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What the AI leaders learned · Octopus Energy

AI takes routine.
People take the rest.

An AI assistant took the routine emails. People took the rest.

The numbers

76%customer satisfaction for AI-written replies, against 72% for comparable human replies
8,000routine emails a week handled during a three-month trial
0vulnerable customers or complex complaints handled by AI

What happened

The story.

  1. The setup

    Octopus built an AI assistant, Arlo, to answer routine emails: tariff renewals, payment dates and account details.

  2. The trial

    Over three months it handled about 8,000 emails a week, around 4% of UK customer email, and scored higher satisfaction than comparable human replies.

  3. The rules

    Arlo never handles vulnerable customers, sensitive cases or complex complaints. Those go straight to experienced staff. Every AI-written email is labelled, and customers can ask for a person at any stage.

The lesson for your business

AI takes routine. People take the rest.

Octopus didn’t try to automate customer service. It picked the most repetitive, lowest-risk questions, drew a hard line around the sensitive ones, and was open with customers about it. The people freed up spend their time on the cases that need judgment.

  • Start with the most repetitive, lowest-risk work.
  • Write down what AI must never handle, and route it to people.
  • Be open with customers when AI is answering.

Sources: Octopus Energy press release: AI trial wins customer approval · Marketing Week: How Octopus Energy uses AI to enable better customer experiences

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