Gladly - Detailed Review
Customer Service Tools
Gladly - Product Overview
Gladly Overview
Gladly is an AI-powered, people-centered Customer Service Platform that stands out in the customer service tools category by focusing on the individual customer rather than on tickets or cases.
Primary Function
Gladly’s primary function is to enable brands to deliver world-class customer experiences by unifying all customer interactions into a single, lifelong conversation. This approach ensures customers have seamless, personalized experiences across all communication channels, driving faster resolutions and deeper connections that boost customer loyalty and lifetime value.
Target Audience
Gladly is targeted at commerce brands and businesses that prioritize building strong, personalized relationships with their customers. It is particularly beneficial for companies that value customer-centric approaches and aim to transform their customer service into a competitive advantage. Brands like Crate & Barrel, JOANN, TUMI, Allbirds, and Ulta Beauty are among those that partner with Gladly.
Key Features
- Unified Communication Channels: Gladly integrates all communication channels such as voice, email, SMS, chat, and social messaging into a single platform, eliminating the need for separate vendors or clunky integrations.
- People-Centric Approach: Instead of organizing interactions by case or ticket number, Gladly organizes customer information by person, providing agents with a complete history of customer interactions across all channels.
- Contextual Callback and Proactive Engagement: Features like Contextual Callback and proactive chat, voice, SMS, and email allow agents to resolve customer issues efficiently and provide timely updates without manual intervention.
- Dedicated Heroes and People Match: Gladly offers the ability to assign high-touch, VIP customers to dedicated agents (Dedicated Heroes) and intelligently route customers to agents based on their current situations and skills.
- Knowledge Base and Self-Service: The platform includes a Knowledge Base and Help Center where customers and agents can find FAQs, and tools like Glad App for self-service and quick replies.
- Liveboards and Insight Builder: Liveboards provide real-time updates on contact center performance, and the Insight Builder allows users to create custom reports to answer business questions.
Conclusion
Overall, Gladly is a comprehensive customer service platform that prioritizes customer relationships and provides a seamless, integrated experience for both customers and support teams.
Gladly - User Interface and Experience
User Interface Overview
The user interface of Gladly, an AI-driven customer service platform, is designed to be intuitive and customer-centric, focusing on providing a seamless and personalized experience for both agents and customers.Customer Profile and Details
Gladly centralizes all customer interactions into a single, lifelong conversation, which is accessible through the Customer Profile. This profile includes comprehensive details such as contact information, historical conversations, preferences, relationships, and any additional notes about the customer.Customer Details Panel
- The Customer Details panel displays basic contact information, a list of all conversations the customer has had with the company, and any additional details that might be useful for personalizing the service.
Channel Integration
Gladly integrates multiple communication channels natively, including voice, IVR, text/SMS, chat, social media (like Facebook Messenger and Instagram), and email. This integration ensures that agents can manage all customer interactions from a single platform without needing separate third-party integrations.Agent Interface
Agents can manage their workday efficiently using features like Agent Status, which allows them to select a status reflecting their current activity. The “My Customers” list provides a clear overview of customers and tasks assigned to the agent, making it easy to switch between different customer requests without closing ongoing conversations.Real-Time Updates and Notifications
The platform includes Liveboards that provide real-time updates on contact center performance, agent activities, and trending topics customers are reaching out about. The Notifications Center alerts agents to updates such as task or note changes, ensuring they stay informed and responsive.Proactive Engagement
Gladly offers proactive engagement tools like Proactive Chat, Proactive Voice, Proactive SMS, and Proactive Email. These features allow agents to initiate timely and relevant communications with customers without manual intervention, enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction.AI and Automation
The Gladly Sidekick, an AI and automation platform, works alongside agents to provide AI-powered responses to routine queries, freeing up agents to handle more complex tasks. This AI integration enhances the efficiency and personalization of customer interactions.Ease of Use
The interface is designed to be user-friendly, with features like the “Next” button that allows agents to switch between customer requests seamlessly. The search function enables quick access to past conversations and customer profiles, making it easier for agents to find the information they need quickly.Overall User Experience
Gladly’s user experience is centered around providing a unified and personalized view of customer interactions. By consolidating all customer data and interactions into one platform, Gladly ensures that agents have all the necessary information to deliver exceptional, personalized service. The real-time visibility and proactive engagement features contribute to a streamlined and efficient user experience for both agents and customers.Conclusion
In summary, Gladly’s user interface is structured to be intuitive, comprehensive, and highly functional, making it easy for agents to manage customer interactions effectively and provide a high level of customer satisfaction. Gladly - Key Features and Functionality
Gladly’s AI-Driven Customer Service Platform
Gladly’s AI-driven Customer Service Platform is distinguished by several key features and functionalities that significantly enhance customer interactions and support efficiency.
Customer-Centric Approach
Gladly’s platform is built around people, not cases or tickets. This approach unifies all customer interactions into a single, lifelong conversation, ensuring that every interaction is context-rich and personalized. This method allows agents to have a comprehensive view of the customer’s history, enabling more effective and meaningful interactions.
AI Integration
The platform leverages AI to deliver more accurate and human-like responses. By organizing interactions around the customer, AI can provide responses that are more relevant and contextually appropriate. This integration also helps in automating routine inquiries, allowing human agents to focus on high-value interactions such as cross-selling and upselling.
Unified Customer Record
Gladly creates a single, lifelong customer record that consolidates all interactions across various channels. This unified record ensures that both AI and human agents have access to the same information, providing consistent and personalized support. This feature helps in resolving issues efficiently and boosts customer loyalty and revenue.
Advanced AI Features
The platform includes advanced AI features such as hallucination detection technology, which ensures that AI-generated content remains accurate and relevant. Additionally, the AI behavior can be configured to align with specific brand guidelines, maintaining brand integrity while delivering superior customer experiences.
Efficiency and Productivity
Gladly’s platform automates routine tasks, increasing agent productivity. By handling routine inquiries through AI, agents can focus on more complex and high-value interactions. This shift has resulted in significant improvements, such as up to a 45% reduction in agent handle times and up to a 470% return on investment (ROI) for businesses using the platform.
Integration Capabilities
Gladly offers seamless integrations with leading platforms across ecommerce, subscriptions, and order management systems. These integrations help streamline workflows, increase agent productivity, and deliver memorable customer experiences. The platform also provides flexible APIs, allowing businesses to build custom integrations as needed.
Quality Control and Consistency
The platform ensures high standards of quality control by integrating AI features that maintain brand tone and guidelines. This consistency ensures that customers receive high-quality service whether they interact with AI or human agents, leading to higher customer satisfaction scores (CSAT) of up to 98%.
Conclusion
In summary, Gladly’s AI-driven Customer Service Platform transforms traditional customer service by focusing on the customer rather than tickets, leveraging AI for personalized and efficient interactions, and integrating seamlessly with various business systems to enhance overall customer experience and operational efficiency.
Gladly - Performance and Accuracy
Evaluating the Performance and Accuracy of Gladly’s AI-Driven Customer Service Platform
Strengths
Gladly’s platform is notable for its customer-centered approach, which unifies all communication channels into a single, seamless experience. This approach shifts the focus from traditional ticket-based systems to a more holistic, customer-centric service model. Here are some key strengths:- Unified Customer Interactions: Gladly’s platform integrates all customer interactions into a single, ongoing conversation, allowing agents to access comprehensive customer histories. This enhances the quality of customer service and enables more effective issue resolution.
- AI-Driven Responses: The platform uses AI to deliver more accurate and human-like responses, which improves the overall quality of customer service. AI streamlines routine inquiries, allowing agents to focus on high-value interactions such as cross-selling and upselling.
- Improved Efficiency and Satisfaction: Companies using Gladly have reported significant improvements, including up to a 470% return on investment (ROI), a 45% reduction in agent handle times, and customer satisfaction scores as high as 98%.
Areas for Improvement
Despite these strengths, there are several areas where Gladly could improve:- Self-Service Features: Gladly’s self-service features are described as subpar, with limited knowledge sources that can lead to inaccurate responses from bots. This can frustrate customers and result in repeated inquiries.
- Limited Analytics: Gladly’s platform lacks extensive analytics, making it difficult for admins to track all performance metrics or optimize self-service, which can undermine support efficiency and customer satisfaction.
- AI-Powered Agent Assist Tools: Unlike some competitors, Gladly lacks essential AI-powered tools such as ticket summaries, article generators, voice transcripts, and sentiment analysis. This forces agents to handle manual tasks, slowing down support and hurting efficiency.
- Collaboration Limitations: Gladly’s collaboration features are limited to licensed users only, which can hinder external stakeholder involvement and lead to fragmented teamwork and longer resolution times.
Consumer Perceptions and AI Integration
Consumer perceptions of Gladly’s AI integration are mixed. While 55% of consumers are open to interacting with AI-powered virtual agents for faster resolutions, 45% still prefer to interact with human agents. There is a healthy skepticism among consumers regarding AI, with 39% feeling that AI has worsened their customer experience. To address these concerns, Gladly emphasizes the importance of integrating AI in a way that complements human efforts. The platform aims to ensure that AI is used to automate routine tasks and provide initial support, seamlessly transitioning to human agents when deeper engagement is required.Conclusion
In summary, while Gladly’s AI-driven customer service platform offers significant benefits in terms of unified customer interactions and improved efficiency, it faces challenges in areas such as self-service features, analytics, and AI-powered agent assist tools. Addressing these limitations will be crucial for enhancing the overall performance and accuracy of the platform. Gladly - Pricing and Plans
Gladly Pricing Packages
Gladly, a customer service platform, offers two main pricing packages designed to cater to different business needs and sizes.
Hero Package
Cost
$180 per hero (user) per month, billed annually.
Minimum Requirement
10 heroes.
Features
- Multi-channel communication (email, chat, telephony, SMS, social messaging).
- Unified customer view and single view of conversation history.
- People Match® to match customers with the right agents.
- Centralized knowledge base.
- Real-time and historical reporting.
- Seamless integration with existing apps.
Superhero Package
Cost
$210 per hero (user) per month, billed annually.
Minimum Requirement
45 heroes.
Features
All the features included in the Hero Package, plus:
- Custom reporting.
- 99.9% uptime.
- Premium support.
Additional Notes
- Gladly does not offer a free plan or a free trial.
- The pricing is based on a per-user model, with costs billed annually.
- There are no setup fees associated with either plan.
- Gladly integrates with various other tools and platforms, such as Shopify, Klaviyo, and Yotpo, to provide a comprehensive customer service solution.
By choosing between these two plans, businesses can select the features and support level that best fit their specific needs and budget.
Gladly - Integration and Compatibility
Gladly Overview
Gladly, a customer service platform for digitally-focused B2C companies, is built with a strong emphasis on integration and compatibility to ensure seamless interactions across various tools and platforms.
Integrations
Gladly offers a wide range of integrations to connect different systems that are essential for customer service. Here are some key integration points:
App Marketplace
Gladly has an open marketplace with apps built by third parties, covering a broad spectrum of tools such as eCommerce order platforms, workforce management tools, AI/automation, quality management, customer satisfaction tools, loyalty systems, and product reviews. This marketplace allows you to connect actions to agents and use Gladly data within other business systems.
Ecommerce and Subscriptions
Gladly integrates with leading platforms across eCommerce, subscriptions, and order management systems. These integrations help streamline workflows, increase agent productivity, and deliver personalized customer experiences.
Customer Data
Gladly centralizes customer data, providing a unified view of customer activities. This integration helps service agents access all necessary customer information in one place, enhancing their ability to provide personalized service.
Channels
Gladly supports multiple communication channels, allowing customers to connect with your company through various means such as chat, voice, and self-service. It integrates these channels into a single platform, simplifying the management of customer interactions.
APIs
For more technical users, Gladly offers flexible APIs that can be used to build custom integrations. This allows you to create specific solutions that meet your unique needs.
Compatibility
Gladly is designed to be compatible with a variety of systems and devices:
Browser Compatibility
Gladly is only compatible with Google Chrome, and it is recommended to always use the latest version. Running Gladly on multiple browser tabs is not advised, as it can result in undesired behaviors.
Operating System Compatibility
Gladly supports Windows 7 and later versions, as well as Mac OSX. For VM environments, it is necessary to configure browser redirection to enable Voice over webRTC.
Hardware Requirements
To ensure optimal performance, Gladly recommends specific hardware specifications, including a minimum of an Intel Core i3 processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a 64-bit system. For audio, hands-free headphones with a microphone are recommended, and wired headsets are preferred over wireless ones to avoid interference.
Screen Resolutions
Gladly operates best on screens with resolutions of 1280px or wider. Recommended screen sizes include 1366×768 resolutions on 13.3-inch or larger screens for the best user interface experience.
By integrating seamlessly with various tools and ensuring compatibility across different platforms and devices, Gladly aims to provide a cohesive and effective customer service experience that is centered around the customer.
Gladly - Customer Support and Resources
Gladly Customer Support Overview
Gladly offers a comprehensive set of customer support options and additional resources to ensure users can effectively utilize their AI-driven customer service platform.Support Channels
Gladly provides multiple channels for users to seek help:Administrators and Team Managers
Administrators and Team Managers can directly contact Gladly Support through a support form accessible after logging into their Gladly account.
Regular Users
Regular Users need to work with their manager to report any issues to the support team.
Support Form and Priority Levels
When contacting support, users need to complete a detailed support form, selecting the correct ‘Application Component Affected’ and ‘Business Impact’ priority level. This ensures the request is routed to the appropriate team and addressed promptly. The priority levels include Critical, Major, and Partial Business Impact, each with different first response times depending on the severity of the issue.
Operating Hours
Gladly Support operates from Monday to Friday, 6 AM to 6 PM Pacific Time. Users can submit requests anytime, but responses are based on the specified business hours.
Additional Resources
Documentation and FAQs
Gladly offers extensive documentation and FAQs to help users resolve common issues. This includes guides on preventing emails from going to spam, troubleshooting login issues, and more.
Contact Forms
Users can access support forms directly from their Gladly account, which helps in categorizing and prioritizing the issues effectively.
User Feedback and Reviews
Gladly also provides insights from real users through reviews and ratings. These resources help potential users understand the pros and cons of the platform, such as its people-centered approach, efficiency, and any limitations in reporting and analytics features.
By offering these support options and resources, Gladly ensures that its users can quickly address any issues and make the most out of their customer service platform.
Gladly - Pros and Cons
Advantages of Gladly
Gladly offers several significant advantages that make it a standout in the customer service tools category:People-Centric Approach
Gladly is built around people, not tickets, allowing for a single lifelong conversation with customers. This approach enables agents to view a customer’s entire history across all channels in one seamless thread, fostering more personalized and relationship-driven support.Ease of Use
Users praise Gladly for its simplicity and ease of use. The platform is intuitive, making it easy for agents to manage customer interactions without extensive training. It also streamlines tasks, such as tracking customer history and closing tickets, all within a single interface.Multi-Channel Support
Gladly integrates multiple communication channels (email, SMS, chat, social media, etc.) into a single thread, ensuring that customers do not have to repeat themselves when switching between channels. This feature enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of customer support.Productivity and Efficiency
The platform helps in reducing the workload of representatives by automating simple tasks and providing quick access to customer information. This leads to faster response times and increased productivity.Customer Satisfaction
Gladly’s approach to customer service has been shown to boost customer satisfaction and loyalty. By providing a more personal and seamless experience, it helps in driving customer retention and loyalty.Disadvantages of Gladly
While Gladly has several strengths, there are also some notable drawbacks:Limited Reporting and Analytics
One of the main drawbacks is that Gladly lacks some of the deeper reporting and analytics features available in more traditional ticket-based systems. This can be limiting for teams that rely heavily on detailed performance metrics.Training Time
The unique people-centric design of Gladly may require more training time for teams transitioning from ticket-based systems. The interface and workflow differ significantly, which can be an adjustment for some users.Technical Issues
Some users have reported glitches and technical issues, such as tickets being routed back to the wrong agent or difficulties with attaching screenshots in chats. These issues, although occasional, can disrupt the workflow.Cost and Availability
Gladly does not offer a free trial or a free version, and the pricing starts at $150 per year. This could be a barrier for some smaller businesses or those looking to test the product before committing. In summary, Gladly is highly regarded for its people-centered approach, ease of use, and multi-channel support, but it may lack in advanced reporting and analytics and can present some technical and training challenges. Gladly - Comparison with Competitors
Gladly Unique Features
- Omnichannel Support: Gladly integrates multiple communication channels natively, including voice, IVR, text/SMS, chat, social media, and email, without the need for third-party integrations.
- Customer-Centric Approach: Gladly focuses on the customer rather than tickets, consolidating all interactions into a continuous, lifelong conversation. This approach enhances personalization and contextualization through features like AI-powered responses, conversation history, and customer activity insights.
- Dedicated Hero: Gladly offers a unique feature called “Dedicated Hero,” which assigns high-touch, VIP customers to their own agents or teams for personalized service.
- Contextual Callback: This feature allows agents to resolve customer issues even through voicemail, enhancing the efficiency of callbacks.
Alternatives and Comparisons
Freshdesk
- AI Features: Freshdesk includes AI capabilities such as Freddy AI (a chatbot for self-service), auto-triage, predictive support, and agent assist. However, these AI features are available only on higher-tier plans starting at $15/agent/month.
- Pros and Cons: Freshdesk is user-friendly and affordable but has limited customization options and some issues with multi-language support.
- Difference from Gladly: Freshdesk uses a ticket-based system, whereas Gladly focuses on customer-centric conversations rather than tickets.
Gorgias
- Ecommerce-Specific Features: Gorgias is particularly strong in ecommerce, offering features like automated refunds, order cancellations, and return requests. It also integrates seamlessly with platforms like Shopify.
- Pros and Cons: Gorgias has live chat tools, chatbot templates, and canned responses, but it has a steep learning curve and occasional usage issues. Pricing starts at $10/month for the starter plan.
- Difference from Gladly: Gorgias is more specialized in ecommerce, whereas Gladly is more versatile across various industries including retail, airlines, and hospitality.
Tidio
- AI Capabilities: Tidio’s Lyro AI bot can detect FAQs, automate replies, identify support opportunities, and recognize user behavior. It offers 35 predefined templates and 50 free conversations.
- Pricing: Tidio offers a free plan and various paid plans starting at $25 per seat/month. Lyro AI conversations are an add-on.
- Difference from Gladly: Tidio is more focused on chatbot automation and sales recommendations, whereas Gladly provides a broader range of omnichannel support and customer-centric features.
Potential Limitations of Gladly
- Limited Automation Capabilities: Gladly has been noted to have limited automation capabilities compared to some competitors, which can be a drawback for businesses needing extensive automation.
- Advanced Reporting and Complex Workflows: Gladly may lack advanced reporting features and can have complex workflows, which can be challenging for smaller businesses.
In summary, while Gladly excels in its customer-centric approach and omnichannel support, alternatives like Freshdesk, Gorgias, and Tidio offer different strengths and may be more suitable depending on the specific needs of your business. For example, if you are heavily involved in ecommerce, Gorgias might be a better fit, while if you need strong AI-driven chatbot capabilities, Tidio could be more appropriate.
Gladly - Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions about Gladly
How do I block or stop customers from contacting us?
If you need to block or stop customers from contacting you, such as in cases of abusive customers or spam callers, Gladly provides several methods to achieve this. You can manage these settings through the user settings page, where you can block specific customers or adjust your communication preferences to prevent unwanted contacts.Why am I getting an “Unstable Internet connection error” message?
This error can occur due to several reasons, including issues with your internet connection, browser compatibility, or server-side problems. To resolve this, ensure you are using a compatible browser (Gladly is optimized for Chrome), check your internet connection, and restart your session if necessary.How do I add a user and assign an admin role or remove a user?
To add a user, assign an admin role, or remove a user, you can use the user settings page within Gladly. Here, you can add new users, deactivate existing ones, change user roles, and assign users to different inboxes. Detailed steps are available in the Gladly documentation.Why did I receive a chat while I was on a phone call?
You should not receive chats or other messaging requests while you are on a phone call. However, if this happens, it might be due to a misconfiguration of your availability settings. Ensure that your status is correctly set to “unavailable” during phone calls to prevent this issue.How do I adjust the time-out setting to be longer when reviewing interactions?
To adjust the time-out setting, you need to manage your Agent Idle Timing and Active Status settings. This allows you to set a longer time-out period so you can review interactions without being marked as inactive.Is Gladly compatible with Grammarly?
Gladly does not officially support Grammarly. While you might still be able to use Grammarly in some capacity, it is not integrated or supported by Gladly’s platform.How do I delete a Customer Profile, Attachment, or Conversation item?
To delete customer data, such as profiles, attachments, or conversation items, you need to configure the data retention and deletion settings within Gladly. This ensures you comply with privacy and data regulations while managing customer data.How can I view Daily Contact Center Performance Trends in Gladly?
You can view daily contact center performance trends using the Daily Trends Dashboard in Gladly. This dashboard provides a quick glance at your contact center’s performance, helping you monitor key metrics and trends.How do I know what each metric represents in my Gladly Reports?
To understand the metrics in your Gladly reports, you can refer to the documentation on generating reports. This section explains what each metric represents and how to interpret the data to make informed decisions.How do I set up SMS so that carriers don’t block me?
To set up SMS without carriers blocking your messages, you need to comply with SMS industry guidelines. Gladly provides guidelines and best practices for SMS compliance to ensure your messages are delivered successfully.How does Gladly’s AI-powered service work?
Gladly’s AI-powered service centralizes customer interactions across all channels into a continuous, lifelong conversation. The AI delivers personalized responses, streamlines routine inquiries, and allows agents to focus on high-value interactions. This approach ensures consistent, high-quality service whether customers interact with AI or human agents. Gladly - Conclusion and Recommendation
Final Assessment of Gladly in the Customer Service Tools AI-Driven Product Category
Gladly stands out as a unique and innovative customer service platform that prioritizes people over tickets, making it an excellent choice for companies that value personalized, seamless, and ongoing customer interactions.Key Features and Benefits
People-Centric Approach
Gladly centralizes the customer as the core priority, consolidating all interactions across multiple channels into a single, lifelong conversation. This approach enhances contextualization and personalization, allowing agents to deliver exceptional, tailored service.Omnichannel Support
Gladly supports various communication channels, including voice, IVR, text/SMS, chat, social media, and email, all natively built into the platform without the need for separate integrations.AI-Powered Responses
The software features AI-driven responses to routine queries, freeing up live agents to handle more complex tasks and improving overall efficiency.Customer Insights and History
Agents have real-time access to comprehensive customer details, including preferences, purchase history, and relationships, which streamlines interactions and enhances customer satisfaction.Integration Capabilities
Gladly integrates with several third-party applications such as Shopify, Medallia Agent Connect, Klaviyo, and more, making it versatile for different business needs.Who Would Benefit Most
Gladly is ideal for companies that emphasize building strong customer relationships and providing personalized, seamless interactions. Here are some industries and roles that would benefit most:E-commerce and Retail
Companies like Nordstrom, Warby Parker, Crate & Barrel, and JOANN have successfully implemented Gladly to enhance their customer service experiences.Customer-Focused Businesses
Any business prioritizing customer loyalty and personalized service, such as airlines, hospitality, and telecommunications, can benefit from Gladly’s people-centered approach.User Feedback and Satisfaction
Users praise Gladly for its innovative approach, efficiency, and ability to inspire productivity. However, some users note that the platform may lack deeper reporting and analytics features compared to traditional ticket-based systems, and it may require additional training for teams transitioning from such systems.Overall Recommendation
Gladly is highly recommended for businesses that value customer relationships and seek to provide personalized, seamless service experiences. Here are some key points to consider:Pros
- Enhances customer-centric interactions
- Streamlines communication across multiple channels
- AI-powered responses for routine queries
- Strong integration capabilities
- High user satisfaction and likelihood to recommend
Cons
- May lack some advanced reporting and analytics features
- Requires training for teams used to ticket-based systems
- Some users report occasional glitches