James Liebherr

Director, Happy CX Operations, Risk Mitigation & Technology , BARK

BarkBox is a global dog-obsessed brand best known for its monthly subscription boxes filled with toys, treats, and joy for dogs and their humans. With millions of inbound customer service interactions annually, BarkBox operates at the intersection of ecommerce, community, and canine devotion — all with an unwavering focus on delivering delight through every customer touchpoint.

Supernova Award Category: 
Next-Generation Customer Experience
The Problem: 

BarkBox faced a major operational challenge: How to maintain its high-touch, brand-personalized support experience while scaling to meet the rising volume of customer interactions. Its customer care team was overwhelmed by repetitive, transactional tasks, leaving little room for the fun, empathetic service BarkBox customers expect.

The Solution: 

BarkBox selected the Verint Open Platform to intelligently automate nearly one-third of all interactions — without sacrificing brand tone or human warmth. Their goal was not just efficiency, but transformation: using AI to amplify human connection and brand voice, not replace it — and to elevate both customer and employee experiences.

The Results: 

The impact has been dramatic. Prior to this transformation, human agents bore the brunt of repetitive queries and struggled with the volume of customer interactions. Post-implementation, agent capacity increased by 30%, and bots now autonomously resolve one-third of inbound requests. This frees up human ambassadors to focus on high-empathy, high-value interactions — such as customizing orders for dogs with allergies, resolving nuanced subscription issues, or simply bringing joy to pet parents.

AI now initiates proactive outreach for issues such as address errors and delayed shipments, reducing inbound volume while improving customer satisfaction. BarkBox customers enjoy faster resolutions, fewer escalations, and an interaction style that remains true to the brand’s playful, dog-loving voice.

Metrics: 

BarkBox has seen the following improvements because of this deployment:

  • 30% increase in agent capacity
  • ~33% of interactions now fully automated
  • Significant reduction in handle time and customer hold/wait times
  • Improved first-contact resolution rate
  • No need to increase agent headcount, despite growing interaction volume
  • Proactive outreach has reduced inbound inquiries
  • Satisfaction scores have remained consistently high
The Technology: 

 

BarkBox is using the Verint Open Platform and its team of AI-powered bots to deliver tangible AI business outcomes. This solution delivers an orchestrated layer of intelligence — from advanced bots to automation tools — that work in tandem with its human agents to deliver faster, more inspired service at scale.

BarkBox uses Verint’s AI bots to handle high-volume, transactional interactions, leveraging BarkBox’s “BYOLLM” approach, to respond to questions about order status, subscription modifications, shipping details, and product inquiries with high accuracy and a touch of BarkBox brand personality.

Behind the scenes, Verint’s automation engine uses decisioning models and real-time data to route conversations intelligently. If an issue requires human empathy or complex resolution, the AI seamlessly transitions the interaction to a live agent with full context preserved — avoiding repetition and customer frustration/friction.

Because Verint’s bots are trained continuously on real interaction data, they improve and evolve with BarkBox’s customer base. This adaptive learning ensures that the bots aren’t static — they grow smarter over time, increasing their containment rate and reducing the effort required from human agents.

Disruptive Factor: 

BarkBox’s implementation defied the norm by using AI not as a cost-cutting measure, but as a brand amplifier. The company embedded automation into its processes without disruption, customizing the bot’s tone and behavior to reflect its playful brand voice and identity. A major challenge was balancing scale with personalization — and they succeeded. The company’s AI bots are trained in-house to “speak BarkBox,” and the decision to use an open, interoperable platform ensured fast adoption and zero downtime. This approach has shifted industry expectations around what AI in customer care can and should look like.

Shining Moment: 

What makes BarkBox’s transformation special is the emotional continuity — dogs and their humans feel seen, heard, and delighted, whether they’re interacting with a bot or a BarkBox human agent. One of the proudest moments came when a customer wrote in, shocked that a bot had helped her skip a delivery in seconds — and still made her laugh. That’s the magic: AI with heart.

About BARK

BARK is the world’s most dog-centric company, devoted to making all dogs happy with the best products, services, and content. BARK’s dog-obsessed team leverages its unique, data-driven understanding of what makes each dog special to design playstyle-specific toys, wildly satisfying treats, dog-first experiences that foster the health and happiness of dogs everywhere, and more. Founded in 2011, BARK loyally serves millions of dogs nationwide with BarkBox and Super Chewer, its themed toys and treats subscriptions; custom product collections through its retail partner network, including Target, Chewy, and Amazon; and BARK Air, the first air travel experience designed specifically for dogs first. At BARK, we want to make dogs as happy as they make us because dogs and humans are better together. Sniff around at bark.co for more information.