Customer service company Helpshift today published its third annual Digital Support Benchmark Report, in which it examines different trends in customer support across multiple industries, including gaming, fintech and entertainment. In the 2023 report, Helpshift’s research shows that the games industry has seen adoption of automation and AI on a much larger scale in customer support than other industries, at least among Helpshift’s client base.
According to Helpshift’s report, up to 82% of player support issues with its gaming clients are handled by fully or partially automated processes. This is up from 80% in the previous year’s report and is consistent with a trend growing in the industry since early 2020. The company suggests that the increase in players during the pandemic pushed publishers to invest in automation to handle an influx of reports. They still handle more complex problems for players manually.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen games companies investing in AI or automated software to handle moderation. Earlier this year, Activision announced it was partnering with Modulate to use AI as part of its battle against toxicity. Modulate’s ToxMod voice chat moderation system debuts with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III later this year. This automated software detects hate speech, discriminatory language and harassment and then deals out consequences for the speaker.
Gaming does not have the highest level of moderation amongst Helpshift’s client base — fintech and entertainment sit at 94% and 91% automation, respectively. Helpshift’s reports also suggest automation may go up in future years. Gaming also has a fairly even distribution of automation across different categories, with most requests coming from technical issues.
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