Automated classification routes complex requests to staff, while internal assistance cuts onboarding duration and average handling times

In order to manage rising volumes of general-insurance email inquiries and reduce the time employees spend locating policy and service information, Singapore insurer Singlife has expanded its use of AI-assisted customer-service tools.

The firm had needed to maintain response times during peaks in email traffic, while ensuring that complex or sensitive cases were reviewed by employees. It had also sought to shorten onboarding for new customer-service staff and reduce the handling time associated with routine inquiries.

Recently, Singlife announced the initiative that addresses the aforementioned requirements. It combines an email triage and response system with an internal AI assistant for customer-service executives. The implementation includes:

  • An AI-based email classification capability that assesses the subject matter and urgency of incoming general-insurance inquiries
  • Automated routing of cases to relevant service queues, with escalation to human agents for complex or sensitive requests
  • Automated responses for selected straightforward inquiries
  • An internal AI assistant that provides customer-service executives with real-time responses to operational and policy-related questions
  • A planned extension of the assistant into customer-facing digital channels for policy-detail retrieval and routine self-service requests

The email system now handles more than 20% of customer inquiries received through email. During a period of higher email volumes earlier in the year, the firm said it resolved most email inquiries within two days. Its internal assistant has reduced average handling time by 30% and reduced new-hire training time by 50%, shortening onboarding from four weeks to two weeks. A Singlife representative said the tools are intended to help service teams identify and route inquiries more consistently while allowing employees to focus on cases that require judgment or personalized support.

Salesforce, which provided the underlying customer-service and AI platform, has noted that the deployment demonstrates how AI can be used to support service workflows that combine automated handling with escalation to staff.