allows AI-powered voice agents to "listen" to a caller.

Going back to our example where the user calls their bank, here’s what happens behind the scenes:

When they say, "I see a charge I don't recognize on my card.", the speech recognition gets to work. It transcribes the words into text, identifies individual words, corrects minor pronunciation errors, recognizes the accent, and captures the intent without losing context.

Plivo's automatic speech recognition (ASR) takes it a step further. It filters inappropriate content in transcriptions, supports speech recognition in 27 languages, and offers pre-built models for different industries.

So if the user uses rash language like “I’m pissed off with this bank”, the ASR identifies “pissed off” as inappropriate and removes it from the transcript. At the same time, it correctly interprets 'charge' in the context of financial transactions, avoiding confusion with alternative meanings such as charging a device.

NLP understands intent and context

NLP in voice intelligence recognizes accents, slang, and even sentiments. It actually grasps the meaning behind those words the way humans do.

When the user says, "I see a charge I don't recognize on my card," the system, using NLP, identifies key terms like “charge” and “don't recognize” to understand that the user is reporting a potentially fraudulent transaction.

If such an interaction has occurred in the past, machine learning in voice intelligence learns from it and improves its ability to detect predictable phrases like "unauthorized charge," "fraud," etc. It also detects a spike in customers calling about fraudulent charges in the future.

AI-driven decision-making determines the right response

After the call gets transcribed and analyzed, AI taps into past interactions to offer a faster, personalized resolution. For instance, if the user has travel alerts active on their account, AI determines the charge is legitimate and reassures them.

If the user expresses urgency with phrases like, "It's serious", or "I need to talk to a specialist now", AI picks up on the tone and escalates it to a human fraud specialist. 

But even the smartest voice AI can only make good decisions with high-quality voice data.

Plivo’s call analytics plays a vital role by identifying audio issues like poor network conditions, background noise, or low call clarity. It correlates audio quality metrics with device metadata and network conditions so that businesses can ensure AI decisions are based on accurate, uninterrupted speech data.

This leads to better fraud detection, sentiment analysis, and overall customer experience.

Text-to-speech (TTS) helps bots sound human-like

While voice recognition AI converts the call into text, text-to-speech (TTS) does the reverse. It converts the AI-generated responses into natural, human-like speech.

TTS gauges intent adapts to different accents, and structures responses naturally. Instead of a robotic reply, it might say, “I understand that an unfamiliar charge is concerning. Let me check that for you.”

For urgent cases, it might say, “Let me transfer this call to our fraud specialist right away.”

Unlike stiff, pre-recorded messages, TTS adapts to each conversation in real-time, making AI-powered voice responses feel more human and helpful.

This brings us to our next question: what are the benefits of voice intelligence?

Benefits of voice intelligence for businesses

Now that we know how voice intelligence works, let’s understand its benefits for businesses.

Scalability: Never leave a customer on hold

Voice intelligence enables businesses to manage customer interactions efficiently, regardless of call volume. AI-powered tools ensure immediate attention for every customer, eliminating long wait times and improving satisfaction.

For example, a retail business may experience a surge in inquiries about shipping, returns, or product availability during the holiday season. Voice intelligence deploys agents to answer common questions like "What is your return policy?" or "When will my order arrive?" for multiple customers at the same time.

For calls requiring human assistance, the AI gathers details such as order numbers or the nature of the issue beforehand, helping representatives resolve concerns more quickly.

What’s more, AI can offer callbacks instead of making customers wait on hold, keeping frustration levels low and satisfaction high.

Reduced costs: Say goodbye to excess customer support hiring

Since AI-powered voice agents handle repetitive inquiries, it reduces the workload for human agents. Businesses don't need to hire extra staff to manage call spikes. Plus, during high call volumes, it absorbs extra demand, keeping customer service intact without additional payroll expenses.

AI-powered voice agents also learn instantly and require no training, further reducing the overhead of onboarding new employees.

Increased customer satisfaction: Make context-aware conversations in multiple languages

Become, a financial technology company, integrated Plivo's Browser SDK to enable high-quality voice calls within their web application. This integration allowed account managers to communicate effectively with customers worldwide, totaling over 6 million minutes of calls, thereby improving customer relationships and operational efficiency.

Voice intelligence, however, isn't just for call centers.

It can enhance learning, customer support, and global communication, even for a language-learning platform. The technology can use voice agents to provide real-time translations and personalized tutoring, translate and simplify complex concepts in their preferred language.

Improved compliance: Save a fortune on penalties

Industries like finance, healthcare, and telecom require call recording and documentation to comply with laws like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS), and General Data Protection Regulation (EU) (GDPR).

A provider like Plivo ensures businesses can automatically record and store calls securely. Its APIs implement custom monitoring and analytics solutions tailored to your compliance needs. So, it helps improve customer experience while ensuring your business complies with the necessary regulations.

Real-world use cases of voice intelligence

Let’s look at how businesses are putting voice intelligence to work, improving customer experiences, and solving everyday challenges.

1. Faster customer support and personalized shopping assistance  

AI-powered voice agents can handle order tracking, refunds, and cancellations without human intervention.

When a customer asks, "Where's my order?", the AI agent fetches real-time tracking updates instantly, reducing wait times and improving customer satisfaction.

With voice AI analytics, businesses can also gain customer insights and offer personalized shopping assistance. Voice agents guide customers through product selections, suggest tailored recommendations, and even complete purchases.

2. Streamline routine financial services

As per a 2024 survey by Bain & Company, financial services firms are experiencing notable productivity gains through AI adoption. For instance, voice intelligence software in financial services can offer instant account information, transaction processing, and personalized financial advice anytime, anywhere to the customers.

It can also become a financial advisor for the customer and recognize trends and patterns to suggest smart investment strategies.

3. Improve patient outcomes

Voice intelligence in healthcare helps providers deliver secure, and HIPAA-compliant interactions to ensure a smoother journey for everyone.

You can easily provide preliminary health assessments, medication reminders, and appointment scheduling with a personalized AI touch.

4. Make customers feel included

For educators and institutions, AI-powered voice solutions reduce the need for multilingual tutors, making education more scalable and cost-effective.

Even better? They can act as personalized tutors, adapting to each student’s learning style, and providing clarifications, explanations, and feedback in real time.

Take the first step toward integrating voice intelligence with Plivo-powered AI voice agents 

Integrating voice intelligence into your communication systems can feel daunting, especially with technical bottlenecks, and the risk of sounding too ‘robotic’. 

However, Plivo-powered AI voice agents make it easy. It lets you integrate any speech-to-text provider, LLM model, and text-to-speech provider of your choice, giving you the flexibility to build natural, high-quality AI voice interactions.

Plus, Plivo delivers on two key pillars of exceptional customer interactions, crystal-clear voice quality and reliability. With 99.99% uptime and high-quality 16kHz audio, it ensures reliable communication across 220+ countries and territories.

Whether you use voice agents to preserve emotions, emphasis, and accents, or to handle mid-speech interruptions, Plivo-powered AI voice agents reduce latency and provide real-time responsiveness.

Since the future of voice intelligence lies in context-aware, emotion-driven interactions, it’s time to switch to a provider that offers all that and more. Contact us to learn how thousands of businesses optimize their workflows without disrupting customer experience with Plivo.

As the evening winds down, what's better than a game of your favorite sport? Maybe some badminton?

During your break while playing, you check your phone. A message instantly pops up—not stored in an inbox, not a push notification you can swipe away, but a flash SMS.

It’s a limited-time deal on the badminton shoes you’ve been eyeing, expiring in two hours. You tap the link and complete your purchase.

This is what flash SMS can do—capture attention, create urgency, and drive immediate action. Unlike regular SMS, it ensures that time-sensitive promotions don’t go unnoticed.

So, how do you send a flash SMS that delivers results?

In this article, we’ll cover the key steps to creating a high-converting campaign and best practices for crafting compelling messages.

How do flash SMS promotions work?

Flash SMS, or Class 0 SMS, is a unique text message that instantly pops up on the recipient’s screen without needing to be opened, ensuring immediate visibility. 

Businesses use flash SMS promotions to send urgent, action-driven messages via an SMS platform, making it ideal for time-sensitive promotions. Unlike regular SMS, it bypasses the inbox, grabbing attention and prompting quick customer action.

Since the message stays on-screen until dismissed, customers are more likely to click, redeem offers, or complete purchases quickly.

Here’s how flash messages work:

• Instant visibility: The message pops up on-screen as soon as it’s received
• No inbox clutter: Flash SMS does not get stored unless the recipient actively chooses to save it
• High engagement: Since the message must be dismissed manually, it grabs higher engagement than standard SMS

Use cases for flash sms

Businesses across various industries use them to engage customers, increase sales, and send critical alerts. Below are some key use cases of flash SMS:

1. Flash sales and limited-time discounts 

When running limited-time sales, every second counts. You can instantly inform customers about time-sensitive promotions, prompting quick actions.

Example: A fashion brand running a two-hour sale sends:

"🚀 50% OFF for 2 hours! Tap now before the deal ends → [link]"

2. Urgent alerts and real-time updates

Customers need instant updates for important service changes, like order confirmations, delivery delays, or security alerts. Organizations can use flash SMS to send critical information that requires immediate attention.

Example: A payment service provider sends:

"⚠️ Suspicious login detected on your account. Click here to verify or secure your account → [link]"

Since the message stays on-screen until dismissed, customers take action immediately.

For instance, T-Mobile tested sending emergency alerts via satellite to ensure users receive vital information even when off the grid.

3. Exclusive VIP offers for loyal customers

Brands can reward their most loyal customers with exclusive deals or early access to new products via flash SMS. By sending time-sensitive, personalized offers directly to their screens, businesses can build stronger relationships and increase customer retention.

Example: A cosmetics brand launching a new product line sends:

"💎 VIP early access! Get first dibs on our new collection before anyone else → [link]"

How to set up a high-converting flash SMS campaign

Flash SMS campaigns can deliver higher conversions when executed strategically. Follow these key steps to maximize every message's impact and drive measurable results.

Step 1: Define your campaign goal

Before sending out any messages, clearly define the objective of your campaign. A well-defined goal ensures that your messaging is focused, relevant, and aligned with your business needs.

Are you aiming to:

• Increase sales through a flash sale or limited-time discount?
• Increase engagement with VIP offers or event reminders?
• Create urgency with time-sensitive updates or alerts?

Flash SMS works best when:

✅ You need immediate engagement (e.g., flash sales, limited-time discounts)
✅ Your brand wants to stand out in crowded inboxes and notifications
✅ Your audience responds well to urgent, short-form marketing

However, frequent overuse can lead to customer fatigue, so use flash SMS strategically.

Step 2: Build a targeted audience list

Not all customers respond the same way to promotions. To maximize conversions, segment your audience based on:

• Purchase history: Previous buyers, high-value customers, or first-time shoppers
• Engagement level: Subscribers who interact with past SMS campaigns
• Location & timing: Send messages at optimal hours based on customer time zones

By sending personalized, relevant messages, you increase the likelihood of engagement and action.

Step 3: Craft a clear & actionable message

Since flash SMS messages appear directly on the screen and are not stored, your message must be clear and action-driven.

• Keep it under 160 characters: No room for fluff!
• Use urgency-driven words: “Hurry!,” “Limited time,” “Only today”
• Include a strong CTA: “Shop now,” “Claim your deal,” or “Reserve your spot”

Example messages:

🚀 FLASH SALE! 40% OFF sitewide for 2 hours only! Shop now → [link]
⚡ EXCLUSIVE! VIP early access to our new collection. Tap to shop → [link]

Step 4: Optimize timing & frequency

Flash SMS works best when timing aligns with customer behavior and purchasing patterns. Sending messages too early or too late can reduce effectiveness, while poorly timed promotions may go unnoticed. 

Consider:

• Peak activity hours: Send messages when customers are most likely to engage (e.g., lunch breaks, evenings)
• Urgency-based timing: Align messages with last-minute reminders for ongoing sales
• Avoiding spam: Sending too many messages can lead to opt-outs. Balance frequency for maximum impact

Step 5: Choose a reliable flash SMS platform

A successful flash SMS campaign requires a robust SMS marketing platform that can handle high-volume messaging with zero delays. 

Prioritize an SMS provider that offers instant message delivery, automation features, and real-time analytics to optimize performance and engagement.

When evaluating a platform, look for:

• High delivery speed: Messages should appear on the recipient’s screen immediately to create urgency
• Advanced analytics: Real-time tracking of open rates, click-throughs, and conversions helps measure success
• Automation capabilities: Features like scheduling, segmentation, and personalized messaging improve efficiency
• Regulatory compliance: Ensure the platform adheres to SMS marketing laws and offers opt-in/opt-out functionalities

A well-equipped flash SMS platform can maximize the impact of your campaign by delivering messages at the right time to the right audience. 

Step 6: Test & measure performance

You need to continuously optimize flash SMS campaigns for better results. Track key performance metrics like:

• Open rates: How many recipients saw the message immediately?
• Click-through rates: Did users take action on the link provided?
• Conversion rates: How many purchases or sign-ups resulted from the SMS?

A/B testing different messages, timing, and CTA variations can help refine your campaign for even better results.

Step 7: Ensure compliance 

To maintain trust and legal compliance, follow SMS marketing regulations, such as:

• Obtain user consent before sending promotional messages.
• Provide an opt-out option (e.g., “Reply STOP to unsubscribe”).
• Avoid misleading content or overly aggressive messaging.

Best practices to maximize flash SMS conversion rates

A high-impact flash SMS campaign requires careful planning, targeted messaging, and real-time optimization. By following best practices, you build customer trust while ensuring long-term engagement:

Personalize messages for higher engagement

Flash SMS grabs attention instantly, but driving action requires relevance and urgency. Personalization in SMS is a proven strategy for higher engagement. 

Customers are 90% more likely to complete a purchase after receiving a personalized SMS.

Why it works: Personalized SMS messages make recipients feel valued and increase their likelihood of acting on the offer.

Example: "Hey Alex! Your exclusive 20% off coupon expires in 2 hours. Don’t miss out! Shop now 👉 [link]"

How to do it:

• Use the recipient’s first name to create a sense of familiarity
• Reference previous purchases to suggest relevant offers
• Offer exclusive discounts to repeat customers

Keep the message urgent and actionable

A well-timed flash SMS pushes customers to act on the spot. The key is to create a sense of urgency that makes hesitation feel like a missed opportunity.

Why it works: When customers see an offer that won’t last or an exclusive deal with limited availability, they’re more likely to act fast.

Examples:
"Only 50 spots left! Claim your exclusive VIP deal now → [link]"
"Deal ends in 2 hours! Shop now before it’s gone → [link]"

How to do it:

• Use countdowns to emphasize urgency ("Only 10 t-shirts left!)
• Highlight limited stock to create scarcity ("Deal ends in 1 hour!")
• Add words like "Hurry," "Only," "Last chance," and "Expiring soon" to drive immediate action.

Ensure a good mobile experience

Flash SMS with a poorly optimized landing page can break the conversion flow. More than 58% of website traffic comes from mobile devices. If your landing page doesn’t load quickly or is difficult to navigate, they’re likely to abandon the purchase.

How to do it:

• Optimize landing pages for fast loading speeds (aim for under 3 seconds)
• Use a clear, single CTA button to drive instant action
• Ensure the checkout process is seamless on mobile devices

Monitor performance and optimize campaigns

Even the most well-crafted flash SMS campaigns need ongoing optimization to maintain high conversion rates. 

Real-time tracking helps identify what’s working, whether it’s the messaging, timing, or audience segmentation—so businesses can fine-tune their approach.

Optimization strategy:

• Test different CTA formats (“Shop Now” vs. “Claim Your Deal”)
• Adjust send times (lunchtime vs. evening)
• Segment audiences based on engagement history

Key metrics to track:

• Open rates – How many recipients viewed the message?
• Click-Through Rates (CTR) – How many clicked the link?
• Conversion rates – How many completed a purchase?

Why businesses trust Plivo CX for high-impact flash SMS campaigns 

Remember the badminton break scenario? 

A flash SMS offer appeared instantly, grabbing attention and leading to an immediate purchase—no inbox clutter, no delays, just action. Now imagine that same impact at scale, reaching thousands of customers and ensuring every time-sensitive promotion is seen and acted on at the right moment.

That’s where Plivo CX comes in. Running a high-impact flash SMS campaign requires more than just sending messages—it demands precision, automation, and real-time tracking to drive results.

As a robust omnichannel SMS marketing platform, Plivo CX provides businesses with instant message delivery, real-time tracking, and advanced automation to drive immediate customer action. With data-driven insights, businesses can optimize their flash messaging for maximum engagement and conversions.

Here’s what Plivo CX can do to your SMS marketing campaign:

•  E-commerce integrations: Connect with e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento to personalize and send SMS directly from your e-commerce system.
• Send messages at the perfect moment: Automate and schedule messages at optimal timings across time zones to ensure your messages reach customers at the perfect moment for maximum impact.

• Leverage customer browsing behavior: Plivo CX uses session data to send personalized product recommendations and time-sensitive offers based on customer interests. This leads to higher engagement and conversions.
• Instant campaign alerts: Keep customers engaged with timely updates on product launches, flash sales, restocks, and new arrivals. Sending real-time alerts ensures they never miss out on exclusive, limited-time offers.

• Create high-impact SMS with AI: With our Copywriter AI feature, generate compelling SMS messages instantly using pre-built templates and smart suggestions. This improves SMS deliverability.

• Customer segmentation: With Plivo CX’s Audience feature, leverage purchase history, spending habits, and engagement data to segment customers and send targeted SMS.

With Plivo’s premium carrier network spanning 220+ countries, businesses can deliver SMS instantly and at scale, reducing costs by up to 70% while tripling ROI. 

On average, Plivo CX users generate $71 for every $1 spent, making it a powerful customer engagement tool for high-impact, time-sensitive messaging.

Maximize the impact of your time-sensitive SMS campaigns with a platform built for speed, precision, and engagement. Schedule a free demo today!

Not knowing their order shipping status is quite frustrating for any online shopper, especially for time-sensitive orders. Order SMS updates are crucial to maintain trust and improve customer experience. 

In fact, 83% of shoppers look for regular text updates about their order shipping status. 

In this post, we will share a step-by-step guide covering the type of SMS order updates, how to set it up, and best practices for effective implementation.

Type of effective SMS order updates

Regular SMS alerts/reminders at different stages are crucial to keep customers engaged. Here are the main stages that you must cover: 

1. Order confirmation

The first step is to send an order confirmation SMS as soon as the order is placed. This gives the customer reassurance that the order is confirmed. 

This message typically contains the customer name, order number, and product name. You can also provide some basic details on shipping or estimated delivery time in this message. 

Order confirmation SMS template

Hi [Customer Name],  Your order #[Order Number] for [Product name] is confirmed. Your order will be shipped soon, and we'll send you a tracking link once it's on its way. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. Thanks for shopping with us!

2. Shipping update

You can send a shipping update once the order is dispatched. This message usually contains the order number, product name, tracking link, and expected delivery date. 

This proactive SMS ensures that customers are not left wondering where their order is. 

Shipping update SMS template

Hi [Customer Name],  Your order #[Order Number] for [Product name] is shipped and is expected to be delivered by [Expected delivery date]. Track it here [Tracking link]. 

3. Delivery update

A delivery update is sent once the product is out for delivery. This message helps consumers plan their availability to receive the product. 

This typically contains the order number, product name, and estimated delivery time.

Delivery update SMS template

Hi [Customer Name],  Your order #[Order Number] for [Product name] is out for delivery by [Time window].  If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us at [Customer support number].

4. Delivery confirmation

A delivery confirmation SMS is sent after the order is delivered. It often includes a link with a feedback form or support number to contact in case of any issues. 

Delivery confirmation SMS template

Your order #[Order Number] of [Product name] has been delivered successfully. We hope you enjoy your purchase! Please share your delivery experience [Delivery feedback]. If you have any questions or concerns, contact customer support at [Customer support number].

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How to set up automated SMS order updates

Here is a step-by-step guide to creating a reliable automated SMS update system: 

1. Choose an SMS marketing platform

The first step is to choose an SMS marketing platform to deliver the messages. Some key considerations to decide on an SMS marketing platform are:

• Can the platform be integrated with your eCommerce store?
• Is the pricing in your budget?
• Does the platform allow setting up automated SMS workflows?
• Is the SMS deliverability high and reliable?

2. Integrate with eCommerce platform

Once the SMS platform is finalized, you can integrate it with your eCommerce store. This integration will give the SMS platform access to the required data to send order updates. 

3. Set up automated SMS messages

Post integration, you define automated workflows to send messages when a new order is placed or the status changes of any existing order. In these automated workflows, you can set up trigger events and respective messages for the trigger. These trigger events would be:

• Order placed
• Order shipped
• Order out for delivery
• Order delivered

The platform will automatically send messages whenever a trigger hits.

4. Test and refine messages

You can track the key metrics to optimize your SMS updates further. These metrics can mainly be open rate or click rate.

Best practices for implementing SMS order updates

Follow these best practices to design effective SMS order updates:

1. Cover all order stages

Provide clear and consistent communication throughout the entire order process, from order confirmation to shipping and delivery, so customers are always aware of their order's status.

2. Keep the message concise and relevant

Customers want a quick note, so keep the message crisp with necessary details (Order number, estimated delivery date, tracking link).

3. Personalize message

For a better experience, personalize the message with specific customer/order information. 

For instance, don't just mention the order number in the message. Instead, add the product name so customers are aware of which order you're talking about in the message. 

4. Use a reliable SMS provider

You cannot afford poor deliverability in order status SMS. Imagine sending an order confirmation promising a shipping link upon dispatch, only for that crucial shipping update to go undelivered. 

That's not the type of experience customers expect, nor does any eCommerce platform want to deliver. This inconsistency frustrates customers and reflects poorly on your brand. To avoid such issues, you can choose an SMS provider with high deliverability. 

5. Add branding to SMS

Add brand details to SMS so customers can immediately recognize the brand. Some branding elements can be:

• Register your business name as the sender ID rather than using a general long code number
• Create brand voice guidelines for consistent tone and style for messages
• Start or end messages with your brand name

Send SMS order updates on autopilot with Plivo CX

Plivo CX simplifies SMS marketing for eCommerce businesses. Our no-code journey builder allows you to automate order updates easily.  

Seamlessly integrate Plivo CX with Shopify, and then you can create automated SMS order update workflows using a drag-and-drop interface – no coding required.

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Apart from the effective journey creation, Plivo CX also supports:

✅Getting customers to opt-in

✅Segmenting subscribers

✅Creating campaigns with in-built templates and AI copywriter

✅Scheduling marketing campaigns with AI assistance

✅Launching ad-hoc campaigns with ease

✅Building reports of campaigns

You get an end-to-end solution that also complies with all industry and government regulations. 

Further, we do not rely on external carriers and use our internal premium carrier network. This capability enables you to send messages to over 220 countries/territories with higher deliverability for as little as $0.0065. 

The best thing is, you can easily cut your SMS marketing costs by up to 70%.

Want to create SMS order updates campaigns quickly? 

Schedule a demo today to explore the powerful features of Plivo CX.

You might not realize it, but these subtle signs could mean you're experiencing burnout at work:

• 🤔 The “huh” exclamations when a new query ping comes in
• 😤 Getting easily irritated by almost anything
• ⚠️ Making routine mistakes that could normally have been avoided
• 📢 Raising your voice at customers
• 😐 Feeling unenthusiastic when handling customer queries
• 🏢📉 Reduced engagement levels, even while in the office

According to WHO, these signs of customer service burnout can also lead to chronic stress that spells doom for employee wellbeing. Picking these pointers up early can help minimize damage to your business and agents.

In this article, we’ll discuss the causes of customer service burnout, its impact on your business, and how to reduce or avoid it with AI.

Causes of customer service burnout

According to a 2022 McKinsey report, one in four employees experiences burnout. For customer support teams, this is usually a result of ticket overload, handling many of the same tasks every day, inadequate resources and support, and a toxic work environment.

High ticket loads due to rapid scaling

Scaling is essential for every business. 

However, it becomes problematic when your team size and resources remain the same. Imagine managing over a thousand queries, up from a few dozen per day, with just five agents. That means each agent has to handle about 200 tickets every day, compared to the previous 20.

This increases the workload and pressure on your team, even if the salary is appropriate. Your agents exhaust themselves to meet a set target, which leads to burnout in the long run. 

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Handling repetitive tasks

Customer service may seem routine, but the daily tasks can quickly become overwhelming:

• Responding to routinely asked questions
• Processing refunds
• Escalating complaints to a higher level
• Manually updating customer details
• Retrieving customer data
• Managing order status inquiries

First, these repetitive tasks gulp 10% to 25% of your agent’s productive time. Moreover, constantly handling the same inquiries without variety or meaningful engagement makes the job feel monotonous and mentally exhausting. 

Over time, this lack of stimulation can reduce motivation, increase stress levels, lead to burnout, and eventually impact the quality of customer interactions.

Inadequate technical support and training

Untrained or improperly trained agents struggle to handle customer queries effectively, leading to frustration, stress, and a feeling of being overwhelmed. 

When agents feel overwhelmed, their performance suffers, creating a ripple effect: customers become frustrated due to poor service, and overall satisfaction declines. 

Agents, already struggling to keep up, may face backlash from both frustrated customers and unsympathetic management. Over time, this cycle of stress, blame, and dissatisfaction erodes morale and also causes burnout.

At the same time, inadequate or outdated support tools and AI-powered technical solutions mean your agents have to execute most tasks manually. This results in human errors, repetitive tasks that become monotonous, and inefficiency in delivery.

Toxic work culture and environment

Work culture becomes toxic when unrealistic expectations, a lack of recognition and appreciation for milestones met, illegal demands for overtime, unhealthy cutthroat competition fostered by the company, and poor team communication lead to disputes.

These reasons also contribute to a toxic work environment and workplace tension, which inevitably causes burnout.

Impact of customer service burnout on organizations

According to Gallup's often-cited burnout report, 76% of employees experience burnout occasionally, and 63% are more likely to take sick leave because of this.

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But burnout affects more than just your agents. It can also affect your company, often manifesting as decreased team productivity, increased staff turnover, customer dissatisfaction, and declining ROI.

Decreased productivity and morale

Burnout keeps your employees from their best, with many of them spending more time on a task than usual or getting stuck in a cycle of customers’ frustrated complaints. 

This is even more prevalent in younger employees, according to meQ. Under-30 employees are 62% more likely to report stress-impaired productivity than older employees older than 60.

When a significant number of your first-line support staff members break down under stress, others who are not affected by burnout have to step in to handle deficits. They eventually become overwhelmed as well, and the cycle continues until the whole team’s productivity and work morale take a significant dip.

Increased staff turnover

Chronic stress results in increased sick leave and absenteeism from work. But it can trigger worse outcomes—staff turnover. 

In a study conducted by UKG, one-third of affected GenZ employees may resign. Agents in the millennial age group are also likely to opt in for stability over continuous work strain on their mental health, and this often means quitting.

Increased staff turnover creates a void in your support team’s structure, leading to heavier workloads for the remaining agents and declining service quality. As experienced employees leave, valuable knowledge and expertise are lost, forcing your HR team to train new hires who may struggle to keep up constantly.

Customer dissatisfaction

A highly stressed customer service team and burnout support reps will provide subpar support. This can take the form of delayed response times, unsatisfactory resolutions, or aggressive communications between your service rep and a customer, resulting in poor service delivery and a bad customer experience.

65% of customers switch to another brand after a bad experience, so burnout ultimately increases your customer turnover rate.

Declining organizational ROI

High staff and customer turnover, recurring training and onboarding costs, and increased customer acquisition costs increase avoidable expenses. A recent Gallup analysis also shows that absenteeism can cost businesses $340 per employee per missed workday.

But besides the expenses, every customer lost as a result of agent burnout means lost revenue. Customers with bad experiences also write bad reviews that can damage your reputation and prevent other prospects from patronizing your business. 

Avoiding this is crucial, given that four in ten consumers use online reviews as their main channel of finding a product or even buying.

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Reducing burnout in customer support: 4 effective ways

Reducing burnout among your customer support team members can help boost staff retention, improve service delivery, and scale your ROI. Let’s talk about four ways to do that.

1. Recognize the warning signs and causes 

Burnout often goes unnoticed at workplaces, and your agents might not bother talking about it because they don’t want to risk their jobs. So, it’s crucial to recognize the subtle signs, such as decreased productivity, routine mistakes, exhaustion, disengagement, and a lack of motivation.

Frequent clashes with other support reps or customers are also a pointer. Instead of being critical, step in to understand why and implement measures to address them, including providing time off if necessary.

2. Create a feedback chain between the team and organization leaders

Design a system that allows your agents to report factors that predispose to burnout like excess ticket allocations or unrealistic performance expectations. This could be a monthly survey, digital feedback integrated with every employee’s dashboard, and traditional office boxes. 

The feedback should also be optionally anonymous to avoid job threats from indicted employees, including team leads and managers. Review each entry carefully and respond to your support team. You can also host bi-monthly review sessions or open spaces to collect live feedback and make your agents feel heard.

3. Establish a healthy working environment and culture

Identify factors such as unrealistic expectations, lack of recognition and appreciation for milestones met, illegal demands for overtime, unhealthy cut-throat competitions, and eliminate them. 

Create a gamified reward system which recognizes and appreciates your agents for every milestone crossed. For instance, if an agent resolves ten complex queries on a streak without any callbacks from customers on the same issue, that deserves a shoutout or a monetized reward. 

Address overtime and moderate expectations—your agents are humans, not bots. Also, build a healthy culture by introducing engaging off-work activities such as team outings, wellness programs, casual game nights, and mindfulness sessions. 45% of employees say vacations work for them. 

Engaged employees are 71% less likely to experience burnout.

4. Moderate workload per agent as much as possible

Scale your customer support team according to your business needs. The more customers you onboard, the more queries you will receive and the more hands you will need to handle them. 

Most importantly, recognize that each agent has a different capacity for handling complaints—so avoid setting a fixed, one-size-fits-all quota. A better approach is to assess each agent’s past productivity based on their previous performance data. Use this information to assign workloads more effectively, ensuring that agents are neither overwhelmed nor underutilized.  

AI solutions for customer service burnout

Effective utilization of solutions integrated with AI in customer service helps eliminate burnout proactively and boosts productivity by up to 66%. Let’s see how it works.

1. Integrate Chatbots to handle routine requests

AI-powered chatbots can manage routine L1 tasks such as processing order status inquiries, resetting passwords, answering recurring questions, handling basic troubleshooting, updating account details, and guiding customers through simple self-service options. 

This prevents ticket overload and helps your agents focus on managing a few complex requests that bots cannot handle.

As an omnichannel customer service platform with several AI-powered features, Plivo CX offers an OpenAI-powered self-service chatbot. It is designed to take the pressure off your team, escalate difficult queries to agents, and reduce time to resolution.

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2. Use a routing system to assign tickets to appropriate agents

AI-driven routing systems intelligently assign tickets to the right agents by analyzing customer data, agent availability, performance metrics, and the complexity of the query. This helps to reduce burnout by ensuring that workloads are distributed fairly and preventing individual agents from being overwhelmed with difficult or excessive tasks.

Plivo CX offers a powerful automation workflow builder to help you design skill-based routing pathways, which ensures tickets are routed to appropriate agents, in addition. Plivo CX’s in-app customer service solution utilizes customer data to allocate live chats to your support team members.

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3. Employ GenAI to assist agents

There are moments when you’re stuck and unsure of how to respond to a customer, particularly during peak hours when there’s an influx of customer queries. 

Generative AI leverages existing data to curate a relevant reply, which your agents can modify if necessary and send right away. By reducing response time and cognitive load, GenAI thus minimizes stress, prevents decision fatigue, and helps agents stay focused—ultimately reducing burnout.

You can use solutions like Plivo CX’s in-app customer service, which equips your agents with the best snippets to use every time and enables them to give quicker, more accurate responses.

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Reduce customer service burnout with Plivo CX

Plivo CX’s in-app customer service solution lets you seamlessly integrate AI-powered chatbots into your apps. This bot reduces burnout by automating routine and monotonous requests so your agents can focus on core customer inquiries. 

With a built-in data-routing feature, your chatbots can efficiently escalate and assign live chats to the most suitable agents, ensuring fair distribution and accelerating resolution times.

Plivo CX also offers:

• Unified communication: Manage all customer conversations across channels like email, voice, SMS, WhatsApp, and live chat from a single, intuitive dashboard.
• Effortless workflow design: Visually build custom workflows and automation with a drag-and-drop interface, no coding required.
• Seamless integrations: Connect Plivo CX service with your existing tools, including CRM, ERP, helpdesk, and homegrown systems.
• Data-driven optimization: Track real-time analytics and generate custom reports to gain insights into customer interactions and agent performance.
• AI-enhanced efficiency: Prioritize urgent tickets, ensure brand consistency, provide timely updates, and adapt quickly to changes with AI-powered support and proactive service.
• Rich communication: Enhance interactions with multimedia support, including images, videos, and documents.
• Increased productivity: Streamline workflows with message templates, internal notes, and skills-based routing.
• Comprehensive features: Leverage call recording and barge-in for agent coaching, customizable IVR, multi-language support, and robust security features.

To learn more, book a demo now!

Every SMS marketing campaign depends on a singular, fundamental factor—successful message delivery. Businesses rely on SMS to engage their audience effectively, whether it’s a promotional offer, a transactional update, or an appointment reminder. 

But what happens when a message doesn’t reach its intended recipient?

SMS delivery reports provide critical insights into message status, helping businesses track success rates and optimize their communication strategy. 

With global A2P (application-to-person) SMS revenues projected to reach $78 million by 2027, understanding delivery trends is more crucial than ever.

In this article, we’ll break down how SMS delivery reports work, the key insights they offer, common reasons for delivery failures, and best practices to improve SMS deliverability. 

How do SMS delivery reports work?

An SMS delivery report (DLR) is a status notification that confirms whether a sent message has been successfully delivered to the recipient's device.

These reports provide real-time updates on the status of messages sent and help businesses track whether their messages are successfully delivered, pending, or failed. They offer key insights to optimize SMS marketing and customer communication.

Imagine an e-commerce store sending an order confirmation SMS to a customer. If the message is marked as "Delivered," the store knows the customer has received it. However, if the status shows "Failed" or "Pending," they can investigate—was it a wrong number, carrier issue, or the recipient’s phone turned off? 

With this insight, the business can resend messages, update contact lists, or optimize delivery times to ensure critical updates reach customers efficiently.

For businesses relying on SMS for engagement, SMS delivery reports serve as a performance checkpoint, ensuring messages reach their intended recipients. 

By analyzing these reports, companies can refine their messaging strategies, improve deliverability, and enhance customer interactions.

Key insights from SMS delivery reports

Each SMS sent goes through a verification process that determines its final status. By understanding the different delivery statuses, businesses can fine-tune their SMS strategies for better engagement and higher conversion rates.

Here’s what the different SMS delivery reports indicate:

1. Delivered ✅

• The message has successfully reached the recipient’s mobile device
• Indicates a functional phone number and a network that accepted the message

2. Failed ❌

• The message could not be delivered due to issues like:
  
  • Invalid or deactivated phone number
  • Network errors or carrier restrictions
  • The recipient’s phone being switched off for an extended period
• Businesses should monitor failed messages to clean contact lists and improve targeting

3. Pending ⏳

• The message is still in transit and waiting for a final status update
• Common reasons include:
  
  • Temporary network congestion
  • The recipient’s device is turned off or out of coverage
  • Carrier delays in processing the message
• Pending messages may eventually be delivered or fail depending on network conditions

4. Rejected 🚫

• The message was actively blocked by the carrier or recipient’s device
• Possible reasons:
  
  • The recipient is on a Do Not Disturb (DND) list
  • The carrier has spam filters that flag the message
  • The recipient manually blocked SMS from the sender
• To minimize rejections, businesses should comply with SMS regulations and ensure recipients have opted in

5. Unknown ❓

• The final delivery status could not be determined
• Possible reasons:
  
  • No response from the recipient’s carrier
  • The message was sent but the carrier failed to report its status
• Since unknown statuses can create uncertainty, businesses should monitor trends and optimize their SMS routing strategy

Why SMS delivery reports matter:

• Helps businesses identify delivery issues and improve audience targeting
• Ensures higher SMS engagement rates by removing inactive numbers
• Enables businesses to adjust message content to avoid spam filters

By analyzing SMS delivery reports, businesses can gain a data-driven advantage in their SMS campaigns. This ensures higher deliverability and reduced SMS delivery failures.

Common reasons for SMS delivery failures

Even with a reliable SMS gateway, some messages fail to reach recipients due to various reasons. Here are the most common issues:

How to use SMS delivery reports for better engagement

Businesses can optimize messaging strategies by analyzing delivery report data. Here’s how you can use SMS delivery reports strategically to refine your engagement tactics:

Fixing failed message issues

If your delivery reports show a high percentage of failed messages, it’s a clear sign that something needs fixing. Monitoring these reports helps businesses identify patterns and address issues like invalid numbers or carrier restrictions.

96% of consumers have felt annoyed by SMS marketing messages, which can lead them to block senders or mark messages as spam, further reducing deliverability. Regularly reviewing delivery reports ensures your messages don’t get lost in spam filters.

Sending messages at the right time

Timing directly affects SMS engagement and deliverability. Analyzing delivery reports helps identify when recipients are most likely to respond. Messages sent too early or too late may be ignored, while poorly timed promotions can lead to higher opt-out rates.

For example, Papa Murphy’s, a take-and-bake pizza brand, used SMS campaigns strategically by offering discounts during slow business hours, leading to a 17% increase in in-store traffic. 

By using delivery reports to track response patterns, businesses can fine-tune their messaging schedules to maximize impact.

Optimizing SMS content to avoid spam filters

To improve SMS deliverability, focus on clarity, value, and relevance. Messages should be concise, legally compliant, and free from spam triggers. 

Instead of generic promotions, personalize content based on user behavior, purchase history, or location to increase engagement.

For example, instead of a vague discount offer, send:
"Hey [Name], your favorite sneakers are back in stock! Grab them now with 10% off: [link]"

Segment audiences for higher deliverability

Not all customers engage with messages in the same way. Using delivery reports to segment audiences based on engagement and preferences ensures that messages are relevant. 

This increases the likelihood of successful delivery and customer interaction.

Example 1: VIP customers (Frequent buyers)

"Hey [Name], as a valued customer, here’s early access to our exclusive sale!  Enjoy 25% off before anyone else. Shop now 👉 [Link]"

Example 2: Inactive customers (Haven’t purchased in a while)

"Hi [Name], it’s been a while! We’ve got 15% off just for you to make your comeback special. Use code WELCOME15 at checkout. 🛒 Shop now 👉 [Link]"

Reduce costs by eliminating invalid numbers

Failed delivery reports indicate inactive or incorrect numbers. Removing these from your list ensures you’re not wasting resources on undeliverable messages, improving both cost efficiency and targeting accuracy.

Best practices for improving SMS delivery rate

Improving SMS delivery rates is crucial for effective communication and customer engagement. Implementing these best practices helps ensure messages reach the right audience without delays or failures.

A healthy clean contact list = Higher deliverability

Keeping a clean and updated SMS contact list is essential for improving delivery rates and reducing message failures. 47% of U.S. millennials appreciate receiving SMS messages from brands they've opted into, emphasizing the importance of targeting engaged subscribers.

Regularly removing invalid numbers, duplicate contacts, and inactive subscribers ensures messages reach the right audience. This minimizes delivery failures and compliance risks. 

A well-maintained SMS list enhances engagement, reduces costs, and improves overall SMS campaign performance.

Send SMS when customers are ready to act

Beyond analyzing past reports, businesses should proactively test and refine their messaging times. A/B testing different send times and tracking responses can help identify optimal engagement windows.

For U.S. audiences, compliance with TCPA regulations is important. Messages should not be sent before 8 AM or after 9 PM in the recipient’s time zone. While mid-afternoon tends to perform well, avoiding Mondays and peak rush hours can prevent messages from being overlooked. 

By continuously optimizing send times, businesses can enhance engagement, minimize opt-outs, and ensure compliance as well.

Failed or delivered? Use reports to refine your SMS strategy

Utilizing delivery reports allows businesses to track the success of their SMS campaigns. Companies can spot trends, identify issues, and adjust strategies by analyzing these reports. 

For example, if many messages are undelivered, it may indicate issues with carrier compatibility or the need for content optimization.

Follow the regulations to improve SMS delivery

Following TCPA and GDPR regulations is crucial for SMS deliverability and customer trust. Businesses must obtain explicit consent before sending marketing messages, ensuring compliance and avoiding penalties.

Using double opt-in confirms subscriber interest, reducing spam complaints and improving engagement rates. A well-managed opt-in/out process keeps your SMS list clean, enhances deliverability, and builds long-term customer relationships.

Choose a reliable SMS gateway

Partnering with a trusted SMS gateway ensures high deliverability and reliable message transmission. A reputable provider offers strong infrastructure, regulatory compliance, and carrier relationships to prevent message failures and filtering issues.

Plivo CX, an advanced omnichannel SMS marketing platform, helps businesses optimize message delivery, track performance, and engage customers with precision. 

With AI-driven insights and intelligent segmentation, brands can improve SMS deliverability, reduce costs, and maximize campaign success effortlessly.

Elevate your SMS strategy with Plivo CX delivery tracking report

Many businesses struggle with SMS delivery issues due to failed messages, spam filters, or poor timing. These challenges can lead to missed opportunities, reduced engagement, and wasted marketing budget. 

Without real-time insights, identifying why messages fail and how to fix them becomes difficult.

Plivo CX simplifies SMS campaign management, providing businesses with real-time delivery insights, AI-powered automation, and intelligent customer segmentation to optimize messaging strategies and improve deliverability.

Whether you’re sending promotional offers, transactional updates, or appointment reminders, Plivo CX helps you automate and personalize your SMS outreach, ensuring every message counts.

Here’s why Plivo CX is the smart choice for reliable and data-driven SMS campaigns:

• Performance insights: Plivo CX tracks key campaign metrics to measure ROI and optimize delivery, as well as your SMS strategy. Get real-time insights to see what works and adjust for better engagement and conversions.

• Seamless E-commerce integrations: Integrate with e-commerce stores like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Magento to personalize SMS campaigns and send SMS directly from your e-commerce system.
• Timely engagement: Schedule messages strategically across time zones to maximize deliverability and engagement. Schedule messages at optimal times across time zones.

• Leverage browsing behavior: Use session data to send personalized offers and product recommendations based on customer interests. Tailored messages increase engagement and drive higher conversion rates.
• Craft engaging messages:  With Copywriter AI, generate and send messages instantly, ensuring they reach recipients at the right time. Use AI-driven suggestions and pre-built templates to create personalized SMS messages that improve deliverability and customer engagement.

• Customer segmentation: Use the Audience feature and segment your customers using purchase history, spending habits, and engagement data for better targeting. Smart segmentation ensures the right message reaches the right customer at the right time.

• Welcome new customers: Make a great first impression with personalized welcomes and exclusive discounts for new subscribers. Start building customer loyalty from day one with engaging, value-driven messages.

• Send campaign announcements: Keep your audience in the loop with product launches, flash sales, restocks, and new arrivals. Timely updates ensure customers never miss out on limited-time offers.

With Plivo’s premium carrier network covering 220+ countries, businesses can cut SMS costs by up to 70% while tripling ROI. On average, Plivo CX users generate $71 for every $1 spent, making it a powerful tool for e-commerce businesses.

Don’t let failed messages impact your business. Take control of your SMS strategy, improve deliverability, and maximize engagement with Plivo CX.

Book a free demo today and experience smarter, more effective SMS marketing! 

“We’re closed at the moment. Please reach out again during our business hours.”

Imagine contacting customer support in an emergency, and this is how they respond. Frustrating?

According to The Consumer  Patience Study, 50% of customers are less likely to spend money on a business that takes longer to respond. If you’re unavailable when your customers need you, your competitors will be.

That’s why 24/7 customer support is critical for e-commerce businesses. It keeps customers engaged, reduces cart abandonment, and drives repeat sales.

So, how do you ensure your customers get the help they need anytime, anywhere? This blog post will show you how to implement effective 24/7 customer service that keeps your business running and your customers returning.

5 ways to offer 24/7 customer service as an e-commerce business

Data from The Harvard Business Review revealed that taking longer than five minutes to respond to a lead can reduce your lead qualification success rate by 10 times. Delaying your response to between five and ten minutes can result in a 400% drop in success. 

Here are five practical ways to deliver 24/7 customer service and enhance customer satisfaction.

Chatbots

Chatbots can simulate human-like conversations with customers in real time. They can guide customers toward resolving their issues and handle tasks like order tracking, product recommendations, and FAQs. 

For small and mid-sized e-commerce businesses, chatbots are a cost-effective way to deliver 24/7 customer service without hiring additional staff. 

In fact, data from Leadoo shows that websites using chatbots can boost conversion rates by 10-100%.

Brooklinen employs AI-powered chatbots on its website to assist customers with product inquiries, order tracking, and common support questions. The bots are available 24/7 to provide assistance outside regular business hours.

Omnichannel Communication

Customers reach out through multiple channels—email, chat, phone, and social media—and want a consistent experience no matter what channel they use. 

Omnichannel support ensures customers don’t have to repeat information or start from the beginning whenever they switch channels. This approach can help e-commerce businesses maintain context and personalized support while being available on multiple platforms to offer round-the-clock customer support.

Orvis, a fishing gear and apparel brand, has a great omnichannel strategy. It is so good that they have literally won an award for it.

The channels used include:

• Retail locations
• Online website
• Social media platforms, including Instagram and Pinterest
• Amazon storefront

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Self-service options

Self-service options empower customers to solve issues on their own. This includes embedding resources like help centers, in-app tutorials and knowledge bases within your website.

A good self-service resource is well-organized, up-to-date, and easy to navigate. It typically includes helpful information about your products. This could be guides, videos, FAQs or blog posts available 24/7, even when your team is not.

Allbirds, known for their sustainable shoes, offers a comprehensive FAQ section covering everything from sizing to returns. It also features an articles section that discusses trends and guides customers in finding the proper footwear for different occasions.

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5. Community forums

Never underestimate the power of active community forums. Active online communities are valuable knowledge repositories.

A well-designed forum allows customers to interact and share experiences about products and services. This approach can also greatly reduce the burden on your support team while allowing customers to access information independently 24/7.

Glossier, a beauty brand, maintains an active community space on Reddit where customers discuss products, share beauty tips, and troubleshoot common issues. Businesses can use platforms like Discourse or Reddit to build similar customer communities and maintain a strong online presence that is accessible 24/7.

Social media monitoring

Social media can help you constantly monitor consumer needs and sentiments while expanding your round-the-cloud customer support capabilities. To stay visible on social media, regularly share valuable content, promptly reply to comments and inquiries, and engage in relevant social media conversations. 

This will also allow you to understand how customers perceive your brand while identifying issues early, even outside of business hours.  Addressing concerns before they escalate will foster a reputation for responsiveness among your customers.

II Makiage does it perfectly by replying to user comments smartly. When a prospective customer commented about being confused about foundation shades, it immediately responded with a quiz link to help the user find a suitable shade. 

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7 steps to implement round-the-clock customer support

Here are seven effective steps to help you implement round-the-clock customer support without stretching your team too thin:

1. Analyze your customer base 

If your customer base spans different time zones, round-the-clock customer support is essential to ensure prompt assistance regardless of location. Analyze customer support inquiries to identify peak hours and whether extended support is needed. 

Understanding customer preferences will also help you determine the most effective channels, such as self-service options or personalized phone support. 

2. Evaluate the cost and benefits

Consider the expenses of hiring a 24/7 support team, investing in necessary technology, and providing staff training. Weigh these costs against the potential gains, such as higher customer satisfaction, lower churn rates, and a stronger brand reputation. 

Begin with a limited approach and expand gradually. You don’t need to launch a complete 24/7 support system right away. To gauge the results, try extending support hours or providing live chat during high-traffic periods. As customer demand grows, you can adjust and expand your support accordingly.

3. Choose the right technology

Use technology to deliver efficient 24/7 customer support. Invest in a reliable customer service platform to manage and resolve issues faster. 

Deploy AI-powered chatbots to handle basic questions and simple tasks, allowing your team to focus on more complex problems. Build a detailed knowledge base so your customers can easily find answers independently.

4. Establish clear internal protocols

Create escalation protocols, define response time standards, implement clear communication channels between teams, and develop standardized workflows for dealing with different customer inquiries. 

This will ensure support issues are tracked, routed and resolved systematically, minimizing delays.

5. Set response times based on the query type and channel used

Customer inquiries have varying levels of urgency. Issues like payment failures, order cancellations, or delivery delays need immediate attention, while questions about product details or return policies can allow for more flexible response times. 

You can improve support efficiency by categorizing these queries and assigning them to the right communication channels with clear response time expectations.

For example, live chat can handle urgent concerns like tracking lost packages or fixing checkout errors. Respond to email inquiries for more detailed questions about bulk orders or product specifications. 

Direct customers to community forums for topics like styling tips or user reviews, which aren’t time-sensitive. This method ensures every customer receives prompt and appropriate support based on their needs.

6. Conduct regular staff training

Equip your team with deep product knowledge, good communication skills, and the ability to manage customers in diverse scenarios. The training should cover technical and customer service skills like communication, collaboration, and empathy. Ongoing professional development ensures support staff can provide efficient support at any time of the day.

7. Deploy automation and plan for scalability 

Finally, use AI and automation to speed up assistance and response times. Tools like AI agents and machine learning-driven support solutions can manage a large number of routine inquiries and provide 24/7 customer service.

Best practices for providing 24/ customer service

Industries like e-commerce have a higher expectation of round-the-clock customer support because customers often shop outside traditional business hours and expect immediate assistance for issues such as order tracking, product availability, or payment problems. 

Follow these best practices to ensure you do it right: 

• Clearly communicate support hours: Make your availability easy to find on your website, social media pages, and order confirmation emails. If you serve customers across different time zones, consider listing multiple time slots
• Set response time expectations: Let customers know when to expect a reply during business hours. For example, provide estimated response times for emails or typical wait times for live chat
• Prioritize self-service: A well-structured FAQ page, knowledge base, and order-tracking tool can help customers resolve common issues on their own, reducing the need for direct support
• Use automated responses after hours: Set up auto-replies for emails and AI-powered chat to acknowledge messages received outside business hours. Include helpful links to self-service resources so customers can find answers while they wait
• Respond quickly when available: During business hours, ensure your team addresses inquiries promptly. Fast responses build trust and show customers that their concerns matter
• Extend support during peak periods: If you receive more inquiries during sales events or holiday seasons, consider temporarily extending support hours to manage demand efficiently

Accelerate response times and offer 24/7 support with Plivo CX 

Incorporating 24/7 customer service doesn’t have to mean constant human availability. It’s more about the strategies and tools you use.

Plivo CX can be the perfect support to help you provide seamless customer service, ensuring your customers receive timely assistance even when your team isn’t available. It is an AI-powered, omnichannel customer support platform perfect for small—to mid-sized e-commerce businesses. 

The platform's open AI-powered chatbots can proactively handle customer inquiries 24/7 across multiple communication channels.

Key features include:

• AI self-service chatbots: Offer quick, accurate answers to common inquiries while escalating complex issues with detailed summaries to human agents when necessary
• In-app customer service: Seamlessly exchange media and document exchange for quicker issue resolution and direct live chats to the best-suited agents 
• Omnichannel support: Manage customer interactions across email, SMS, WhatsApp, voice, and live chat from a unified platform, maintaining context and continuity across channels
• Unified agent desktop: Provide agents with a comprehensive view of customer data, allowing them to resolve issues faster and more effectively
• Detailed customer insights: Use AI to analyze conversations and identify opportunities for service improvements and business growth
• Agent training tools: Enhance agent performance with call recordings, real-time feedback, and discreet coaching.

Book a demo with us today!

Imagine a customer buying a product online but wanting to return it in-store. Another shopper visits a physical store and later reaches out to a chatbot for support. Today’s consumers expect a seamless blend of online and offline experiences.

Enterprises must adapt their customer service strategies to meet these expectations. With e-commerce expanding, customers demand flexibility—fast online support, easy in-store pickups, and smooth returns. AI plays a key role in making this possible by providing instant responses and personalizing customer interaction in every way.

This blog post will explore the role of AI in enterprise customer service, real-life use cases, how to implement it and future AI scenarios.

What is AI in customer service for enterprises? 

AI in customer service for enterprises is the use of AI technologies to enhance, automate, and optimize customer interactions at scale. It involves leveraging AI tools and systems such as chatbots, virtual assistants, and machine learning algorithms to provide instant responses, personalize assistance and improve the overall customer experience.

Enterprises use AI to handle large volumes of customer queries, automate customer service workflows, and even predict customer needs before they arise. 

Benefits of AI in customer service

According to a Salesforce report, 83% of customers expect to interact with someone immediately when they contact a company. Thank God for AI; it is possible now.

Here are some ways AI can be beneficial for enterprises:

Hyper-personalized interactions 

AI accesses your company’s data to understand your customers and create interactions that feel personal and more connected. When a customer interacts with a chatbot, AI populates important information such as the customer’s name, location, email address, and preferred language in real time. 

Accordingly, the chatbot or human agent can interact with the customer with contextual information and offer personal assistance as needed.

Round-the-clock availability

Since most enterprises operate globally, customer service cannot be limited to business hours. AI ensures customers receive instant 24/7 assistance regardless of location or time zone. This is possible because AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants simulate human-like conversations without human agents' intervention. 

For instance, Microsoft’s AI-driven customer support helps users troubleshoot technical issues at any hour.

Better productivity and efficiency

Without AI in customer service, agents would be swinging back and forth between screens to view customer history, routing field workers to service locations, and manually typing responses. AI makes this process easy and efficient by giving agents intelligent recommendations, conversational insights, and customer data. 

In fact, AI-based conversational assistants can increase agents' productivity by 14% on average.

Greater scalability

Enterprises keep growing, and so do the demands on customer service operations. AI solutions are designed to scale up and down with fluctuating volumes, keeping consistency and quality reliable. 

For example, during peak seasons like Black Friday or product launches, enterprises such as Amazon and Walmart rely on AI-driven customer support to handle surges in demand without hiring additional staff.

Data-driven insights 

AI can analyze customer calls, emails, and chatbot conversations to determine when an issue is likely to escalate, the time it will take to resolve an issue and whether a customer will require any assistance in the future. 

For instance, if there is a delay in delivery, a chatbot can proactively apprise the customer and offer compensation, such as coupons, to minimize escalations.

Proactive service experience

As previously mentioned, AI can draw information from customers’ warranties, purchase history, and marketing data to determine the best next action. 

To give an example, AI can notify customers when it’s time to renew a subscription, remind them of an appointment, or offer a product upgrade or discount.

Uses of AI in customer service for enterprises

Top-performing enterprises are more likely to benefit from AI. A cloud and business AI survey by PWC revealed that forward-thinking companies are 2x more likely to realize value from AI, with 69% experiencing improved customer service.

Let’s understand how global enterprises are using AI in customer service to improve experiences:

Personal assistance with chatbots

AI-powered chatbots are super-charged assistants that can help you with everything. Whether you're looking for a sweatshirt in the color pink or returning a coffee mug, you ask, and they will deliver. They are also available round the clock, so you don’t have to worry about checking your schedule to chat with them.

One such wonder chatbot is H&M’s AI-powered Kik, which provides fashion recommendations to users. The chatbot uses NLP to understand user requests and offer personalized styling tips. It is available on the Kik messenger app, with 15 million monthly active users.

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Accurate prediction of customer needs

Enterprises use AI to examine social media interactions, browsing history and customer feedback to get a fuller picture of customers. AI can give insights into factors that influence human behavior, such as:

• Emotions and psychology: Feelings and mood when interacting with a chatbot or agent
• Social proof: Recommendations and reviews to influence buying behavior
• Personal values: Ethical considerations that impact buying habits like sustainability

For example, IKEA uses predictive analytics to optimize customer experiences by knowing customer needs before they say it. They analyze the behaviors and preferences of customers to make manufacturing decisions and for range planning.

Sentiment analysis with advanced analytics

Sentiment analysis pulls data from all interactions, such as phone calls, messages, support tickets, and product reviews, to analyze customer interactions and feedback in real time. 

This helps businesses identify negative or positive sentiment drivers and gain insights into customer sentiment. The key goal is understanding a customer’s feelings and emotions towards the brand.

Amazon leverages the power of sentiment analysis to analyze a wide array of customer reviews meticulously. For example, sentiment analysis can uncover patterns when customers consistently praise a specific feature, such as user-friendliness or durability. It then enhances products aligned with customer preferences and incorporates these features into its marketing efforts to establish deeper customer relationships.

Omnichannel support for easier interactions

The omnichannel approach is the gold standard for treating customers in today’s business world. It’s allowing customers to leave one channel and pick up conversations on another as if they never left. This way, customers have a unified experience across platforms and channels.

Crate & Barrel implements an omnichannel to provide a frictionless customer experience. Whenever a consumer logs into their account, the app saves their shopping data so they can access this across multiple devices. This allows customers to continue shopping from where they’ve left.

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Self-service options through knowledge bases

AI-powered self-service bases are a repository of information and tools that allow customers to find solutions independently without waiting for a service agent. They are a standard expectation in business and comprise diverse components such as detailed articles, multimedia content, and mechanisms for user feedback.

eBay has a very well-designed knowledge base that caters to its global customers. It features a search bar and a list of popular articles and categories that customers can browse for information. 

The platform does a great job of providing detailed articles on how to use the platform for new customers. At the end of every article, customers are asked to rate the usefulness of the article.

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How to implement AI in customer service

Follow the steps below to implement and integrate AI in customer service for enterprises:

1. Assess business needs

Identify which areas of your support operations will benefit most from AI integration. Analyze your current processes, customer pain points, and support team challenges to set clear objectives for what you hope to achieve with AI. 

2. Define goals and objectives

Identify common customer queries, concerns, and requests to define goals and objectives. This could be any area of your customer support approach, such as reducing response times, improving first-contact resolution rates, or enhancing overall customer satisfaction.

3. Choose the right AI platform

After identifying your needs and objectives, research various AI tools and platforms that align with your business goals and requirements. Consider important features such as integration capabilities, scalability, and user reviews when assessing different options.

4. Integrate with existing solutions

Now, ensure your tools fit your current customer service setups. This may need API integrations, data syncing, or other technical configurations. Also, conduct pilot tests to identify and address any integration issues before deployment. This will help you resolve potential problems early in the process.

5. Train your agents

Provide ongoing training for your agents on how to use and navigate the AI tools effectively. The training should cover the technical aspects of using the systems and how to collaborate with AI to provide superior customer support. 

Offer frequent training, support and resources to assist your team in transitioning successfully, and ask for feedback on the new processes.

6. Ensure compliance and data privacy

To ensure secure handling and storing of customer data, maintain strict compliance with data protection and privacy regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.

Frequently update privacy policies and practices to comply with changing regulations and be transparent about how customer data is stored and handled.

7. Monitor and optimize regularly

Regularly monitor the effectiveness of your AI-powered customer service system. Evaluate crucial metrics such as response time, CSAT score, and issue resolution rates. Utilize this data to strategize ongoing enhancements and refinements,

Future of AI in customer service 

According to a report by Grand View Research, the growth rate for AI is expected to surge by 36.6% annually between 2023 and 2030.

Let’s understand its role in future customer service operations:

Automation will be the driving force of operations

Enterprises are constantly pushing the boundaries of automation, which will happen more in the coming years. Customers won’t have to wait to interact with a human agent for simple queries. AI-powered automation will handle highly complex tasks with minimal human intervention and streamline internal processes and decision-making workflows.

AI will be an ally, not a competition

With the growing use of AI, people wonder whether it will take their jobs. The answer is simple—no. AI will not replace humans but will work alongside them to boost productivity and streamline processes so they can focus on complex conversations and decisions. 

AI can also help agents refine their tone and approach by offering real-time insights and relevant scripts to guide conversations.

Human care will still matter

Surely, AI can make many things better and work with perfection and accuracy. However, it cannot replicate the human emotions of care and empathy. Customers experience varying emotions when dealing with a customer service agent. AI can detect these emotions, while humans ensure customers feel heard, understood and respected.

Understand your customers better with Plivo CX 

Plivo CX is a cloud-based, AI-driven omnichannel customer service platform designed to help businesses deliver fast, efficient, and personalized customer support. It integrates with your existing tools and systems, ensuring smooth operations across multiple channels. 

Some of its key features include: 

• OpenAI-powered chatbots: Provide instant, accurate responses and escalate issues when needed. Also, train the chatbot using your company’s custom datasets, allowing for precise and relevant responses to customer queries, always.
• In-app customer service: Route live chat to the most appropriate agents. Send and receive media and documents effortlessly for faster resolutions

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• Unified agent desktop: Manage customer interactions across email, voice, SMS, WhatsApp, and live chat in one place
• CRM Integration:  Access customer data from your CRM for more personalized support
• Real-time analytics: Track customer interactions and agent performance for continuous improvement
• Visual workflow builder: Create custom workflows using a no-code drag-and-drop interface
• Interactive voice response (IVR): Automate call routing for faster support
• Agent Coaching Tools: Monitor agent performance with call recording, barge, and whisper features
• Security and Compliance: Protect customer data with enterprise-grade security (SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS)

‍Book a demo to learn more.

The AI agents market is expected to grow from USD 5.1 billion in 2024 to USD 47.1 billion in 2030, with a remarkable CAGR of 44.8%. This growth will not only be seen in AI adoption but also in how they operate. 

For example, in 2023, an AI bot mainly supported call center representatives by synthesizing and summarizing large volumes of data to respond to customer queries. 

However, fast forward to 2025, and an AI agent can do much more. It can converse with a customer and plan actions like processing a payment, checking for fraud, and completing a shipping action.

This blog post will discuss the concept of an AI agent and the best AI agent use cases worldwide to highlight the impressive utilization of AI in customer service.

What is an AI agent? 

An AI agent is a system or program that can autonomously respond to situations and perform tasks based on the information it has. It takes inputs or information from its environment, processes it, and then acts upon it.

AI agents utilize technologies like ML, GenAI, LLM, and NLP to understand and respond to customer needs and streamline the customer experience.

What can AI agents do?

AI agents can perform various operations—from task-specific programs to sophisticated systems integrating perception, reasoning, and decision-making capabilities. 

Most agents follow a specific workflow when performing assigned tasks that include:

Data collection and analysis

The first step is to gather data from various sources, including transaction histories, customer interaction, and social media. It then analyzes the data to understand the context and nuances of customer queries. The agents process the data in real time to provide the most up-to-date information.

Decision-making

AI agents then use sophisticated learning models such as NLP, sentiment analysis, and classification algorithms to identify patterns in the collected data and make decisions. 

In this case, NLP processes and understands user input, sentiment analysis assesses tone and intent, and classification algorithms determine the most appropriate response.  

For example, when managing a support ticket, the AI agent can assess its content and urgency to decide whether to resolve it automatically or escalate it to a human agent.

Action execution

Once a decision is made, the AI agents implement the task through their output interfaces. This could include responding to customer queries, processing requests, updating databases, or sending commands to other systems. 

For example, they could send automated troubleshooting steps, route the ticket to a specialized department, or flag it for immediate human attention.

Adapt from interaction

AI agents continuously learn and adapt from each interaction, refining their algorithms to improve accuracy and effectiveness. This may include updating knowledge bases and using feedback to enhance future interactions. 

The continuous learning capability ensures that AI agents remain relevant to changing customer expectations and business environments.

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Top AI agents use cases in customer service

“The playing field is poised to become a lot more competitive, and businesses that don’t deploy AI and data to help them innovate in everything they do will be at a disadvantage.”

—Paul Daugherty, chief technology and innovation officer, Accenture

Let’s understand how top companies worldwide are leveraging AI to offer outstanding customer service with these AI agent use cases:

Personalized recommendations by Amazon

Amazon‘s AI agents personalize your shopping by analyzing your activity and recommending products on the homepage, product pages, and emails.

Here are some ways it personalizes user experience :

• Product recommendations: Based on user browsing and purchase history, Amazon suggests relevant products
• Personalized descriptions: Product details are tailored to highlight features you care about
• Size recommendations: To recommend the ideal fit, the agents examine brand sizing, customer feedback, and a shopper's purchase history
• Fit review highlights: AI agents can extract key insights from customer reviews, helping you decide if an item runs small or large
• More accurate size charts: Cleaning and standardization play a role in data accuracy for size charts. AI Agents handle these processes
• Fit insights for brands: AI agents also help brands improve sizing and reduce returns

Starbucks’ voice shopping

Starbucks has partnered with Alexa, one of the most famous AI agents, to allow customers to order their coffee hands-free. Imagine talking to Alexa and placing your morning coffee order while you go to work. 

The process has become so convenient and popular that this mobile ordering program drives 20% of transactions during peak hours. 

Placing an order is pretty simple, too. All you have to do is say, “Alexa, tell Starbucks to place my usual order.” The AI agent will reply with the usual order, costs, and which branch it will be sent to. 

Once the customer confirms the order, it is immediately sent to the Starbucks branch to be prepared. The coffee is ready to be delivered by the time the customer arrives.

Airbnb’s multilingual customer support

With its AI agent, Airbnb caters to a diverse global user base in multiple countries. It utilizes conversational AI systems that use NLP and machine learning to handle customer inquiries across multiple languages.

The AI agents can: 

• Automatically recognize and switch between languages
• Provide 24/7 support for guests and hosts
• Resolve common issues without human agent intervention
• Automatically translate property listings
• Supports over 60 languages
• Communicate fluently in multiple languages
• Automatically translate and relay messages
• Handle inquiries from guests around the world

The AI agents help Airbnb overcome language barriers, improve guest satisfaction, and streamline customer support operations by offering efficient, immediate, and personalized multilingual assistance.

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H&M’s Chatbots 

One of the world’s leading fashion retailers, H&M, has implemented AI-powered chatbots to handle inquiries, streamline operations, and provide personalized assistance.

Some of the features of  H&M’s chatbots include:

• Instant customer support: Provides quick answers about order tracking, return policies, and store locations
• Personal shopping assistance: Recommends products based on browsing history and past purchases
• Simplified returns & exchanges: Generates return labels and guides customers through the process
• Multilingual support: Assists customers in multiple languages for a seamless experience
• Proactive engagement: Sends reminders for promotions, restocked items, and abandoned carts
• High-volume handling: Manages spikes in customer inquiries during sales and holiday seasons

Alen’s digital shopping assistant

45% of surveyed millennials want a personalized experience when shopping online.   This can be achieved by deploying a shopping assistant as it can guide customers to the most relevant products.

An AI shopping agent can create a consultative experience and highlight product features and specs that matter to the shopper’s needs. This can accelerate the buyer’s journey from discovery to purchase.

Alen uses a digital assistant that guides users in finding the most appropriate air purifier for their indoor spaces. Users must input room dimensions, specific air quality concerns like allergies or odors, and future preferences. 

AI will then pull out the top-rated Alen models with particular details about coverage areas, filter types, and innovative features.

Amazon’s visual search agent

With a 70% rise in visual searches globally, Amazon is focusing on making searches more intuitive and personalized. It has added several new features to enhance the mobile visual search experience with Rufus, an AI shopping agent that helps customers discover products effortlessly. 

Some of its key features include:

• Descriptive image suggestions: As customers type a search term, Amazon suggests relevant images to streamline browsing
• Amazon lens upgrades: Users can upload images and add text to refine searches (e.g., specifying color, brand, or material)
• More like this: A quick tap on a product image shows similar items
• Circle to search: Customers can draw a circle around an item in a photo to isolate and search for it
• Integrated product videos: Shoppers can watch videos directly in search results, improving engagement

Sephora’s reservation assistant

Sephora has enhanced its chatbot services with Sephora reservation AI agent, allowing customers to book beauty appointments via Facebook Messenger. 

Developed in partnership with Assi.st, this AI-powered feature improves customer engagement, making beauty consultations more accessible and efficient. 

How it works:

• Customers message the Sephora chatbot, providing their location in natural language (city, address, or landmark)
• The chatbot finds the nearest Sephora store and displays available appointment times.
• Users can confirm and book instantly, receiving a confirmation email within seconds

Why It Matters:

• Conversational AI: The chatbot understands various ways customers describe their preferred date, time, or location
• Convenience: Eliminates phone calls or manual booking processes
• Instant confirmation: Ensures quick and hassle-free appointment scheduling

Paypal’s fraud detection

PayPal efficiently utilizes AI agents and machine learning to enhance fraud detection and optimize payment authorization rates.

This is how PayPal does it:

• Real-time risk assessment: AI agents assign a risk score to every transaction, analyzing customer behavior in milliseconds to differentiate between legitimate and fraudulent transactions
• Fraud pattern adaptation: Machine learning identifies evolving fraud techniques, such as card cracking and carding attacks, by analyzing vast datasets
• Graph database technology: PayPal processes highly interconnected data from 430M+ accounts across 200+ markets to detect fraud efficiently
• Optimized filters & rules: AI continuously refines fraud detection filters, countering scammers who attempt to bypass security measures

Speed up resolutions with Plivo CX’s AI agents

Plivo CX is an AI-powered omnichannel customer service platform built to integrate effortlessly into your business and support mechanisms. 

It brings frequently-used communication channels, such as voice, SMS, WhatsApp, and live chat, under a single window. You can also train OpenAI-powered chatbots using your company’s unique datasets to ensure customer queries are answered with the most relevant and precise information.

Here are some of its top features:

• AI self-service chatbots: Engage with customers across channels by delivering quick and precise responses
• In-app customer service: Direct live chats to the best-suited agents while easily exchanging media and documents for faster issue resolution
• Omnichannel support: Monitor, manage, and track customer interactions across multiple channels from a single platform
• Unified agent desktop: Empower agents with comprehensive customer context and insights within one intuitive application
• Round-the-clock availability: Ensure continuous global support without interruptions
• Simplified escalations with notes: Quickly summarize interactions and seamlessly transfer them to human agents when necessary
• Rich customer insights: Analyze live or recorded conversations to uncover opportunities for growth and improvement
• Agent training tools: Enhance performance with features like call recording, discreet guidance, and real-time intervention
• Automated ticket management: Organize and prioritize incoming tickets automatically so critical issues are addressed promptly
• Interactive voice response (IVR): Set up automated menus to efficiently direct callers to the right team or agent
• CRM integration: Leverage customer data from your existing CRM and technology stack to deliver a more personalized experience

Book a demo with us today!

Struggling with overdue payments? You’re not alone. A report from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) shows that 37% of businesses face cash flow issues due to late payments, with 30% forced to use overdrafts and 20% seeing a direct impact on profits.

Late payments can strain your cash flow, increase stress, and damage customer relationships. That’s where SMS payment reminders shine.

With SMS’s high open rate, your payment reminders get the attention they need. Incorporating SMS into your strategy can reduce overdue payments and improve results. 

Let’s explore why SMS payment reminder works and how you can use it to get the results you need.

What are payment reminder messages?

Payment reminder messages are text messages sent to customers to remind them about an upcoming or overdue payment. E-commerce companies, subscription services, and businesses with recurring payments typically send these messages to ensure timely processing and reduce late fees.

They’re usually short, polite, and direct, providing all the necessary details like the amount due and the due date. This makes it easy for your customers to pay without any hassle.

Payment reminder messages are most effective when timed just right. The key is to strike a balance between being helpful and not overwhelming your customers. 

When to send SMS billing reminders

Timing is crucial when it comes to sending SMS billing reminders. You want to ensure you're giving your customers enough time to make the payment without overwhelming them. 

Here’s a simple way to decide the perfect time for sending your reminders:

After the due date

Send a polite reminder immediately after the payment due date to prompt customers to complete their transactions. Include all the necessary details, such as the amount due, invoice reference, and a payment link for easy processing.

One week after the initial payment reminder message

If the payment is still pending, send a follow-up payment reminder message one week later. Include a direct payment link to make the process easier.

Two weeks after the initial payment reminder message

If the payment remains unpaid after two weeks, send a firm but still professional final reminder emphasizing urgency. Mention any late fees, account suspension risks, or potential service interruptions to encourage prompt payment.

To help ensure your SMS billing reminders are as effective as possible, it’s not just about when you send them but how you create them. 

The content and tone of your payment reminder messages will ultimately determine whether or not your customer takes action. 

5 tips to write effective SMS billing reminders

Creating the perfect SMS reminder is about being clear, timely, and easy to act on. Here are five quick tips to make your reminders more effective:

1. Personalize your payment reminders

Use the customer’s name or account details to make the message feel more personal. If possible, refer to past interactions or payment history. 

Personalized messages are not only more likely to be read, but 31% of consumers sign up for SMS to receive personalized messages, making them more likely to act.

Example: “Hi [Name], your $50 payment for [Service/Product] is overdue. Settle it today to avoid late fees: [link].”

2. Choose the right time

Timing plays a crucial role in getting a quick response. Send SMS reminders when customers are most likely to engage, such as mid-afternoon or early evening. 

Be mindful of regulations, like the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the US, which restricts messages before 8 AM or after 9 PM in the recipient’s time zone.

The best window is typically between 10 AM and 8 PM, but testing different times will help you find what works best for your audience.

3. Provide key payment details

Be clear and specific about the payment details. Include the exact amount due, the due date, and any other relevant details (e.g., order number) to make it easy for the customer to act on the reminder.

Example: “Reminder: Your $75 invoice for [Product/Service] was due on [Date]. Pay now to avoid a $10 late fee: [link].”

4. Include a clear call-to-action

Always end your SMS billing reminder with a clear CTA. Whether it’s a payment link, instructions to resolve the issue, or a contact number for support, make it easy for the customer to take the next step.

Use direct and action-oriented language like “Pay Now,” “Settle Your Balance,” or “Avoid Late Fees.”

Example: "Your payment of [Amount] is due. To avoid late fees and service disruption, please pay now by clicking the link: [Payment Link].”

5. Maintain a respectful tone

Avoid harsh language that might frustrate customers. Maintain a polite, professional tone in every reminder, even if the payment is overdue. Customers are more likely to respond to friendly reminders.

Example: “We understand things get busy. If you need help with your payment, reach out to us at [support info].”

The next step is creating clear, engaging messages that encourage prompt action. 

Top 7 ready-to-use SMS payment reminder templates

Below are seven professional SMS payment reminder templates for different scenarios. You can customize them based on your business needs.

1. SMS payment reminder template: Before the due date

📅 When to send: 3-5 days before the due date.

Purpose: A soft and friendly reminder to keep the customer informed and prevent late payments.

Some customers forget about their upcoming payments. Sending a courteous and professional reminder ensures they are aware before the due date arrives. This message is especially useful for businesses with recurring invoices, service fees, or product payments.

Hi [Customer Name], just a reminder that your payment of [Amount] is due on [Due Date]. Let us know if you need any help. Thanks for choosing [Company Name]!

2. SMS payment reminder template: Follow-up on due date

📅 When to send: On the due date.

Purpose: A professional and polite reminder to encourage payment before it becomes overdue.

This message is for customers needing a gentle nudge on the due date. Some people wait until the last moment to pay, so this reminder ensures they don’t miss the deadline.

Hello [Customer Name], your payment of [Amount] is due today. Please visit [Payment Link] to make your payment. Feel free to contact us for assistance.

3. SMS payment reminder template: Overdue payment reminder (3 days after due date)

📅 When to send: 1-5 days after the due date.

Purpose: A reminder for customers who may have forgotten or overlooked the due date.

At this stage, customers have already missed their due date, but they may not realize it. This message remains polite and professional while creating urgency. If your business has late fees, this is a good time to mention them.

Hi [Customer Name], we noticed your payment of [Amount] was due on [Due Date] but hasn’t been received. Please make the payment at your earliest convenience here: [Payment Link].

4. SMS payment reminder template: Final notice of overdue payment

📅 When to send: 7-14 days after the due date.

Purpose: A firm but professional warning before escalating the issue (e.g., additional fees, service suspension, collections).

If a customer has ignored previous reminders, it’s time to increase urgency. This message serves as the final warning before taking further action. Use a direct and serious tone while maintaining professionalism.

Dear [Name], we’ve made several attempts to contact you about your outstanding payment of $[Amount], which was due on [Due Date]. If we don’t receive your payment by [Last Due Date], we may have to suspend [Services] and take further action. Please make the payment promptly: [Payment Link].

5. SMS payment reminder template: Subscription renewal reminder

Customers often overlook subscription renewals. A timely reminder helps them renew on time, reducing churn.

📅 When to send: 5-7 days before subscription renewal.

Purpose: Notify customers about upcoming subscription renewals to avoid surprises.For subscription-based businesses, sending a reminder before automatic billing helps reduce disputes and chargebacks. This message reassures customers about their renewal date and provides an option to update payment details.

Hi [Customer Name], your subscription to [Service Name] is about to renew on [Date]. Please ensure your payment of [Amount] is processed before [Due Date]. [Payment Link]

6. SMS payment reminder template: Installment payment reminder

📅 When to send: A few days before an installment payment is due.

Purpose: Helps customers keep track of their scheduled payments.

For subscription-based businesses, missed renewals can lead to churn and lost revenue. Sending a timely reminder ensures customers stay informed and take action before their subscription expires, preventing service disruptions.

[Business Name]: Hello [Customer Name], this is a reminder that your next installment payment of [Amount] for [Loan/Product Name] is due on [Due Date]. Please ensure timely payment to keep your plan active. [Payment Link]

7. SMS payment acknowledgment template: Thank you message after payment

📅 When to send: Immediately after payment is received.

Purpose: A courteous message to acknowledge receipt of payment and build customer trust.

Sending a thank-you message after payment reassures customers that their transaction was successful. It also reinforces positive customer relationships and professionalism.

Thank you, [Name]! We’ve received your payment of $[Amount] for [Product/Service]. Your order/subscription is now confirmed. Need a receipt? Access it here: [Link].

Ensuring timely payments doesn’t have to be a manual, time-consuming task. The right tools can help automate reminders, personalize messages, and improve collection rates effortlessly.

Plivo CX, a leading omnichannel customer engagement platform, simplifies SMS billing reminders with automated scheduling, personalized messaging, and real-time tracking. With intelligent segmentation and AI-driven insights, you can reduce late payments and improve customer retention effortlessly.

Enhance ROI on payment reminder messages with Plivo CX

Keeping track of payments and chasing late payments can be frustrating, especially when manual follow-ups don’t give the expected results. Delays can disrupt cash flow and impact business operations. ‘

With Plivo CX, you can automate SMS payment reminders to reach customers instantly. From gentle pre-due reminders to urgent overdue notices, you can ensure timely payments while reducing manual follow-ups. Stay proactive, minimize delays, and keep your revenue stream steady.

Here’s why Plivo CX is the go-to platform for payment reminders:

• Flexible customer segmentation: Group customers based on payment history or subscription status for relevant reminders.
• Connect with customers at the right moments: With Journeys, marketers can send triggered messages based on customer actions to ensure relevant communication. Plus, a no-code interface allows marketers to build and manage these automated interactions without developer assistance easily.
  
  
• Craft engaging alerts with Copywriter AI: Generate personalized SMS alerts with AI-powered suggestions and pre-designed templates. Copywriter AI instantly crafts message options, allowing you to review, refine, and send the perfect alert.

• Seamless customer notifications: Automate payment reminders based on due dates, customer behavior, or custom triggers to ensure timely follow-ups.
• Timely engagement: Schedule SMS reminders to send before, on, or after the due date at optimal times across time zones.

• E-commerce integrations: Integrates with e-commerce stores like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magento, and other platforms to send reminders directly from your e-commerce system.

Businesses using Plivo CX for payment reminders see an average of $71 generated for every $1 spent, along with a 20% increase in on-time payments and subscription reminders.

With Plivo’s advanced carrier network spanning 220+ countries, Plivo CX also helps businesses cut SMS marketing costs by up to 70% while tripling their ROI.

Reduce payment delays, improve cash flow, and keep your customers engaged—all with automated SMS reminders powered by Plivo CX. 

Book a free demo today!