Breastfeeding is arguably one of the toughest tasks most new mothers will need to take on, and many rely on the Internet to ask burning questions, from what to eat to boost supply to how to alleviate nursing-related discomfort.
At Milkforbubs, a homegrown e-commerce supplier of lactation foods and accessories founded in 2020, the team aims to be a go-to source of information that is accurate, empathetic and most importantly, timely.
However, being able to respond instantaneously to customer queries, many of which come in the wee hours, was a perennial challenge to founder Siti Khairunnisa binte Zulkifle (Nisa) and her colleagues.
“As our customer base grew, scaling our support without compromising on quality was difficult. On top of that, we had a lot of manual processes that could get quite tedious, like drafting responses or sorting through inquiries, which wasn’t the best use of our time,” says Nisa.
Thus, when the dynamic business owner heard about the IMDA’s GenAI initiative that utilises generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)-powered digital solutions to support local SMEs in gaining hands-on experience and understanding the benefits and risks of GenAI, she wasted no time in hopping on board.
After reviewing a few vendors, Nisa found a GenAI-powered WhatsApp chatbot that proved to be most suitable for her company’s needs.”
Building rapport with technology: Chatbot even understands Singlish
AI Front-desk, which can be found on the Milkforbubs’ website, is like your friendly Singaporean receptionist. Powered GenAI, the savvy chatbot understands English, Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesian and even Singlish!
The Milkforbubs team launched the chatbot in the middle of 2024 after training the model with frequently asked questions and a set of basic information. The team has also been closely monitoring its responses and swiftly correcting any inaccuracies.
At the same time, Nisa and her colleagues continually carried out AI training to enhance the bot’s tone of voice, shaping it to sound more like a supportive friend to postpartum mums rather than a fact-regurgitating textbook.
Very soon, the AI Front-desk solution became an indispensable member of the team, growing in intelligence with every training it receives to ensure it stays relevant and effective.
“At first, there was some hesitation from the team to adopt the solution. This is understandable since new tech can feel a bit intimidating,” shares Nisa, who smoothed the transition by organising training sessions for everyone to get hands-on experience, explore its functions, and understand how its GenAI tools work.
“The vendor provided excellent onboarding support and troubleshooting during the early stages,” she adds.
Supported by IMDA, Milkforbubs has embraced business digitalisation through GenAI tools as part of its digital adoption journey and the results were significant.
Tech takes over menial tasks: 30% of manhours saved
Answering multiple, repeated questions is not only time-consuming but also requires the team to task-switch constantly. With AI Front-desk, Nisa estimates that the team has managed to reduce their time spent on answering customer queries by 30% so far. There are plans to integrate this digital tool with Instagram, where the company receives the most queries via the Direct Messaging function.
With digitalisation handling the heavy lifting on this front, the team can focus on other aspects of daily operations, including baking and packing to facilitate dispatch for timely deliveries.
Today, the chatbot can even track product shipping statuses, providing more convenience to customers without needing Nisa’s staff to run manual checks.
Better customer service as response time improves by 60%
Now, all queries that are submitted via the Milkforbubs website are immediately answered by the chatbot — a result of the company’s digital transformation efforts. When aggregated with queries received on social media, response time has dropped by a significant 60%.
“Customer satisfaction scores have also improved as a result because customers really appreciate the speed and accuracy of the responses,” shares Nisa.
A handy marketing tool in time to come
In addition to integrating AI Front-desk with Instagram, Milkforbubs is exploring the use of the digital solution’s broadcasting function. “This allows us to disseminate marketing messages to users so we can stay top-of-mind,” shares Nisa.
With plans to expand to Malaysia in 2025, Milkforbubs is looking forward to having the AI chatbot work its magic in the new market as well.
The future of business is being rewritten with GenAI. Stay ahead of the curve and register here to be part of IMDA’s GenAI initiatives.
.webp)