Mitsui Direct Sompo Aims to "Bridge Digital Divide" with Call Center AI, Achieves Zero Complaints and 52.7% Automated Resolution for Nighttime Inquiries

Karakuri Inc., a company promoting customer support digital transformation (DX), announced that it has provided its 'KARAKURI voice agent' to the customer center department of Mitsui Direct Sompo Insurance Co., Ltd., with full-scale operation beginning in April 2026.

Mitsui Direct Sompo has established a 24/7 support system for inquiries related to My Page logins, achieving both improved customer experience and contact center operational efficiency. Since its launch, zero complaints about the AI have been recorded (as of May 2026), confirming its acceptance among a wide range of customers and its contribution to bridging the digital divide.

Background: Building a 'Stronger and Kinder' Contact Center for Two-Factor Authentication

With over one million policies, Mitsui Direct Sompo handles 80,000 to 90,000 customer interactions per month, with the phone channel accounting for about 65% (50,000 to 60,000 calls). The company expedited the enhancement of its phone support system due to a surge in inquiries following security upgrades.

A password requirement change during a website renewal in July 2024 caused a 2-3 fold increase in login inquiries. Furthermore, the full implementation of two-factor authentication (2FA) scheduled for September 2026 was expected to further increase call volume. At the time, login-related inquiries reached about 5,000 per month, with an average handling time of 10 minutes per call.

The support center also needed to provide careful assistance tailored to its customer demographics. The average age of customers making login inquiries is 61, with the most frequent age being 72. For customers unfamiliar with smartphone operations, the phone is the most reliable and reassuring means of consultation, which tended to lengthen call times.

To address the anticipated increase in call volume and support the digital shift for all customers, the company decided to implement Karakuri's voice agent, creating a hybrid system including chatbots and SMS to alleviate phone channel congestion.

Voice Agent Utilization and Technology

The 'KARAKURI voice agent' guides customers through settings and operational procedures for login issues by listening to their situation.

- **Reduced Hallucination Risk**: In the insurance industry, incorrect AI guidance is a significant risk. Karakuri's RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) architecture mitigates this by generating answers based solely on a knowledge source maintained by Mitsui Direct Sompo, structurally reducing the risk of misinformation.

- **Smooth Vocal Quality**: The speech-to-speech system processes audio input and output directly without text conversion, enabling natural conversation. It can handle interruptions like 'wait a moment' and has recovery capabilities to steer conversations back on track, ensuring 'human-like' dialogue quality.

Initial Effects of the Voice Agent

In the two months since its April 2026 launch, the resolution rate for inquiries outside business hours (after 6 PM) has reached 52.7%. This provides customers with a self-service option for nighttime and holiday login issues for the first time.

While the overall automated resolution rate is still progressing toward its target (60-70%), customer complaints have remained at zero. Customers in their 60s and 70s have shown little resistance, consistently completing conversations with the AI.

Comments from Stakeholders

Hidenori Wada, Group Manager, Quality and Operations Group, Customer Center Department, Mitsui Direct Sompo Insurance Co., Ltd.: 'Our starting point was wanting to help customers who were stuck at the entrance to their My Page. The deciding factors for choosing Karakuri were the smoothness of the voice, the low risk of hallucination, and the trust from our long-standing relationship. To be honest, I was prepared for some complaints, but we've had zero. There's no point in implementing AI in customer support if it degrades the customer experience. We could only take this step because the quality was there.'