T-Mobile Enhances Customer Interactions Using Microsoft Power Apps and Copilot Studio
Enhancing T-Mobile’s Retail Operations with Microsoft Power Platform
T-Mobile stands as the second-largest wireless network provider in the United States, boasting a customer base of more than 130 million. Over the past six years, it has achieved top rankings in retail-store satisfaction among major wireless carriers. A significant factor contributing to this success is T-Mobile’s ongoing commitment to enhancing its retail operations, particularly through innovative tools for customer service representatives (CSRs). Much of T-Mobile’s improvement efforts are powered by the Microsoft Power Platform.
Optimizing Operations with Power Platform
T-Mobile has been utilizing the Power Platform for years to develop enterprise-wide solutions. A prime example is T-Mobile’s Orbit app, designed to optimize project planning and market strategies, which saves the company an impressive 97,000 hours and over $4 million in costs annually. The adoption of premium Power Apps licenses has set the stage for even more complex solutions, including the integration of Dataverse to scale enterprise applications effectively.
With their latest initiative, T-Mobile aimed to simplify access to promotional information for customers. This information encompasses details on new devices, discounts, and trade-in offers. Previously, customer service representatives received a complex daily report filled with updates that were increasingly challenging to navigate. The retail team sought a more efficient solution—an all-in-one integrated application.
Initially considering custom coding for the new solution, the team was informed that such an option would require over nine months to complete. However, upon consulting the Power Platform team, they determined that they could create the required solution in less than a week using Power Platform.
Launching PromoGenius: A New App for CSRs
The result of this collaboration was the PromoGenius app. This canvas app, created within Power Apps, features a user-friendly interface designed with dropdown menus, minimizing the time CSRs spend searching for information. The app runs on iPads, allowing CSRs to access it conveniently while engaging with customers on the retail floor. "Power Apps enabled us to create an interface that was not only easier to work with but also displayed results in a format our reps can directly present to customers," shares Brian Hodel, Principal Developer for Power Platform at T-Mobile.
The PromoGenius app pulls information from the existing promotions report and integrates data from other systems, such as trade-in values. Previously, reps had to consult multiple systems for this information, but now they can obtain all the necessary details swiftly within one app.
Hodel underscores the impact of investing in Power Apps premium licenses, stating that it empowers them to enhance frontline solutions for retail staff.
Copilot Studio: Streamlining Technical Searches
While PromoGenius has improved access to internal promotional data, CSRs faced another hurdle: obtaining technical specifications of devices, which often required visiting multiple manufacturers’ websites. This process could be cumbersome, particularly when customers wanted to compare products.
To tackle this issue, T-Mobile leveraged the Microsoft Copilot Studio. An AI-driven agent was developed that connects to more than 20 different device manufacturers’ websites, gathering product information instantly and efficiently. This agent is embedded in the PromoGenius app, utilizing generative answers from Copilot Studio. CSRs are now able to ask detailed technical questions using natural language, which rapidly delivers pertinent information relevant to customers’ inquiries.
The Copilot agent is particularly valuable when comparing products, as it not only collects the necessary data but formats it into clear comparison tables, making it easy to present to customers. As Hodel explains, "Our reps are using our new agent in Copilot Studio to gather product information in a fraction of the time it would take with a manual search." This innovation significantly enhances the efficiency of customer service representatives, allowing them to assist customers more effectively and make informed recommendations.
With tools like PromoGenius and Copilot Studio, T-Mobile continues to improve its retail operations, ensuring it remains competitive in the ever-evolving telecommunications landscape.
