Auxiliary shifts, the established leader in in-app customer service and support for mobile-first brands, recently acquired by Keywords Studios, announced today that the company has been awarded a patent for its innovation breakthrough in mobile app support. With Helpshift’s patented technology, consumers can use their mobile phone as a bridge to secure customer service for console gaming, TV set-tops and real-world environments.
This patent is based on Helpshift’s APIs that brands can use with their console game, television set, or real-world object (such as a hotel kiosk, an item in a store, or a shipment received in the mail). The Helpshift APIs will capture all contextual information for the customer and generate a secure QR code and a secure URL link for customer service. This link is then used by the consumer with a mobile device to initiate a personalized customer support experience that preserves the initial context – saving time and improving efficiency at every step of the customer support journey.
Customer support is shifting towards conversational AI and automation to streamline processes, reduce wait times and improve the efficiency of customer support agents. Customer expectations of support are also changing rapidly, with customer experience becoming a key driver of brand loyalty: 72% of customers expect virtual assistance to become more common,1 65% of US customers say that a positive experience with a brand is more influential than good advertising – and 32% of all customers would stop doing business with a brand they loved after just one bad experience.2
Although conversational AI and automation have become more prominent in online chat tools and in mobile applications, the market has missed these improvements on gaming consoles and in physical environments. Helpshift’s patented QR Code support feature now brings self-service to these experiences. Users can scan the QR code and be directed to one of three experiences (based on how the brand wants it set up): instant self-help, an automated chatbot, or even messaging with an agent.
This patent is recognition that Helpshift’s technology opens up new opportunities for customers to receive new, immediate, personalized customer support experiences. By bridging the gap between the brand’s mobile app and the customer’s physical environment, game developers, retail and hospitality brands can unlock creative ways to deliver support and engage with customers.
Gameloft, an international developer and publisher of games for all digital platforms, is one of the first Helpshift clients to implement this patented technology.
“This solution came at a perfect time for us, because we were planning more console-focused releases. So far, we’ve tested it on a couple of our ongoing projects and we’re very happy with the results,” said Anna Yangolenko, Customer Care R&D Coordinator, Gameloft. “We saw significant improvement across all of our key KPIs, CSAT being one of the key and biggest areas of improvement. We plan to implement this solution across all of our main games.”
“Helpshift already turns on mobile support 4B devices today, and this patent helps further our momentum to bring the same tools to console games, TVs and into the real world,” said Erik Ashbyproduct manager at Helpshift.
Here are some key examples of how Helpshift’s patented customer support experience can open new opportunities for better customer service – in the app and in real life:
- Provide context-aware support without burdening the customer: If someone is playing a game and they have a problem, Helpshift allows the user to use their mobile device to scan a QR code and jump directly from that part of the game to a support experience. Just by going to that QR code, the support team immediately knows the exact context of who the customer is, where they were in the game, and how the support team can help.
- Get immediate support via QR code: Helpshift offers the first secure QR code generator for customer support. Brands can offer their customers instant, relevant support via a dedicated QR code without the customer having to search, type or re-enter their verification credentials. This QR code isn’t just another web address: it’s context-aware, keeping customers’ information secure and personal details visible to the support team, providing a frictionless support experience.
- Get answers to questions in store or in the mailbox: What happens if customers want to get more information about a product while shopping in the store aisle? What if you buy a new product and have a question as soon as the package arrives? Helpshift’s patented APIs can help brands deliver a more valuable customer support experience that meets customers with relevant answers wherever they are in the real world – while connecting with the customer via their mobile device.
- Relieve long queues with self-service: Retail brands can eliminate long customer service wait times and shorten long lines at checkouts and concierge desks by offering easy self-service for customers to access via mobile device.
- Easier product returns: In a retail store, if a customer receives a package with a damaged or wrong-sized item, they can use their phone and scan the package label to start a secure customer support experience where the support team knows who they are, what was sent to them, and all other information automatic and completely secure.
Customer support is becoming a make-or-break moment for building customer loyalty (or suffering customer attrition). With Helpshift’s patented technology, brands can provide customers with context-aware, secure support that bridges the gap between mobile apps and the real world.
“People are using mobile apps for more of their everyday commerce and as an extension of their real-world experiences, and they’re demanding a higher level of customer support that bridges the gap between mobile and real life,” said Eric Vermillion, CEO of Helpshift. “Brands need to seize this opportunity and deliver a seamless, player-focused, blended experience that engages people wherever they are, with the right support, in a way that shows consumers you’re looking out for them.”
