When people talk about self-service, the conversation often turns to technology, such as chatbots, portals, and virtual assistants.
But self-service isn’t about the tools themselves, it’s about helping customers achieve their goal quickly and without friction.
Customers don’t want to “use” your system; they just want to solve their problem. Whether that’s resetting a password or tracking an order, the best self-service experiences make the technology feel invisible.
To find out more, we asked Stuart Baker, WFM Solution Consultant at Peopleware, to explain the real goal of self-service and what contact centres can do.
Video: Get Self Service Right: The Real Goal Is to Help Customers Get Something Done Quickly
Watch the video below to hear Stuart explain what contact centres need to do to get self-service right and why its real goal is to help customers get something done quickly:
With thanks to Stuart Baker, WFM Solution Consultant at Peopleware, for contributing to this video.
This video was originally published in our article ‘How to Create a “Win-Win” Self-Service Strategy’
3 Ways to Rethink Self-Service
The best self-service isn’t about the latest tech or clever design – it’s about invisibility and making the journey so smooth that customers barely notice the system at all, as Stuart explains:
“When we talk about self-service, it’s easy to get caught up in the technology – the chatbots, the portals, the virtual assistants – but the real goal of great self-service isn’t about the tools.
It’s about helping customers get something done as quickly and painlessly as possible. Whether it’s filing taxes, resetting a password, or checking an order status, customers don’t want to engage with your tool. They just want results.”
To get you started here are three ways to rethink self-service:
1. Focus on the Outcome, Not the Interface
The real success of self-service lies in what customers achieve, not how they get there.
Stuart explained that it’s like completing a tax return: no one enjoys the process, but everyone values the result.
“Think of it like doing your taxes. Most people don’t actually enjoy using a tax app. What they enjoy is finishing their taxes and getting their refund.
That same logic applies to customer self-service. In practice, the most effective self-service systems are invisible.
They anticipate what customers might need and guide them intuitively, making the process feel effortless.”
Great self-service removes unnecessary steps, reduces effort, and makes completion feel effortless.
2. Make the Experience Intuitive
The most effective systems anticipate customer needs and don’t make people think about what to click next; they guide them naturally.
“When systems understand intent, for example recognizing when a customer is getting stuck, that’s where technology truly shines.”
When self-service flows feel instinctive, customers reach their goal faster, which means they’re less likely to drop out or escalate to an agent.
3. Use AI to Predict and Support
AI makes self-service smarter by understanding intent and context. By analysing conversation data, it can recognize when a customer is getting stuck, predict what they’ll ask next, and offer help at the right time.
“By analysing conversation data, AI can predict what a customer is likely to ask next, offer the right support in the right moment, and free up agents to focus on more complex interactions.”
Beyond that, AI can detect frustration and adapt responses automatically, becoming more empathetic or escalating to a human when needed, as Stuart concludes:
“It can also detect customer frustration and adapt the self-service script to be more empathetic or escalate it automatically to a human agent.”
This combination of prediction and personalization creates a seamless experience that feels both efficient and human.
Author: Robyn Coppell
Published On: 23rd Jan 2026
Read more about - Video, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Conversational AI, Customer Experience (CX), Customer Service, Peopleware, Self Service, Stuart Baker, Videos
