MegaFon launches its voice assistant "Eva"

In 2014, Megafon first showed “Elena” - a virtual support operator who is ready to advise subscribers on most issues that arise.

Elena knows how to work with users both in voice and text format. You can communicate with her using a call, SMS messages or chat on the operator’s website.

Let's tell you more about the robot Elena from Megafon.

Let's figure out how the operator's voice assistant works, what issues it will help solve, how to call Megafon's robot, and what prospects this project has.

Why do you need a virtual operator?

Virtual assistant Elena is a project that Megafon launched back in 2014. It was developed to reduce the load on the company’s “live” operators and provide subscribers with timely assistance.

Many clients of mobile operators call the support service with typical questions:

• How can I check my balance?
• How to connect your “favorite” number?
• What is my tariff plan and how can I change it?
• Does the number have connected paid services?

You can answer them without the participation of a “live” consultant. Therefore, in order not to force subscribers to wait on the line, cellular companies have developed a voice menu or IVR.

This is the same robot that invites you to press certain numbers during a call in order to get an answer to your request or switch to a call center consultant.

However, in practice, using IVR turned out to be not so convenient. Customers often got lost in the voice menu, pressed the wrong keys, and were tired of not receiving a quick, direct, and understandable answer to their requests.

The speech recognition system came to the rescue.

Thanks to its use, the robot can ask a person leading questions about the problem, process the response received and independently redirect him to the necessary sections of the menu.

This is precisely the principle on which Megafon’s new assistant works.

How does Elena work?

At the moment, Elena is more of an add-on to IVR than a full-fledged artificial intelligence system. It works in question-answer mode and redirects the subscriber to specific sections of the voice menu.

In fact, she is similar to other virtual “girls”:

• With Alice from Yandex;
• With Apple's Siri;
• With Alexa from Amazon.

So far, Elena’s functionality is much more modest, but she continues to develop as a full-fledged artificial intelligence, and not just a “talking reference book.”

The company plans to turn the virtual operator into a full-fledged interlocutor who can replace “live” consultants and help subscribers in most cases.

At the time of launch, Elena was able to recognize 70 questions about the quality of communication services, balance, connected options and tariffs, and gave clear and understandable answers to them.

Subsequently, this list expanded significantly.

To operate, the Megafon voice assistant uses developments from the Speech Technology Center company, as well as SpeechKit speech synthesis and recognition technology from Yandex. It is this technology that Alice uses in her work.

At the testing stage, the system was only able to process 1 million requests per year. By the time of the launch in Moscow, this figure had increased to 12 million per year.

The company's final goal is to process 60 million requests within a year, but it has not yet been achieved.

At the moment, the Megafon virtual operator is the first such solution in the Russian cellular communications market. Other companies continue to use voice menus for now.

What the Megafon voice assistant can do

The main feature of the virtual operator is full integration with Megafon’s internal systems. This allows you to use personalized customer data when processing a request.

This approach allows Elena to provide relevant information and find an answer much faster.

Here is the information available to the voice operator:

• Current tariff plan of the subscriber;
• Full list of connected services;
• Location (the client is currently in his home region or roaming);
• Phone number and current balance on it;
• Remaining minutes, SMS and gigabytes according to the tariff;
• Detailed statement of expenses for the last month.

In addition, he has general information - for example, methods for replenishing an account and activating certain services.

When requested, the virtual assistant will share with you all the data she has and can also give “friendly advice.” For example, if you are running out of money, she may recommend connecting “Promised payment”.

At this stage, Elena processes typical questions that are most in demand among subscribers. But its database is constantly updated with new information.

If the system cannot “understand” a question or does not have an answer to it, it transfers the call to the voice menu.

Every day Elena processes about 75 thousand subscriber requests. Of these, she completes about 45 thousand on her own, without the intervention of a “live” consultant.

According to a survey of Megafon subscribers, 72% of users were satisfied with the “conversation” with the virtual assistant and found answers to their questions with its help.

How to work with a virtual assistant

The Megafon system operates in a question-answer format. This means that she will ask clarifying questions to accurately understand the client’s problem, and then redirect him to the appropriate section of the voice menu.

You can contact Elena through several channels:

• Call or send SMS to number 0500;
• Open the official Megafon website via the link megafon.ru, log into your Personal Account, go to the “Support” section and write a message;
• Go to the page megafon.ru/help/info/megafon_elena, click on the chat icon in the lower right part of the screen, enter your number and name, and then send a message.

The most convenient way to communicate is still a call.

When Elena answers your call, she will ask: “How can I help you?” After this, you can freely tell her about your problem or ask a question.

You don't need to simplify sentences, use cliched wording or make unnatural pauses - Elena perfectly recognizes ordinary human speech, even continuous speech.

She also “hears” very well, so you don’t have to raise your voice. But using speakerphone is not recommended.

All clarifying questions must be answered as if you were talking to a “live” consultant. If you receive an inaccurate answer or do not fully understand it, you can ask for a repeat or rephrase the request.

For now, only Moscow residents can “talk” to Elena. The virtual assistant is not yet available in other regions of the country.

How to write a letter to support

On the operator’s official portal you need to find a section called “Support” and select the sub-item “Write us a letter”. In the form that opens, you need to fill in the following fields:

• Subject of the letter and appeal;
• Describe your problem or question in detail in the “Ask your question” field;
• If necessary, you can attach a document no larger than 7 megabytes in size in the “Attach file” section;
• Your phone number;
• Email;
• Contact phone number where you can be reached;
• Name;
• Confirm that the entered data is correct;
• Enter the captcha in the “Code from picture” field.

At the end, you need to click on the “send” button. Depending on your problem, the answer may come either by email, or a company employee will contact you personally at the specified numbers.

Please note: How to refund an erroneous payment in Megafon

Megafon's future plans

Initially, the virtual assistant Elena was launched as a voice consultant, but later its functionality expanded significantly. Now he has “learned” to communicate in the support chat and via SMS messages.

At the moment, Megafon has planned the following development for this AI system:

• Expand the list of questions that a virtual assistant can solve and teach him to ask clarifying questions more correctly and accurately;
• Make the system available throughout the country;
• Create a full-fledged mobile application in which Elena will be able to communicate by voice, display information on the screen and send emails.

The company expects that in the future Elena will take on the requests of a third of subscribers who contact the Megafon support service. This will help reduce the workload of real consultants and save the operator a lot of money.

In the long term, they plan to turn Elena into a full-fledged artificial intelligence. In addition to helping with standard questions, she will be able to provide clients with other useful information.

On a smartphone

It is worth noting which issues are within the competence of support service representatives. The operator’s employees will help solve problems related to different areas of mobile communications:

• Technical difficulites;
• Changing the tariff plan;
• Connect or disable additional options;
• Questions regarding the subscriber’s balance status;
• Blocking a number;
• Roaming difficulties and much more.

You don’t always have a computer at hand, but a smartphone is always within easy reach. Let's talk about how to contact technical support in the Megafon mobile application:

• Open the program and enter the authorization code (or fingerprint);
• Find the "Support" button on the bottom panel;
• Select the section “Megafon online chat with a specialist”;

• Describe the question you have and wait for the robot’s response;
• If you are not satisfied with the brief consultation, click on the desired button to contact a specialist.

That's all - now you know how to quickly contact company representatives. Contact technical support in a timely manner to be able to quickly and efficiently resolve any problems.

Collaboration with Alice

In 2021, Megafon and Yandex decided to “make friends” with their virtual assistants. This agreement was concluded during the open beta testing stage of Alice.

According to the companies' plans, the virtual assistant Elena will be integrated into Alice's systems. Upon request, Alice will be able to provide the Megafon subscriber with all information about his current phone number, account, tariff plans and services.

The unification of Elena and Alisa was planned for the second half of 2018. At the moment there is no information about the project.

Account replenishment and automatic payment through your personal account

To top up your account through your personal account, you need to go to the section called “Payment”. You can transfer funds by following the following algorithm:

1. Select your most preferred payment method. Both credit cards (Master Card, VISA) and electronic wallets (Webmoney, Qiwi, Yandex Money) are suitable for replenishing your mobile phone account.
2. Enter the phone number to which funds will be transferred.
3. Indicate the exact amount, taking into account the minimum and maximum payment restrictions (100 and 1000 rubles).

In the “Payment” section you can activate automatic replenishment of your mobile phone account. To do this you will need:

1. Specify the number to which the bank card will be linked.
2. Enter the confirmation code identifying the owner.
3. Link the number to a credit card.

Automatic payment is activated when the mobile phone balance drops below 30 rubles. MegaFon sends an SMS message to the bank’s official website, after which 100 rubles are debited from the card to replenish the account. Activation of this service is absolutely free. The amount of the additional commission is indicated in the corresponding section of your personal account.

Summary

Virtual assistant Elena from Megafon is a promising project that will significantly simplify the work of the support service.

It is capable of responding to a large number of subscriber requests, and in the future the list of supported topics will only be expanded.

This system is beneficial both for the operator himself and for clients - with it there is no need to “hang” on the line and wait for an answer for half an hour, all problems will begin to be resolved in a matter of minutes.

We are waiting for the launch of the project at the federal level.

Contacting a communication salon

Some problems can be easily solved on the spot by employees of Megafon communication salons. You can find out the address of the nearest one on the operator’s official portal by viewing a special map. Only in Moscow their number exceeded fifty.

You will need to have one of your identification documents with you. This can be a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation or a sailor, as well as a military personnel identification card or a temporary certificate replacing a passport.

If the call center employees cannot help, then it is best to try to call the operator.