New “Metashift” solution enables brands to deliver immersive customer service and user support, get feedback, and provide blockchain verification with in-world support for mobile, AR, and VR experiences
SAN FRANCISCO, March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Helpshift, the established leader in in-app customer service and user support for mobile-first brands, has announced the launch of Metashift, its patented user support and customer service solution for the Metaverse. Brands can use Metashift to provide immersive support within AR, VR and mobile experiences, with advanced features unique to the needs of the Metaverse.
According to a recent Bloomberg report, there is an $800B market outlook for the Metaverse by 2024 and $2.5T by 2030 – particularly in gaming software and services, the industry that has taken a leading role in creating the building blocks of the Metaverse. Other industries that are embracing the emerging opportunities of the Metaverse include fintech, mobile-first retail, and virtual entertainment.
However there are big challenges and risks of disruption as more brands move their businesses and customer experiences to the Metaverse. Brands need new ways to engage with people in these new virtual experiences; they must be able to verify user identities and assets by navigating new technologies like NFTs, blockchain tokens, and identity tokens, and they must ensure that people are delighted with their new metaverse experiences. With its new Metashift offering, Helpshift will be helping metaverse brands by providing in-world support experiences so that customers can provide feedback, get questions answered, or chat with an agent without ever leaving the Metaverse. With a Metaverse-specific immersive customer support experience, companies can help reduce churn, increase CSAT scores, and drive revenue.
“If your brand is curious about the new possibilities of the Metaverse, you need to have a plan to engage with customers, collect and analyze feedback, and provide support in a way that suits the needs of the immersive environment,” said Eric Vermillion, CEO of Helpshift. “If you cannot adapt your user experiences to the Metaverse, you risk losing millions of customers. The Metaverse is an immersive and transformative development in how people interact and engage with brands online. However, in order to thrive, companies should prioritize the user experience to prevent churn and to create raving fans. Users should have an easy way to leave feedback and get in-world support, without having to leave the Metaverse experience.”
Keywords Studios, a leading video game industry services company and longtime partner of Helpshift, sees strong potential in the Metaverse and believes that there is growing demand for new capabilities to engage with customers in AR/VR environments.
“We believe that happy players are essential to the growth of a game because they spread the word,” said Peter Gerson, Keywords Studios, Senior Manager Player Support Services. “We enjoy our partnership with Helpshift because we know they understand the importance of a seamless user experience and allowing users to stay in-app. They are well poised to advance innovations in the Metaverse and we look forward to working alongside them in this journey.”
Helpshift will deploy its new Metashift support solution in three phases:
- Phase One: Free out-of-the-box feedback, bug, and crash reporting (Available for mobile and AR experiences starting May 3rd).
Publishers can ensure their experiences are working properly and gauge product-market fit by allowing users to easily provide feedback and report bugs or crashes. Whether you already offer an experience in the Metaverse or whether you are only working from a mobile app at the moment, deploying Helpshift’s out-of-the-box feedback will set you up for success and help you reduce your app’s potential for churn due to poor user experience.
- Phase Two: Blockchain verification – Metashift will allow for verification of identity or asset ownership (such as NFTs) by support teams from the blockchain or legacy identity providers (Availability target Q3 2022).
Support teams can now easily take advantage of new blockchain technologies to provide users with better and more secure support. This is especially important as brands will need to deal with virtual assets like NFTs that can have considerable value or the new SSI (Self Sovereign Identities) that will be part of the Metaverse. Phase Two of Metashift ensures that users’ virtual identities and assets can be supported across the Metaverse through blockchain verification. This feature will be available for brands starting Q3 2022.
- Phase Three: Native VR support (reach support from within the VR experience) (Availability target Q4 2022).
As user experiences evolve to become more engaging and immersive, so must the support journey for brands. That’s why Helpshift is in the process of delivering the first support solution for the VR Metaverse experience. Users shouldn’t have to leave virtual reality in order to get support. In Phase Three, users will be able to access FAQs, self-serve with AI-driven intents, leave feedback, report bugs and crashes, and chat with an agent right from the VR experience. In-VR support will be available starting Q4 2022.
Existing Helpshift users will gain access to Metashift as soon as the features are rolled out. Those that aren’t yet Helpshift customers will be able to start using Metashift for free when it is available early May and can get on the waitlist right now. For more details, please visit https://www.helpshift.com/future-of-support.
About Helpshift
Helpshift is the only mobile-first, truly in-app customer support platform. Helpshift’s patented AI technology allows brands to save time and scale their support efforts while reducing user churn and increasing their CSAT score. Today, the Helpshift in-app support experience is the gold standard for many of the world’s top global mobile apps and games, powering billions of support interactions monthly. With Helpshift, brands can deliver the Modern Support Journey where users can self-serve, get automated support from intelligent bots, and be routed to agents in an effective and optimized manner.
Helpshift is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe. To learn more about Helpshift, visit helpshift.com and follow @helpshift on Twitter.
