Tokyo, Feb 19 (IANS): Twenty-five per cent of customer service and support operations will integrate virtual customer assistant (VCA) or chatbot technology across engagement channels by 2020 -- up from less than two per cent in 2017, Gartner said on Monday.

More than half of organisations have already invested in VCAs for customer service as they realise the advantages of automated self-service.

"As more customers engage on digital channels, VCAs are being implemented for handling customer requests on websites, mobile apps, consumer messaging apps and social networks," said Gene Alvarez, Managing Vice President at Gartner.

He was speaking at the "Gartner Customer Experience Summit" in Tokyo.

Organisations report a reduction of up to 70 per cent in call, chat and/or email inquiries after implementing a VCA, according to Gartner.

They also report increased customer satisfaction and a 33 per cent saving per voice engagement.

"A great VCA offers more than just information," said Mr. Alvarez. "It should enrich the customer experience, help the customer throughout the interaction and process transactions on behalf of the customer."