At Babbel, our learners are at the heart of everything we do. Staying true to this commitment means not only understanding what truly matters to our users, but also embracing purposeful innovation that enhances their experience. That’s why we’re excited to introduce Bab the Bot, our new AI-powered customer service agent, now fully integrated into the Babbel app as of July 2025.
Bab is more than just a fast, always-available support chatbot. Built with feedback from our customer service team and learners, Bab takes care of routine questions, so our human experts can focus on the conversations that matter most. We sat down with Chris Boyd, Principal Tooling & Automation Manager for Customer Service and creator of Bab, to hear Bab’s origin story, the impact it’s already making, and what this means for the future of support at Babbel.
Interviewer: Hi Chris! Thanks for joining us today to discuss the updates to our chatbot, Bab. To start, what inspired the creation of Bab and its role in customer service?
Chris Boyd:
Hi, thanks for having me! Over the past five years we’ve seen not only the quantity but also the complexity of queries we receive increase. As Babbel grows ever more popular, the number of enquiries from learners inevitably increases. This can impact on our reply times and make us fall short of the high standards that our learners deserve.
We had been exploring chatbot solutions for years but weren’t satisfied with the results – we wanted something truly functional and pleasant to use, not just a bot that regurgitates Help Centre articles. So last year, we invested in developing a more sophisticated chatbot solution. We carefully analysed the questions our learners most commonly asked and identified those which could be automated. For example, if a learner is asking when or how much their next renewal will be, the chatbot should be able to instantly provide this information – this then frees up our CS agents to answer more complex queries. After several months of development, testing and refinement, Bab was born.
Interviewer: What are some other key milestones Bab has achieved so far?
Chris Boyd:
Since the initial launch in 2024, Bab has facilitated 250,000 conversations, which is an achievement we’re incredibly proud of. One of the most exciting milestones for me personally has been rolling the chatbot out on the Babbel app on iOS and Android as of July 2025. Having the chatbot available in our apps increased monthly conversations by over 50%, showing how much our learners value having support right where they’re learning. Behind these numbers lies complex conversational design work that most users never see. Here is a simplified view of how a simple conversation might work.
What looks like a simple conversation actually involves multiple decision points and pathways. Our bot team (myself and Alan Lendo, CS Technical Consultant) map out hundreds of these flows to handle different learner needs. The process starts with understanding what the learner is asking for, determining if we need more information, providing either the correct information or an automated solution, and knowing when to hand-off one of our CS agents. Sometimes the workflows can get quite elaborate – here’s an example of one of the larger ones. This handles a topic which has a number of different policies based on many variables, so this flow will check and apply the correct procedure applicable to each user.
We continuously analyse what learners are asking and use those insights to develop new capabilities, and with support from the Customer Communication Platform team here at Babbel we’re able to bring these ideas to reality for our learners.
This data-driven approach means our learners can complete many tasks instantly, including some that previously required human intervention – checking or changing subscription details, accessing personalised offers, or getting language learning tips. Each conversation creates a feedback loop that makes Bab more and more helpful, resulting in an ever-improving experience for our users.
Interviewer: In the era of AI, how is Babbel ensuring that it keeps the service from Bab human-centered?
Chris Boyd:
We firmly believe the human touch within Customer Service is irreplaceable, and our seasoned team offers the experience and insight that a bot can’t replace. Our approach has always been to use AI to enhance and accelerate the services we offer, making it simpler and quicker for learners to complete straightforward tasks while always ensuring human support is available when needed. What makes our approach truly human-centred is that our Customer Service team is actively involved in Bab’s development. They provide constant feedback about where the bot could improve and suggest changes based on their direct interactions with learners. This means Bab is essentially improved by the very humans whose expertise it’s designed to complement, and is shaped by the people who understand our learners’ needs best.
This approach ensures that Bab remains a tool that serves both our learners and our team members, rather than technology for technology’s sake. Our goal has always been to create a positive and efficient experience – retaining the human connection that’s so central to language learning – while maintaining a friction-free way for learners to get help at exactly the time they need it.
Interviewer: What specific improvements can learners expect from Bab, and how does this enhance their overall experience?
Chris Boyd:
The most significant improvement is immediate resolution. With Bab, learners now receive instant answers to 50% of all queries and are not dependent on agent availability. This immediacy maintains learning momentum; if you’re studying late in the evening and encounter an issue or have a question, you can get it resolved on the spot rather than waiting for agent support.
This essentially means we’ve expanded support to 24/7 availability, as Bab can retrieve information and complete actions that previously required either navigating through multiple help pages or waiting to speak with a team member.
This immediate support keeps learners engaged with their language journey without frustrating interruptions. We’ve invested considerable time ensuring Bab provides genuinely useful answers and actions, not just generic responses. The result is a smoother, more supportive learning experience that respects our learners’ time and keeps them focused on what matters—their language learning journey.
Interviewer: Looking ahead, we’re excited about Bab’s full integration into the Babbel app in June 2025. What are you most looking forward to with this update, and how do you see it impacting our customer service moving forward?
Chris Boyd:
What I’m most looking forward to is how this will transform support from being something separate from the learning experience to becoming an integral part of it. When learners encounter a question or issue, they no longer need to leave the app – help will be right there, exactly when and where they need it.
With Bab handling routine enquiries directly in the app, learners who really do need the expertise of a customer service team member – be it complex troubleshooting or personalised learning advice – can now be sure to get that help much more quickly. For this reason, while I understand that not everyone may want to engage with chatbots (but I encourage you to give Bab a shot!) all of our learners will enjoy the benefits of Bab.
What’s exciting is that this is just the beginning. As we add more knowledge and functionality, the resolution rate and capabilities will only improve, making the learning and customer experience even more seamless for our learners.
This is the end of the interview. Thank you for reading. Check out our LinkedIn page to stay up-to-date with company news, product updates & what our Babbelonians are up to at Babbel.
