A UK multi-site retailer was losing revenue and customer trust every night and weekend when phone support went offline. Within 8 weeks, AI voice agents were handling 100% of out-of-hours calls — without a single new hire.
When the Head of Customer Service at a UK retail chain with 38 locations reached out to Digital by Default, the problem was clear and urgent:
The business was experiencing a cascade of interconnected problems, each compounding the next:
The client had already explored traditional outsourced call centres. Quotes came back at £6,800–£9,200/month for basic after-hours cover, with no product knowledge, 4–6 week onboarding, and no integration with their existing CRM or inventory systems. Call quality scores from trial periods were 40% below in-house benchmarks.
Before recommending any solution, we ran a 5-day discovery sprint analysing the client's call data, support workflows, and customer journey:
We designed and deployed a production-grade voice AI system using best-in-class components, fully integrated with the client's existing infrastructure:
| Layer | Technology | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Orchestration | Cognigy.AI | Conversation flow management, intent routing, multi-turn dialogue, CRM/inventory integration via API |
| Speech-to-Text | Deepgram Nova-2 | Real-time transcription with retail-specific vocabulary model, <300ms latency |
| Text-to-Speech | ElevenLabs Turbo v2 | Natural-sounding brand voice, cloned from the client's top-rated support agent |
| Knowledge Base | RAG (Pinecone + GPT-4o) | Product catalogue, returns policy, store info — updated nightly from the client's PIM |
| Telephony | Twilio SIP Trunk | Existing phone numbers preserved, seamless handover to the AI agent after hours |
| Workflow | n8n (self-hosted) | Escalation triggers, CRM ticket creation, SMS confirmations, analytics pipeline |
We evaluated four leading platforms against the client's specific requirements. Here's a summary of our recommendation rationale:
| Platform | Strengths | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Cognigy | Enterprise telephony, multi-language, deep CRM integrations, omnichannel | Selected |
| Ada | Native Shopify/SFCC integration, strong chat; voice still maturing | Shortlisted |
| Voiceflow | Excellent visual builder; better suited to smaller-scale voice bots | Considered |
| Sierra AI | Premium brand-voice agents; pricing prohibitive for 38-store scale | Considered |
Analysed 4,200 call recordings, mapped the top 12 intent categories, defined escalation rules and success metrics with the client's CS leadership team.
Designed 5 core conversation flows, built the RAG knowledge base from product/policy docs, cloned the brand voice using ElevenLabs from recorded sample calls (with agent consent).
Connected Cognigy to the client's CRM (HubSpot), inventory API, and Twilio SIP trunk. 380+ test calls across all intent categories. Escalation routing validated with live agents.
Week 7: AI handled calls 6pm–9pm only (shadow mode with human backup). Week 8: Full 24/7 deployment across all 38 store phone lines with real-time monitoring dashboards.
Weekend callers asking about product availability were now answered immediately. The AI agent checks live inventory, confirms stock at the nearest store, and can send a Google Maps link via SMS. Saturday conversion from phone enquiry to in-store visit increased by 31%.
The voicemail backlog disappeared entirely. Monday mornings went from 200+ messages to an average of 12 escalation tickets — pre-triaged, categorised, and with full transcripts attached in HubSpot.
Human agents now handle only the calls that genuinely need empathy and judgement — complex complaints, VIP customers, and nuanced returns. Agent satisfaction scores rose from 6.2 to 8.4 out of 10 and weekend shift attrition dropped to zero.
Store managers no longer field calls on personal mobiles. All calls are recorded, transcribed, and stored in compliance with UK GDPR. The audit trail alone justified the investment according to the client's DPO.
Following the success of the after-hours deployment, the client expanded the AI voice agent into business hours as a first-line triage layer. The system now:
Digital by Default provides monthly optimisation reviews: analysing call transcripts, tuning intent models, updating the knowledge base, and A/B testing new conversation flows. The AI gets measurably better every month. Resolution rate has climbed from 64% at launch to 71% at the 6-month mark.
Book a free 30-minute discovery call. No pitch decks — just an honest conversation about your call volumes, your pain points, and whether AI voice is the right fit.
Book Your Discovery Call →Digital by Default is a London-based AI automation consultancy that builds production-grade AI systems for businesses ready to move beyond experimentation. From voice AI and intelligent chatbots to workflow automation and AI governance, we deliver measurable outcomes — not transformation theatre.
Services include: AI Voice Agents · Chatbots & Virtual Agents · Custom AI Agent Development · RAG & Knowledge Base AI · Workflow Automation · White-Label AI SaaS · AI Strategy & Training · AI Governance & EU AI Act Compliance