Companies that treat email as just another inbox are missing out on a powerful tool.

In an era dominated by social media, instant messaging, and AI chatbots, you might think email has become obsolete. But the reality? Email is still a communication powerhouse, connecting businesses and customers worldwide. While flashy new tools emerge, email remains the preferred channel for many – especially when the alternative is a phone call.

The numbers speak for themselves

Research from Statista estimates that 333.2 billion emails were sent and received daily in 2022, with that number projected to hit 376.4 billion by 2025. Meanwhile, the Email Addiction Research Report shows that over 70% of consumers prefer email for company contact – nearly twice as much as any other channel. Why? Because email is real-time, platform-agnostic, mobile-friendly, and free from character limits or content restrictions.

For businesses, email isn’t just a tool – it’s the foundation of communication. Whether for internal collaboration or external customer interactions, it’s indispensable. Even cutting-edge companies with AI-powered chat or dedicated apps still rely on email, simply because their customers do.

The missing piece in digital transformation

Despite companies investing in digital transformation, email management is often left behind. While automation revolutionises sales, customer support, and marketing, email workflows remain largely manual. Every email requires a human agent to open, read, research, and respond – sometimes even forwarding it to another department for resolution.

But here’s the problem: as email volumes rise, businesses face a tough choice – hire more staff (higher costs) or risk slower, less effective responses (lower customer satisfaction). Neither is ideal.

It’s time for a smarter approach.

Scaling smarter with cognitive email

ActioHX’s Cognitive Email solution transforms how businesses handle email by automatically analysing, categorising, and responding to messages. It does the heavy lifting so your team can focus on higher-value interactions.

How it works:

• Filters out non-essential emails – Identifies messages that don’t require a response (e.g., auto-replies, spam, confirmations), instantly reducing workload.
• Auto-responds to common inquiries – Answers frequently asked questions (like order status or pricing details) with pre-approved responses.
• Routes complex queries intelligently – Identifies urgency, intent, and sentiment, then assigns emails to the right specialist for a more relevant, timely response.
• Improves accuracy & personalisation – Ensures responses align with customer needs while maintaining a personalised experience.

A recent implementation showed that 25% of incoming emails required no response, while another 10% could be auto-answered. That means over one-third of emails were handled instantly – without human intervention.

Beyond automation: Unlocking customer insights

Email isn’t just about responding – it’s a goldmine of customer insights. By applying sentiment analysis, Cognitive Email goes beyond efficiency to improve the entire customer experience.

Key insights from sentiment analysis:

Proactively address customer needs – Identify recurring questions and provide self-service options.

• Enhance product & service offerings – Spot trends in inquiries to refine offerings.
• Optimise resource planning – Predict staffing needs based on email patterns.
• Strengthen customer relationships – Uncover hidden frustrations and improve satisfaction.

For example, a retail company could integrate order status links into emails, a tech company could refine FAQs based on recurring product questions, and a hospitality brand could personalise offers based on travel patterns.

The result? Faster responses, better experiences, and deeper customer engagement.

Email is evolving – Are you?

Email isn’t going anywhere – it’s evolving. Companies that treat email as just another inbox are missing out on a powerful tool for automation, efficiency, and insights. With ActioHX’s Cognitive Email solution, you can transform your email operations, reduce manual effort, and enhance customer experiences at scale.

Article Courtesy: NASSCOM Community – an open knowledge sharing platform for the Indian technology industry: https://community.nasscom.in/communities/analytics/technology-digital-transformation-forgot

ActioHX specialises in optimising the Human Experience by providing insights, recommendations, intelligent automation, and cognitive self-assist capabilities. Interested in how our capabilities could help your company? Please contact us at [email protected] and one of our subject matter experts will be in contact with you!