United KingdomRetail and e-commerce2025 – ongoingHowden Joinery
Chip fitting and technical-support assistant
Howdens introduced Chip in its Trade App and reported fewer customer queries
Problem
Trade customers needed fitting guidance while working on site. Interruptions to find technical information took time away from installation work.
Approach
Howdens worked with Microsoft to build Chip using Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Search. Trade account customers accessed fitting guides, videos and technical specifications through natural-language chat in the Howdens Trade App.
Results
No published figures
Takeaway
The assistant placed technical support inside an app customers already used. The reduction in customer queries was not quantified.
Categories
- Size
- Large enterprise
- Industry
- Retail and e-commerce
- Business function
- Customer service
- Innovation type
- Product and service innovation
- AI technology
- Generative AIConversational and voice AI
- Adoption
- Partner co-development
- Evidence
- Vendor case study
Sources
Source summaries
Microsoft described Chip's deployment and access through the Howdens Trade App. It reported fewer customer queries as customers retrieved information themselves, without giving a numerical reduction.
Full details are in the original sources.
