Zendesk expects voice to re-emerge as a critical channel for Australian retailers as customer expectations rise and artificial intelligence advances, according to Australia and New Zealand regional vice president Kellie Hackney.
Hackney said consumers still prefer verbal communication when situations are emotional or complex, even as digital channels continue to manage routine inquiries.
“About 60 per cent of consumers actually find voice easier than text most of the time,” she said, noting shoppers want “speed and clarity and the assurance of verbal communication” for high-stakes issues such as complicated returns or complaints.
Zendesk launched its Voice AI Agents last week month, positioning the technology as a major step toward real-time, natural assistance that eliminates queue times.
“This technology really is a game changer,” Hackney said. “It can understand your natural speech, it can act, and it can resolve without escalation.”
The product is currently in early access, with plans to scale availability across the Australian market.
Zendesk works with leading Australian retailers including The Iconic, Accent Group, Lush, Jaycar and Sealy. The Iconic currently uses Zendesk’s AI capabilities and Zendesk plans to make Voice AI capabilities available to the retailer soon.
While voice-specific results are not yet available, Hackney highlighted the impact of Zendesk’s AI elsewhere in retail customer service. Global cosmetics brand Lush launched an AI agent called Marvin in a matter of days to handle common questions such as discounts and delivery times.
With Marvin resolving routine queries, Lush reached a 60 per cent first-contact resolution rate and now saves around 360 agent hours each month. Agent productivity has risen 17 per cent and manager productivity by 30 per cent, resulting in more than $434,000 in annual cost savings.
Hackney said the new voice experience will be particularly valuable during peak trading periods by handling call surges, completing end-to-end resolutions through natural speech and escalating seamlessly to human agents when needed. Zendesk has also introduced video calling and screen-sharing, enabling staff to guide customers through troubleshooting and product setup in real time.
“Our goal really here is just to help retailers better connect with customers across multiple platforms,” she said. “Voice, video, chat… enable retailers to deliver the faster resolutions and more complete resolutions easily with empathy.”
With cost-of-living pressures sharpening value expectations, Hackney said high-quality service is now an essential competitive lever. “Customer service is the undeniable currency for loyalty,” she said.
“Seventy-five percent of consumers agree that a company’s customer service isn’t just a touch point — it’s critical for their loyalty.”