Help that answers before it transfers
Inter’s help centre was a third-party webview inside the app. I rebuilt it native, around the part before someone needs the assistant: search, answers and video. Human support is expensive, so the goal was more questions answered there.
Banco Inter · 2021–22 · Shipped in the app
Project sheet
- Sole designer
- 1 PM, engineering, Content, Customer service
- 1 month to handoff
I was the only designer, and owned the information architecture, the native interaction design, the content structure and the handoff.
- Problem
- The help centre was a third-party webview inside the banking app. Too many questions went on to Babi, the assistant, and from her to a person. Human support is expensive.
- Decision
- Rebuild it native and put the work into the part before the assistant: search, common questions, one-answer articles and video. Babi and the human channels stayed as they were.
- Result
- Shipped as the bank’s native help centre. It was built to answer more questions before anyone has to talk to someone; I don’t have the numbers for this one.
A webview inside the bank
The help centre was a third-party webview inside the banking app, and it looked and behaved like another site. Babi, the assistant, and the human channels worked. But every question that reached a person cost the bank a service it pays a lot for. The goal we set was to answer more questions before that: in search, in an article, in a video.
North starMost people should find their answer before they need to talk to anyone, and still see how to reach a person.
In order of effort
Content and rules I didn't own
The content was not mine, the assistant was not mine, and the service centre had its own rules and its own targets. What I could change was the order things are met in, and whether the page felt like the bank.
Before the assistant
The redesign is about the part before the assistant. Search comes first, then common questions by topic, then answers written one per page, with video where showing works better than telling. Babi and the human channels come after, as they did before.
Channels last, and named
The page distinguishes the relationship centre, SAC and Ombudsman, explaining the purpose of each channel.
Video as a real answer
Video content sits alongside written answers, giving people another way to understand a task.
One more step to reach a person
Putting self-service first helps most people, and adds a step for those who already know they need a person. That’s why the routes to people stay visible on the page. The honest measure reads resolution and escalation together.
Shipped as the bank's own help centre
- Shipped
- Shipped as the bank’s native help centre, combining search, articles, video, Babi and named routes to human support.
- What it was built to move
- More questions solved in self-service, and fewer contacts with the assistant and with people, because human support is expensive. I don’t have the numbers for this one.
- What I would watch
- Track successful resolution, unsuccessful searches and escalation to support. A session ending without a message is not enough to establish that the problem was solved.