How Alsa achieved 90% automation in WhatsApp and webchat in just 8 weeks
With a strategy focused on user experience and artificial intelligence, Alsa transformed the way its customers communicate through its webchat and new WhatsApp channel. In just two months, the company reduced information-request forms by 46% and automated 90% of interactions across these two channels, delivering a faster, more efficient, and more customer-centric service.
automated interactions in WhatsApp and webchat
reduction in information request forms submitted via the website
About Alsa
Alsa is the leading operator in road passenger transport in Spain, with more than 100 years of history and an international presence in Europe and Morocco. The company has a fleet of over 7,000 buses, transports more than 660 million passengers each year, and employs nearly 20,000 professionals.
Alsa has been a pioneer in digitalisation and innovation within the sector, incorporating online sales and support channels, mobile apps, and even launching the first autonomous vehicles in Spain. Its approach is centred on the customer experience and the adoption of technological solutions that optimise mobility and user service.
The problem
Alsa relied almost entirely on traditional channels for customer service and faced a very high volume of requests. For example, they received around 33,000 general information request forms through their website.
At the same time, users were demanding more speed and the ability to resolve their needs without having to switch channels.
To try to mitigate this, Alsa had implemented a webchat, but it was limited to a basic FAQ system—incapable of truly reducing agent workload or resolving more complex use cases.
Objective
Alsa’s objective was clear: to migrate a large part of the traffic towards more efficient flows that would improve the user experience while reducing costs, through the implementation of artificial intelligence and automation. In other words, to centralise customer journeys so that communication channels would stop being an additional cost and instead become an opportunity to deliver an automated, seamless, and scalable experience.
The question was: how can both goals be achieved at the same time?
“We’ve reached a very high level of automation in our messaging channels—close to 90%—largely thanks to Hubtype’s generative AI. They’ve been proactive in helping us implement solutions gradually and keeping us updated on new AI features we can add.”
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Dependence on traditional, inefficient channels
Most customer interactions on the website took place through very costly and unscalable communication channels, with around 33,000 general information request forms submitted each year.
Ineffective automation that neither freed up agent time nor solved complex cases
Investment in very basic automation solutions such as FAQs did not meaningfully reduce agent workload or address more complex information requests.
Fragmented user experience
The customer experience across existing channels was fragmented and difficult to scale.
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Opening and optimising channels
Hubtype and Alsa focused on expanding and optimising messaging channels.
The old webchat integrated into Alsa’s website and app was redesigned to deliver fast, high-quality automated responses, and an official WhatsApp channel was launched to serve users who preferred a familiar, asynchronous environment. This made it possible to offer a complete, seamless, and consistent experience—regardless of which channel the customer used to start the conversation.
In both cases, a hybrid experience was implemented: automation as the starting point, with the option to connect with human agents whenever necessary.
Improving flows and tools
To optimise and design more intuitive conversation flows, Alsa incorporated Hubtype’s Flowbuilder— a tool that made it possible to structure customer journeys in a simple and efficient way, while also allowing rapid adaptation to unforeseen situations that required automatic responses.
To accurately understand user intentions and automatically route them to the right flow, Smart Intents were added. By connecting to Alsa’s knowledge base, the system could provide answers using generative AI, delivering a more natural and effective conversational experience.
When human assistance was needed, users could be seamlessly transferred to an agent, ensuring complete support. To make agents’ work easier and give them a holistic view of interactions, Hubtype’s Helpdesk was implemented, enabling more efficient conversation management with real-time performance metrics.
Boosting automation
To ensure the bot could handle the widest possible range of questions and use cases, all information related to the most common contact reasons—such as itineraries, schedules, prices, and luggage—was added to its knowledge base. At the same time, internal Alsa APIs were integrated, allowing the system to resolve specific queries about routes and real-time availability in a personalised way, offering users a smooth, fast, and tailored experience.
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and see measurable results.
served through WhatsApp and webchat.
reflecting high user satisfaction.
on WhatsApp and webchat, with only 8% agent handoff.
across messaging channels.
submitted via the website
Impact
In less than two months, Alsa completely transformed its customer experience. Through WhatsApp and webchat, they managed to automate up to 90% of interactions in these channels, reaching 27,000 users served per month. Additionally, they reduced the number of information request forms on the website by 10,000—a 46% decrease.
That’s what a truly tailored automation strategy looks like.
What’s next for Alsa
Committed to continuing to offer its users the best solutions, Alsa is now working hand in hand with Hubtype to implement its first AI Agents. These agents will be able to handle traveller queries, provide recommendations, check routes, and manage tickets across customer service channels—just as if users were speaking directly with one of Alsa’s own experts.
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