United KingdomEnergy and utilities2023 – ongoingOctopus Energy
Generative AI for customer emails (Magic Ink and Arlo)
AI-drafted replies reached about a third of customer emails, with satisfaction at or above staff replies
Problem
UK energy supplier Octopus Energy answers a large volume of customer emails. Writing each reply by hand took a large share of its customer service staff's time.
Approach
In 2023 the company connected generative AI to Kraken, its own customer platform, to draft email replies. The tool, later called Magic Ink, writes drafts that staff review and edit before sending. In 2026 Octopus trialled Arlo, an assistant that answers simple emails on its own; it does not handle vulnerable customers or complaints, its replies are labelled as AI-written, and customers can ask for a person.
Results
Takeaway
The satisfaction figures come from the company and vary by year and measure: 80% against 65% for staff in 2023, around 70% for AI-assisted emails in 2024, and 76% against 72% in the 2026 trial. Human review stayed in place for drafts, and full automation was introduced only for simple emails and a small share of volume.
Categories
- Industry
- Energy and utilities
- Business function
- Customer service
- Innovation type
- Process innovation
- AI technology
- Generative AI
- Adoption
- Built in-house
- Evidence
- Company's own claim
Sources
Source summaries
City AM reports a column by Octopus Energy chief executive Greg Jackson in The Times. He wrote that AI answering customer emails was doing the work of 250 people, and that AI-assisted replies scored 80% customer satisfaction against 65% for replies written by staff.
Kraken describes Magic Ink, the generative AI tool inside the Kraken platform used by Octopus Energy. It says about 35% of customer emails are written with the tool's help, with around 70% customer satisfaction, and that staff review every draft before it is sent. It also reports that the tool had summarised over six million calls.
Octopus Energy reports on a three-month trial of Arlo, an assistant built with Kraken that answers straightforward customer emails on its own. Arlo handled about 8,000 emails a week, 4% of the UK total, and scored 76% customer satisfaction against 72% for comparable replies from human advisers. Complex complaints and vulnerable customers go to staff, and AI replies are labelled.
Full details are in the original sources.
