AI-augmented support for transforming customer experience

Featured in CIDM.

AI is rapidly reshaping maritime operations, and customer support is one of the areas seeing the fastest transformation, prompting important questions about how much trust we can place in computer-generated systems.

Jane Kjellesvik, Technical Writer at NAVTOR, presented at ConVEXIDEAS2025 on how NAVTOR has advanced its Customer Support approach by integrating AI technologies.

Here, she shares insights into the transformation driven by AI and how other organisations can begin applying it within their own operations.

Why AI matters in maritime support

In the maritime industry, time is critical. Whether a vessel is navigating complex waters or a fleet manager is troubleshooting technical issues, support must be immediate, accurate, and contextual.

Traditional support models often rely on manual processes and static documentation. While effective, these approaches can be slow and resource intensive. At NAVTOR, we saw an opportunity to go further by integrating AI-powered tools that understand natural language, learn from customer interactions, and deliver tailored responses in real time.

AI doesn’t replace our support team; it strengthens it. It’s about empowering them to find answers faster and ensuring every response is accurate and consistent. Think of it as having a super‑smart assistant working alongside you. In shipping terms, it’s like having a co‑pilot who helps your voyage run more smoother while you remain firmly in control of the ship.

3 key best practices for AI-augmented support

Our implementation journey revealed several best practices that can guide organisations adopting AI in Customer Support:

1. Start with a clear objective

Ask yourself: How can AI make support more intuitive for users?

Define measurable goals, such as reducing response times, improving self-service capabilities, or increasing first-contact resolution. Clear objectives ensure AI is deployed with purpose, not just novelty.

2. Deploy AI where it adds real value

At NAVTOR, we focused on three areas:

• AI-driven knowledge assistants that provide instant answers on topics such as Digital Logbooks, Passage Planning, and troubleshooting.

  
  

• Smart ticket triaging, using generative AI to sort and prioritise requests based on urgency and context.

  
  

• Content automation for technical documentation, ensuring faster updates and consistent messaging across platforms.

3. Augment, don’t replace, human expertise

AI should take care of routine, repetitive tasks, freeing human experts to focus on complex issues and building stronger customer relationships.

Anticipate early impact measurement

By implementing AI augmented support, NAVTOR aims to deliver measurable improvements across its ecosystem, including a 23% reduction in first response times, higher customer satisfaction scores, and more efficient content updates across all support channels.

We expect customer feedback to reflect improved clarity, faster responses, and easier access to relevant information, eliminating the need to navigate lengthy manuals and helping customers get the right answers quickly.

Plan for continuous evolution

AI adoption isn’t a one-off initiative but an evolving journey, and our roadmap reflects that ongoing commitment. We’re expanding multilingual support through AI-driven translation, integrating predictive analytics to better anticipate customer needs, and enhancing our self-service portals with conversational interfaces that make interactions more intuitive and efficient.

3 key takeaways

• Empower, don’t complicate: AI should simplify workflows for both customers and support teams.

  
  

• Iterate and learn: Use feedback and performance metrics to refine AI capabilities.

  
  

• Staying human-centric: Technology should enhance—not replace—the human touch.