Trends
< Back to the blog
Today, when we talk about customer service, accessibility is increasingly at the heart of the conversation. Customers want to be able to ask a question easily, understand the answer without effort, and quickly find the right information. Yet in practice, many journeys are still complex, sometimes even discouraging. Between overly technical language, opening hours that don’t match everyday constraints, poorly designed channels, and long waiting times, it’s easy to lose track. As a result, some customers drop off along the way, not because their request is complicated, but simply because they no longer know where to look or who to contact.
In these situations, the AI agent can step in to guide users, rephrase when needed, and direct them to the right information or the right service. The journey becomes smoother, clearer, and above all more accessible, including for those who can quickly feel overwhelmed by processes that are too complex.
When we talk about accessibility in customer service, we often think first about people with disabilities. For many of them, access to information and services is still far too complicated. Whether the challenges are visual, hearing-related, cognitive, or motor, a poorly designed journey can quickly become an insurmountable barrier. In France, this topic is governed by the law of 11 February 2005, which establishes the principle of equal access to services for everyone. Requirements around digital accessibility, particularly through the RGAA (the General Accessibility Improvement Framework) remind us that online services must be usable by all, without exclusion. However, digital accessibility remains a major challenge. In October 2024, the government monitoring report covering the 247 most-used administrative processes showed that only 7 were fully accessible, 146 were partially compliant, and 76 were completely inaccessible.
But in reality, accessibility goes far beyond disability alone. It refers to the ability for any customer to find help easily, understand the answers they receive, and move forward through their journey without feeling stuck or lost.
This applies just as much to someone who is not comfortable with digital tools as it does to a customer in a hurry, someone who doesn’t fully speak the language, or someone who is simply stressed by their situation. As soon as a journey requires too much effort to understand, it becomes less accessible.
An accessible customer service is therefore a service that adapts to the customer, not the other way around. Journeys are clear, messages are simple, and entry points are easy to identify. Customers don’t need to understand the company’s internal structure or make multiple attempts before reaching the right place. When this simplicity is missing, the experience quickly deteriorates. Not necessarily because of poor intent, but often because journeys have been layered over time, until they become difficult to read and understand.
When we talk about an AI agent (next-generation AI chatbot), it can sometimes sound highly technical or abstract. An AI agent is a tool powered by artificial intelligence (AI) designed to understand a situation, analyze a request, and answer questions. It relies on technologies such as natural language understanding (NLU) and generative AI to interpret the request, even when it isn’t perfectly phrased. It responds based on the information it has access to, feedback from internal teams, and the scenarios it has been configured to handle. In customer service, this means it can recognize recurring requests, understand more complex contexts, and guide customers more effectively.
What makes an AI virtual assistant truly powerful comes down to three key elements. First, its ability to operate autonomously on simple interactions, without unnecessarily involving a human advisor. Second, the AI agent can automatically execute the right customer journeys: delivering personalized answers, searching knowledge bases, retrieving internal data, tracking cases, or triggering simple actions. And finally, its responsiveness. It can reply instantly to any request. In a customer service context, this leads to better guidance, clearer answers, and a more relevant handoff to a human advisor when needed.
Much more than a simple chatbot, the AI agent primarily acts as a facilitator. It helps customers clarify their request, understand what is possible, and quickly identify the right point of contact. When people don’t know where to start or struggle to put their need into words, this support helps remove the first barriers and enter the journey with greater confidence and peace of mind.
From the very first interactions, the AI agent focuses on understanding the true intent behind the request. It rephrases when necessary, asks simple questions (disambiguation), and guides the customer step by step toward a clear path forward. Customers move through the process without fear of making mistakes or wasting time. This orientation phase plays a major role in the overall experience. It reduces misrouting, avoids unnecessary repetition, and significantly limits that familiar frustration of feeling stuck in circles within a poorly designed journey.
One of the biggest barriers to accessibility is still language. When it’s too technical, too administrative, or too vague, it can quickly become discouraging, especially when someone is already in an uncomfortable situation. The AI agent simplifies wording, rephrases when needed, and adjusts the level of language to the context of the request, without ever being patronizing. Customers understand what is being explained more easily and can quickly see what to do next.
This capability is even more valuable in a multilingual environment, or when French is not the customer’s first language. The AI agent can support multiple languages or use simpler, more universal phrasing, which reduces misunderstandings. It guides customers step by step, without overwhelming them with too much information, and lets them move forward at their own pace. This progressive approach is particularly helpful for people who are not comfortable with online processes, those who don’t fully master the language, or those who simply need reassurance before going further.
Accessibility is also about availability. Customers don’t always get to choose when an issue arises or when a question becomes urgent. It can happen early in the morning, late at night, or over the weekend. In those moments, not finding an answer often leads to frustration or even anxiety. By being available at any time, the AI agent can provide an immediate first response, even outside opening hours, and offer reassurance from the very first moments.
It doesn’t solve everything and that’s not its goal. What it does do is avoid silence and the feeling of being left alone. It answers initial questions, directs customers to the right information, and prepares the ground for a smooth handover to a customer service advisor when needed. This continuity is essential for people who can’t call during standard business hours, those who prefer written interactions, people living with certain disabilities, or anyone who simply needs a quick first answer to feel supported. Customer service remains present, even when teams are not immediately available.
Accessible customer service needs to remain consistent, no matter which touchpoint is used. Too often, the experience changes depending on whether customers go through the website, mobile, chat, or another channel and that creates confusion. This is exactly where the AI agent helps smooth out those differences. It provides a shared entry point and a consistent journey logic, whatever channel the customer chooses.
In practice, customers no longer need to understand how the company is organized internally, or wonder whether they are in the right place. They simply express their need in their own words, and the AI agent helps them move forward in the right direction. It routes them to the most relevant journey without exposing the complexity of menus or underlying navigation structures. This approach is especially valuable for people who quickly feel lost when faced with overloaded interfaces or too many choices. The journey becomes smoother, more reassuring, and above all more accessible whatever channel is used.
Some situations require special attention, especially when it comes to people with disabilities. Whether the challenges are visual, hearing-related, cognitive, or motor, a poorly designed customer service experience can quickly become inaccessible. In that context, an AI virtual assistant plays a key role by making interactions simpler, clearer, and less exhausting.
It can adapt how content is displayed, give users more time to process information, offer more guided navigation, and limit visual effects that may disturb certain users. Resizable text, smooth transitions to reduce glare or prevent motion sickness, and a clear, structured search logic all contribute to a more comfortable experience. The journey doesn’t rely solely on reading speed or fast execution, it adapts to each person’s abilities and pace.
Accessibility also depends on technical compatibility. A truly accessible AI agent works smoothly across all devices, whether on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. It should function properly across most browsers and provide a responsive interface, without breaking the experience. Text-to-speech (TTS) and speech-to-text (STT) capabilities allow users to speak their request, see it automatically transcribed, and receive spoken answers. For some people with disabilities or for those whose first language isn’t the local language, these features can make a meaningful difference in how they access customer service.
At DialOnce, these challenges are addressed from the very start of the design process. Today, our AI agent meets AA-level accessibility standards and continues to progress on several AAA-level criteria under the RGAA framework. This approach naturally reflects the values the company stands for. The interface includes the features listed above by design and is built to match real-life usage, regardless of device or context. Voice features further improve access for a wide range of user profiles, without adding complexity. The goal is to deliver a truly inclusive experience, without making the journey harder or increasing effort on the user side.
Improving customer service accessibility is not incompatible with operational performance, quite the opposite. The two often go hand in hand. By reducing misrouting, misunderstandings, and unnecessary requests, next-generation AI chatbots naturally lighten the load on support teams. Fewer detours, fewer repeated explanations, and fewer contacts caused simply by a lack of clarity.
Advisors can then step in on better-qualified requests, with clearer context from the start. They no longer have to reconstruct the history or decode the customer’s intent. Instead, they can focus on what matters, take the time to assess the situation, and provide a truly relevant and personalized response. This smarter distribution of effort improves both operational efficiency and the quality of the customer relationship, without adding extra pressure on teams.
An AI agent doesn’t make customer service colder or more distant. When used effectively, it can actually make it more human, because it removes much of the friction that wears down both customers and support teams. By simplifying access, clarifying interactions, and respecting each person’s pace, it enables every customer to receive the same level of service without having to fight their way through the journey.
When accessibility is designed properly, the relationship naturally shifts. Customers feel heard, understood, and supported, even before a human advisor steps in. They no longer feel like they have to adapt to the system, the service adapts to them. This focus on real-life needs and constraints builds trust and creates a calmer, more sustainable relationship over time.
Accessibility then becomes far more than a regulatory or technical requirement. It improves the overall experience, reduces unnecessary friction, and helps create a more balanced and respectful relationship between companies and their customers.
