At Safaricom Decode 3.0 East Africa Edition, CEO Peter Ndegwa shed light on how the company is using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve customer experience, drive new business models and improve operational efficiency.
AI is Core to Safaricom’s Strategy
As a technology-driven organization, Safaricom is investing heavily in AI to provide very personalized offers and experiences across its platforms. According to Ndegwa, AI is improving Safaricom’s operations in three main areas:
AI-Driven Customer Experience
Safaricom is improving customer interactions through AI-powered assistants like Zuri. This helps make engagements more seamless. The company is also ramping up AI’s role in fraud detection, using advanced models to counter identity theft and social engineering tactics.
- AI-powered fraud detection helps predict and prevent scams such as SIM swap fraud.
- The company is using big data to identify fraudulent numbers and regions where scams are common.
- AI is also helping educate and alert customers about potential threats even before they occur.
- By 2027, 70% of customer resolutions will be handled by AI-powered solutions.
Monetizing AI & New Business Models
AI is not just used to improve customer service, it also creates new revenue opportunities. Hyper-personalization is a key focus area as AI is used to analyze customer behavior to tailor offers to individual users (commonly referred to as a ‘segment of one’ approach).
Safaricom is also using AI to:
- Improve network efficiency through smart detection and self-healing capabilities.
- Optimize capacity planning and energy efficiency and this helps reduce operational costs.
- Forecast an additional Ksh 7 billion in AI-enabled revenue by 2027.
Improve Productivity & Efficiency
Safaricom is integrating AI to automate some repetitive tasks allowing employees to focus on other tasks. The company is also working towards a 3.5 out of 5 score on its Digital Maturity Index in the coming weeks.
- AI-driven automation helps streamline internal operations and therefore boost efficiency.
- The adoption of Agile methodologies has led to the hiring of 500 new developers.
- Data analytics is helping Safaricom make more informed business decisions and optimize its network investments.
The Future of AI at Safaricom
Safaricom’s AI-driven transformation is not just about cost savings, the company sees it as a way to deliver affordable services to customers. By reducing operational expenses, the company will pass on cost benefits to consumers.
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