Singtel partners with Sierra to roll out agentic AI across customer engagement channels

Singapore – Singtel has entered into a strategic partnership with AI platform Sierra to enhance customer engagement across its operations.

Voice-based AI agents for outbound sales are also expected to be rolled out. Singtel Singapore said it plans to expand AI capabilities across additional departments, as well as make them available to enterprise clients for deployment within their own businesses.

The collaboration began with the integration of AI assistant “Shirley” into Singtel’s customer care ecosystem. The assistant enables customers to manage queries and complete transactions digitally. It has been adapted to local expressions and Singaporean English to better align with customer communication preferences in the market.

“We founded Sierra in the belief that AI can create better, more human customer experiences. Our partnership with Singtel – Asia’s leading communications technology group – is helping make that a reality, deepening their relationship with customers, while also growing their business,” said Bret Taylor, chief executive officer and co-founder of Sierra. “Singtel is a pioneer in applied AI and we’re so excited to be working with them.”

Sierra’s agentic AI technology verifies customer details and provides relevant product and service information through Singtel’s customer service platforms, including Shirley. The company noted that human oversight remains in place to help ensure accuracy and security.

Since Shirley’s launch, the AI assistant has handled over 70,000 cases. According to the companies, 73% of troubleshooting cases and 76% of sign-up requests were completed without the involvement of a customer care officer. They added that this allows service teams to focus on more complex customer engagements.

“The deployment of agentic AI across chat and voice is about delivering real value — more personalised experiences, greater convenience and faster, more responsive service. By using AI to support our customer service teams, we can ensure customers are promptly and well assisted, while empowering our agents to focus on more complex cases where human expertise matters most,” said Ng Tian Chong, chief executive officer at Singtel Singapore.