Haier Japan Sales, the Japanese arm of Chinese appliance maker Haier, began using an AI agent to answer customer calls at its contact center on September 15, 2026. Initially, the agent handles washing machine repairs, asks customers questions to identify the problem, and accepts repair requests. Voice AI developer Recho and implementation partner Q&A announced the launch that day.

The agent identifies useful keywords in conversations and responds to customers. It can also capture names and addresses, including those containing hard-to-read kanji, confirm the information with customers, and register it in the company’s system. Unlike an IVR (a system that routes calls through preset menu options), it responds to what customers say, the companies said.

Haier Japan Sales aims to build a hybrid contact center where AI handles basic inquiries and employees take complex consultations and advanced support cases. Phone lines can be difficult to reach during busy seasons. The company had already introduced chatbots and voice bots, but said those technologies had limits in handling conversations flexibly. It plans to assign operators to more difficult cases to improve their skills and service quality.

The company’s future target is to have AI agents complete 60% of all inquiries. It expects AI operators to handle about 76% of inquiries and aims to resolve 80% of those cases. It also plans to offer 24-hour service and is targeting a resolution rate of more than 95% using AI agents alone.

The system uses Recho AI Voice Agent. Q&A, which operates Haier’s contact center, supported its implementation. Recho says its proprietary language-processing and voice technologies enable natural conversation.

Haier Japan Sales, the Japanese arm of Chinese appliance maker Haier, began using an AI agent to answer customer calls at its contact center on September 15, 2026. Initially, the agent handles washing machine repairs, asks customers questions to identify the problem, and accepts repair requests. Voice AI developer Recho and implementation partner Q&A announced the launch that day.

The agent identifies useful keywords in conversations and responds to customers. It can also capture names and addresses, including those containing hard-to-read kanji, confirm the information with customers, and register it in the company’s system. Unlike an IVR (a system that routes calls through preset menu options), it responds to what customers say, the companies said.

Haier Japan Sales aims to build a hybrid contact center where AI handles basic inquiries and employees take complex consultations and advanced support cases. Phone lines can be difficult to reach during busy seasons. The company had already introduced chatbots and voice bots, but said those technologies had limits in handling conversations flexibly. It plans to assign operators to more difficult cases to improve their skills and service quality.

The company’s future target is to have AI agents complete 60% of all inquiries. It expects AI operators to handle about 76% of inquiries and aims to resolve 80% of those cases. It also plans to offer 24-hour service and is targeting a resolution rate of more than 95% using AI agents alone.

The system uses Recho AI Voice Agent. Q&A, which operates Haier’s contact center, supported its implementation. Recho says its proprietary language-processing and voice technologies enable natural conversation.