Econet AI to launch Ndebele-speaking customer chatbot

Econet AI, the artificial intelligence subsidiary of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, is set to launch a Ndebele-speaking customer-support chatbot later this month as the telecommunications giant expands its use of AI to improve access to customer services.

The chatbot has been developed using thousands of hours of recorded speech from Ndebele speakers, with the AI model being trained to understand customer queries and provide accurate responses in natural language.

The service will initially be rolled out in phases, with further training and refinement expected to enable the chatbot to hold fully conversational interactions in Ndebele by the end of 2026.

The development process is similar to that used to build Yamurai, Econet AI's Shona-speaking chatbot, which is already capable of handling more than 70 percent of customer enquiries.

Both chatbots learn from real customer interactions, using exchanges in which Econet customer-service agents respond to enquiries and resolve support issues to improve the AI systems' ability to understand and answer similar questions.

Econet's AI platforms currently operate alongside about 600 employees working in the company's customer-service contact centres, complementing rather than replacing human agents.

The chatbots currently support English and Shona, while Ndebele and Tonga are being added as Econet seeks to make its services accessible to a wider section of Zimbabwe's population.

The company also plans to expand the platforms to support major regional and international languages, including Swahili, Mandarin and French.

Beyond answering customer queries, Econet plans to make its AI platforms increasingly "agentic", allowing them to perform tasks on behalf of users rather than simply provide information.

Such capabilities could eventually enable customers to use the chatbots to make restaurant reservations and assist with a range of everyday, business and economic activities.

The development of multilingual and agentic AI systems forms part of Econet's broader strategy to use artificial intelligence to improve customer service, increase accessibility and deliver faster support across its platforms.

Econet AI was launched earlier this year to provide advanced artificial intelligence solutions tailored to the Zimbabwean market.

The company works closely with Cassava AI, the group's global artificial intelligence business, combining international expertise with locally developed technologies designed to address the needs of Zimbabwean customers.