Jigsaw achieves double-digit CX improvements with Zendesk AI

Jigsaw is a UK-based premium fashion retailer that operates 43 stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Since 1970, loyal (and royal) customers have turned to the brand for its uncompromising quality, craftsmanship, and style.

Jigsaw has also been a Zendesk customer since 2016. Its CX team relies on Zendesk Suite to handle 1000+ weekly customer queries. But when James Billett, a 14-year company veteran, stepped into his current role as Customer Experience Manager, he saw that the team wasn’t using all of the platforms’ features and capabilities. So he took it upon himself to change that.

Seizing opportunities to use AI

“It didn’t take long to transform our department’s operations and effectively integrate Zendesk into our processes,” James says. But he also wanted to deploy AI.

As part of its due diligence, Jigsaw explored the AI capabilities of Dixa and Gorgias customer service platforms, but ultimately chose Zendesk AI. “Zendesk is a powerful tool,” explains Billett. “It’s user friendly and provides all the information you need in one place. Plus I’ve developed a fantastic relationship with our account manager. I truly feel appreciated as a customer.”

One of James’ goals was to use AI to reduce the number of repetitive customer inquiries that bogged down the CX team’s efficiency and speed.

“Our aim was to create a more advanced chat feature, alongside an AI-powered support centre” he explains. “A good support centre will help the AI agent react better to inquiries. And our old chatbots weren’t going to work, especially since we turned off our phone channel.”

James’ second goal was to strengthen connections between the retail and store teams. In the past, stores communicated with agents via emails, which slowed down the resolution process. Billet wanted to use AI to streamline and speed communications.

Reducing ticket volumes through self-help

Using Zendesk, AI Jigsaw built a new, improved AI agent. To ensure the AI-powered bot provides the best answers possible, James’ also optimised the support centre by rewriting and creating new articles and launching a support centre to support the customer journey.

“We had our AI agent up and running in no time and we’re improving it on a daily basis,” adds James’. “And I feel confident that it gives customers the right answer.”

Now, more customers are finding the information they need without having to contact an agent. Last year, only 8 percent of customers relied on chat; today that number stands at 35 percent and growing. Jigsaw’s AI-powered support centre also provides automated responses to common questions related to scanning QR codes, order status, account information, and more.

“Self-service is key for handling simple inquiries quickly and decreasing ticket volume,” says James’. In fact, Jigsaw’s automated and self-help resolutions have increased 15 percent, leading to an impressive 35 percent reduction in ticket volume overall, and a 50 percent reduction in volume during peak times and sales events.

Supporting agents with AI-powered tools

Jigsaw employs a variety of other Zendesk AI tools to bring its teams together and helps agents work more efficiently. For instance, James’ introduced a password system that allows store teams to connect directly with agents for immediate assistance. The change not only improved the store’s productivity, but the overall customer experience as well.

“The store teams are very happy with the support we’re providing,” James’. “They love that they can talk to an agent straight away instead of waiting or sending an email.”

Agents, meanwhile, use Zendesk AI tools themselves, including the ‘expand’ feature to create additional language on their ticket replies, the ‘make friendly’ feature to adjust their tone, and automated responses to reply to simple questions.

“Auto responses are great,” says James’. “They provide the exact answer we’d give to the customer.”

Combined, Zendesk AI has helped Jigsaw realise some dramatic improvements in its customer service, including decreasing first assignment time by 26 percent, response time by 20 percent, and ticket handling time by 18 percent.

“Zendesk AI has really helped us drive these numbers, especially with AI supporting our self-service efforts,” James’ says. “It helps our agents respond more efciently, allowing them to focus on more meaningful customer interactions.”

An AI-driven CX strategy

Jigsaw continues to shape its CX strategy, such as integrating Shopify so agents can see historical data on customer orders. In the future, James’ plans to use AI for proactive messaging for customers who encounter problems during checkout, for instance, or to offer styling advice.

“Proactive messages will be key to boosting revenue and evolving our team into stylists rather than just handling complaints,” James’ notes. Other plans include using Zendesk intelligent triage capabilities, adding WhatsApp as a new communication channel, and maybe expanding use of Zendesk beyond the CX team to IT, business transformation, and HR.

For companies that are still considering AI, his advice is direct: “Go for it,” he says. “Switch it on and don’t be afraid.”