Singapore – Singtel Group has entered into a strategic collaboration with Sierra to strengthen customer interactions through AI across its operations. The initiative forms part of Singtel’s broader efforts to enhance service delivery and create additional value for its customer base.
The partnership commenced in late January with a pilot programme within Singtel Singapore’s customer support environment, centred on its virtual assistant, Shirley. The system was upgraded with more advanced conversational capabilities designed to allow customers to manage enquiries and complete transactions independently.
Shirley, the assistant, has been configured to recognise local speech patterns and colloquial language, including Singlish, to facilitate more natural exchanges with users in Singapore. Additional language options are being developed to broaden accessibility among different communities.
Singtel Singapore has also introduced voice-enabled AI agents for outbound sales engagement, supporting transactions within defined regulatory and governance frameworks. The company intends to expand the deployment of such capabilities to other internal divisions and to make similar solutions available to its enterprise clients.
“By using AI to support our customer service teams, we can ensure customers are promptly and well-assisted, while empowering our agents to focus on more complex cases where human expertise matters most,” Tian Chong Ng, chief executive officer of Singtel Singapore, stated.
“Our AI agents are designed to understand local expressions and even Singlish, reflecting our roots as a homegrown company serving a diverse nation. This marks an important step in redefining how we build and sustain customer relationships in the AI era.”
Sierra’s technology enables automated verification of customer details and the delivery of relevant product and service information through Singtel Singapore’s digital service channels, including Shirley. These systems are structured to maintain accuracy and security, while retaining human oversight where necessary.
The implementation was completed in under ten weeks. Within the first six weeks following launch, Shirley managed more than 70,000 customer interactions, primarily involving mobile-related concerns and roaming services. Data from the initial phase indicates that 73% of mobile and home troubleshooting matters were concluded without escalation to customer service personnel, while 76% of roaming subscription requests were finalised independently.
“We founded Sierra in the belief that AI can create better, more human customer experiences,” Bret Taylor, CEO and co-founder of Sierra, commented.
“Our partnership with Singtel is helping make that a reality, deepening their relationship with customers, while also growing their business. Singtel is a pioneer in applied AI, and we’re so excited to be working with them.”
Singtel group describes its AI strategy as encompassing three roles: applying AI internally to improve performance and CX, developing and commercialising AI-driven solutions for wider use, and supplying the connectivity infrastructure and digital platforms required to support AI adoption at scale.
