Now that more and more companies are deploying chatbots to streamline their help desk operations, IBM Corp. is looking to join the fray with Watson.

The technology giant today introduced a new support service that includes a version of the artificial intelligence optimized for troubleshooting technical problems. Watson can take natural language questions and generate answers that are customized based on users’ tech savvy. In the background, the system analyzes interactions to find areas for improvement.

IBM detailed in the launch announcement that Watson can learn from “virtually every” action that users take during the troubleshooting process. The AI assesses the length of sessions, how many clicks are involved and what percentage of tickets are resolved as well as a number of more subtle cues.

The service can come handy in a number of ways. First, companies could employ Watson to let users ask for assistance when even when the internal contact center isn’t open. And second, the AI should help reduce the load on help desk personnel during the hours when they do take requests, which in turn has the potential to speed up responses.

Another way IBM plans to reduce waiting times is by providing integration with various automation tools. The company claims that these connectors enable Watson to carry out actions such as adding storage capacity to an email account and resetting a password without the need for manual intervention from help desk staff. As a result, the new support service can free up support agents to focus on more pressing requests. 

Customer support is the latest addition to a long list of areas where IBM is applying Watson. Previously, the company introduced a version of the AI that can detect security breaches in corporate infrastructure and teamed up with Pfizer Inc. to harness its capabilities for medical research.  

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