Twitter unveils new options for customer service

Twitter has been expanding the customer service side of its product, with recent additions including a Customer Service settings page for businesses.

Today it’s adding a couple more features — namely, an automated welcome message that shows up whenever a customer starts a Direct Message conversation with a business’ account, and “quick replies” that ask the customer to get more specific about their request before the conversation starts.

For example, I opened a DM window with the Evernote customer service account, and before I even sent anything, I was greeted with a “Hi there!” and asked to specify whether I was checking on the status of an existing ticket, asking for technical help or submitting a feature request.

This should all feel pretty familiar from other websites and customer service interactions, but it could help businesses collect customer information and route requests properly, which in turn could make them more efficient at providing support on Twitter.

In a company blog post, Twitter Product Manager Ian Cairns said:

When quick replies and welcome messages are used together, businesses can reduce wait times and educate people on the best ways to interact with them. For example, they can enable faster resolutions by helping customers more easily provide information to solve problems before an agent sees the first message, or they can simplify automated services and transactional flows that were difficult in the past.

Besides Evernote, brands that are already using welcome message and quick replies include Pizza Hut, Airbnb and Spotify. Twitter says businesses can also access these new features through third-party software like Lithium and Sprout Social.