Case Study
Oakland Zoo needed help when their overall volume of visitor questions went up 3X
Summary
In February 2018, we launched a partnership with the Oakland Zoo. As one of California’s leading attraction destinations, Oakland Zoo’s staff needed a tool that delivered a seamless experience to their visitors. With the goal of providing scalable answers, on-demand, 24/7, Oakland Zoo uses our conversational AI technology to implement a multi-channel virtual assistant on their website and Facebook Messenger. Ultimately, allowing visitors to access the information they need upfront in order to pre-plan their visit and influence purchase decisions.
Challenge
Oakland Zoo needed a scalable solution to reach their guests and provide 24/7 customer support. They were looking for a tool that could answer visitor questions prior to their arrival at the zoo. Similar to trends seen in other industries, zoo visitors are looking to pre-plan their journey before visiting the facility. Additionally, zoo staff needed a way to drive awareness for new initiatives and upcoming zoo events on digital channels that visitors were engaging with more.
Solution
To better enhance guest experience and satisfaction, Oakland Zoo launched their AI-powered virtual assistant on their website and Facebook Messenger. The virtual assistant gave them the ability to provide instant answers to guests and reduce the rapid increase in customer service calls to their call center. They use their welcome message to promote new initiatives, embedding a welcome video and featuring “what’s new at the zoo” as a quick reply to keep guests informed.
Results
Since re-opening their doors in July 2020, our AI-powered virtual assistant has answered over 27,000 inbound messages, 87% of which occurred on the web. This channel is generally more used by visitors at home and our data shows that ticket questions generated the most traffic to the virtual assistant on their website. On the other side, visitors are most interested in venue information when engaging with the zoo via Facebook Messenger. With overall volume increasing by 3X since pre-pandemic, the virtual assistant has provided immense help to call center staff, saving Oakland Zoo staff over 969 hours of work, and assisting over 10,000 unique visitors.
Unique Visitors Assisted
Inbound Messages Received
Staff Member Work Hours Saved
“Offering a safe and fun outdoor experience for our visitors is our number one priority. Making sure our guests are informed at all times on anything we do is also essential in this new environment. Using the Satisfi Labs virtual assistant allows us to accomplish all of those things. Not only are we providing real-time responses across multiple channels, but we are also doing so while relieving our staff, and gathering better customer insights in the process.”
Isabella Linares
Marketing Associate, Oakland Zoo