Advising, guiding and providing customers with an immediate answer without overwhelming after-sales support
It was in this context that Boulanger decided to take things to the next level. The goal was not to “do AI” for the sake of innovation, but to address a very concrete need: give customers more autonomy when it comes to troubleshooting, support and tracking their requests, while also improving the quality of the answers provided. Generative AI quickly emerged as a natural way to deliver on that promise at scale, with smoother interactions than traditional chatbots and responses tailored to each situation.
There was another challenge as well: moving fast and bringing internal teams on board. For the initiative to be useful, Boulanger needed a solution that was easy to deploy, quick to test, and capable of winning over business teams through real-world use. The project also had to withstand peak activity periods, especially major retail moments such as Black Friday, when customer service comes under pressure and every minute counts.
Objectives
With Expertime, Boulanger moves from a chatbot to a true AI assistant: rapid deployment, immediate adoption, and a smoother customer experience.
Expertime helped Boulanger move from chatbot to an AI assistant
Last autumn, Boulanger set out to improve after-sales service: answer customers faster, avoid unnecessary returns and better absorb peaks in demand. Instead of a basic Q&A chatbot, it deployed an AI conversational agent across its website and app to guide users and personalize support. Recommended by Microsoft, Expertime; an Orange Business subsidiary, was chosen for its proven AI expertise. Result: ROI achieved in six weeks, with more than 8,000 conversations handled during Black Friday.
"At Boulanger, customer service is not just about answering questions. It is about reassuring customers, guiding them clearly, and resolving issues quickly, especially when a product fails or an order raises concerns.
Sébastien Lenain, Head of Generative AI, puts it simply: “When a customer has a problem, they want it solved quickly. Our idea was to give them more autonomy, without leaving them alone with a user manual.”
Rather than building from scratch, Boulanger chose Expertime for its proven AI expertise and real-world use cases already in production. “We met with several players. What made the difference was Expertime’s experience in AI, agentic systems and bots. That immediately helped us picture what was possible,” he explains.
Expertime first brought speed. Together, the teams launched an AI conversational agent designed for real use across web and mobile: answering product questions, helping with troubleshooting, giving access to documentation, tracking orders, and offering contextual recommendations. “We deliberately started with something simple, fast, and easy to test. That’s how you put a useful tool in business teams’ hands and improve it quickly,” says Sébastien Lenain.
The second strength was an agentic approach. The assistant does more than pull answers from a knowledge base: it understands the situation, asks the right questions, and guides customers toward the right next step. The result is a smoother, more human support experience, with less customer frustration and less unnecessary workload for service teams.
The third was impact. “We reached ROI in a month and a half, based on what we had estimated? That’s a very strong signal,” says Sébastien Lenain. Adoption quickly confirmed the value: “During Black Friday, we handled more than 8,000 conversations.”
Beyond performance, the project also helped drive internal adoption of AI. With one concrete use case in production, teams could immediately see the potential and start imagining what comes next. Boulanger is now looking at extending the solution to a voice bot for the phone channel. More than a conversational tool, this AI agent has become a new layer of the customer relationship: helping absorb peaks in demand, reduce friction, and make support faster and more effective.
A smoother customer experience and AI that proves its value through real-world use
Boulanger was not looking for just another chatbot. The goal was to give customers immediate answers, guide them through their requests, and make the experience smoother, especially in after-sales support. Designed for real usage, the AI conversational agent was rapidly deployed across web and mobile. It can assess each request, ask the right questions, direct customers to the right next step, and provide personalized support in real time.
The impact was both business and organizational. On the business side, the solution quickly proved its value by handling high volumes without compromising the customer experience. Boulanger reached ROI in just six weeks, and during Black Friday, the assistant handled more than 8,000 conversations. On the organizational side, the project made GEN AI tangible for business teams. Instead of discussing the technology in theory, teams could test and improve it to see concrete results.
As Sébastien Lenain highlights, this proof through usage created real momentum. The platform is now becoming a foundation for continuous improvement, with the roadmap already expanding toward new channels and use cases, including a voice bot for the phone channel.
In short, Boulanger gained a practical, measurable way to reduce friction, give customers more autonomy, and make AI part of day-to-day operations because it delivers immediate value.
Key figures
6 weeks
Estimated ROI achieved based on the project's business case
8 000+
Conversations handled during Black Friday
What our customers say about us
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Boulanger
Boulanger is a leading French retailer specializing in home appliances, consumer electronics, and mobile phones. With a true omnichannel model, the brand combines a network of stores with digital journeys to support customers both before and after purchase.