Orange revolutionizes customer service with Maia, its assistance AI

Orange Integrates Maia, an AI to Optimize Customer Service

The telecommunications operator Orange has recently introduced an artificial intelligence-based assistant named Maia to enhance the daily work of its sales advisors. This new tool, already adopted by 3,000 advisors, is designed to transform the way they handle customer calls. In just a few weeks, Maia has demonstrated its effectiveness by seamlessly yet powerfully integrating into daily processes.

Developed in collaboration with Verint, Maia is capable of analyzing phone conversations in real-time. It provides advisors with relevant information at the moment it is needed and automatically generates call summaries. Thanks to this technology, Orange has observed an impressive adoption rate of 95% among its advisors in record time. Previously, one-third of conversations consisted of silences, a situation that Maia has helped improve.

Maia, the AI that Reduces Silences and Lightens Advisors' Tasks

At a recent press conference, Orange highlighted Maia, an AI assistant that has already proven its worth to Orange advisors. In parallel, the operator also introduced Sharlie, an AI assistant for Sosh customers. However, it is Maia that captured attention due to its significant impact.

Advisors previously had to juggle up to fifteen different applications to access databases, procedures, and commercial offers, often leaving customers on hold. Laurence Thouveny, Director of Customer Experience at Orange France, emphasized that these silences accounted for one-third of call time.

Maia addresses this issue by identifying customer needs as they are expressed and instantly displaying the necessary information on the advisor's screen. Orange's knowledge base includes around 5,000 documents, and Maia allows advisors to choose which information to use and when to communicate it. Additionally, Maia automatically drafts end-of-call summaries, a task often dreaded by advisors. This feature has even convinced the most skeptical, as evidenced by an advisor with twenty years of experience who admits she can no longer do without Maia.

Massive Adoption and Visible Effects Already

The deployment of Maia has been gradual. After a testing phase with a few advisors, the tool was rolled out to all 3,000 sales advisors at the beginning of the year. Jérôme Hénique, CEO of Orange France, describes Maia as an "augmented advisor." Currently, the assistant manages up to one million conversations per month.

The results are already noticeable. Silences have decreased, calls are shorter, and customers no longer need to call back for precise answers. With information readily accessible, errors are becoming rarer, and exchanges are more efficient. Although Orange has not yet released specific figures, a downward trend in call durations is confirmed.

Before its deployment, Maia underwent a rigorous ethical process, in place at Orange since 2021. This includes consultation with social partners and a clear framework stating that the tool aims to improve work, not to replace employees.

Two questions remain. Could Maia reduce the training duration for new advisors? It’s a possibility. And could the tool be extended to technical support? Orange is already planning this extension in the coming months.