UPS boosts efficiency and customer interaction quality by integrating GenAI into its MeRA system, significantly streamlining responses.
UPS has integrated GenAI into its customer service operations through its Message Response Automation (MeRA) system. Initiated in mid-2021 and piloted by late 2021, MeRA utilizes LLMs to automate responses to customer queries. This automation ensures consistent communication and has significantly reduced the time agents spend on emails, with a noted 50% decrease during its pilot phase.
The deployment of MeRA within UPS has transformed traditional customer service roles by shifting human agents from responding to routine inquiries to handling complex and nuanced customer interactions. This strategic application of GenAI has enhanced operational efficiency and improved the quality of customer service provided by enabling agents to concentrate on more significant customer needs.
Also, UPS has started to extend the use of MeRA beyond customer service to include other business functions like human resources, sales, and finance. This expansion is part of a broader strategy to leverage GenAI across various departments, optimizing internal processes and enhancing enterprise-wide communications.
The system operates by accessing an extensive knowledge base that includes corporate procedures and data, enabling it to handle diverse customer scenarios with high accuracy. For instance, when dealing with package tracking requests, MeRA can draw from real-time data to provide specific, contextually relevant responses based on the history and current status of shipments.