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Project, which completes one year, records important results, such as 6 million services made by the virtual assistant

Digital service has consolidated itself as an efficient and affordable solution. This is because customers can request services, obtain information and resolve situations from wherever they are. Neoenergia further intensified the delivery of innovative solutions focused on the customer, having as main exponent in this area the Digital Connection (Conexão Digital, in Portuguese), a Research and Development project (R&D), regulated by the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel). The initiative was launched in March 2020 and completes a year of activity, celebrating achievements such as the milestone of 6 million services and 2 million unique customers in the virtual assistant of WhatsApp and Facebook.

“Digital Connection modernizes customers' processes and journeys, creating and integrating new service channels for consumers at our distributors. With this, the project has three basic pillars: modernization of the customer journey, integrated development of digital solutions and digital inclusion, always prioritizing the customer in the center of the business", states the corporate manager of Digital Services and Strategies at Neoenergia, Renato Suplicy.

One of the main deliveries of Digital Connection is the virtual assistant on WhatsApp and Facebook, which uses artificial intelligence and chatbot technology for automated customer service. There are more than 70 services available to be requested automatically and quickly by the tools, between requesting a duplicate, warning of energy outage, reconnection and much more. One of the highlights is the registration and delivery of the digital invoice via WhatsApp, a pioneering service launched in the electricity sector by Neoenergia.

Until the end of the year, more news is foreseen in the virtual assistant, such as the online request for a new energy connection, which will have the facial recognition technology in the chatbot, in addition to the self-reading and the reconnection service, which allows the customer to inform the distributor about restoring the energy supply at home when paying the bills.

Easy recognition was one of the launches made within the Digital Connection for online requests for a new energy connection. The technology allows the customer to request a new connection from wherever he is, doing everything online and in a practical way. Recently, innovation received an update, and Neoenergia started offering combo options based on different consumption profiles. The novelty is unprecedented in the electric sector and makes the request for a new connection even more agile and simple.

Another pioneer action of the company happened with the launch of the PIX (payment method for immediate transfer of funds) for payment of invoices to customers who receive the bill by email. The company launched the novelty on the same day as the Central Bank, in November last year, thus being the first company in the electricity sector to make the new payment method available. Currently, Neoenergia accounts for more than two million invoices generated in the service.

“All these innovations were launched in a year that online service needed to be more agile and innovative in the face of social distance measures. Thus, we reinforce our initiatives in a movement of approximation and engagement with consumers", states the project manager, Inácio Dantas. In total, Digital Connection plans to offer 115 products that will be used interactively with constant launches over 42 months.