BGL handles rapid growth with Zendesk AI-powered customer support

For accountants, a quick software question can have a real business cost. Time spent waiting for support is time they may not be able to bill to a client. For BGL Corporate Solutions, an Australian fintech company serving more than 12,700 accounting-firm customers, fast, accurate support is essential.

“We treat support more as a live chat as opposed to messaging,” says Damien Gunatilake, Head of Customer Experience at BGL Corporate Solutions. “Instead of taking a few hours, we strive for around a 45-second response time.”

As BGL expanded across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and the U.K., support demand grew with it. Ticket volume increased from 40,968 in 2022 to 76,468 in 2024—an increase of 86.7 percent—while the number of entities supported grew by 49.7 percent.

“Management would do extra tickets to reduce the workload of agents instead of focusing on strategy and leading the team,” says Richard Pollocks, Project Lead for CX at BGL.

BGL needed to absorb rising demand without sacrificing high-touch support. With Zendesk AI Agents, BGL automates routine questions, routes complex issues to the right people and gives consultants more time for conversations requiring human expertise.

Advanced AI Agents increase automated resolutions

BGL introduced AI Agents to messaging in 2024, drawing on the knowledge base built by its Product Education team. The goal was to let AI handle common “how-to” questions while consultants focused on technical and accounting-related issues requiring context and judgment.

A simple software question can become nuanced when it involves a client’s age, income, account structure or compliance obligations. BGL uses AI for straightforward questions, handing conversations to consultants when deeper expertise is needed.

BGL initially took an “all-or-nothing” approach, establishing a baseline before refining the experience. Its Product Education team reviewed recommendations, identified gaps and improved the knowledge base by approximately 20 percent over six months.

On BGL’s highest-performing product, automated resolutions increased from 39 to 46 percent after migrating from Zendesk AI Agents (Essential) to Advanced AI Agents, which is now included as standard for all Zendesk plans. Across its products, automated-resolution rates now range from approximately 30 to 49 percent, which now saves the team 620 hours per month.

“With Zendesk AI Agents, clients who have genuinely complex issues can ensure that we’re taking the time and resources to make sure they’re getting the answer right,” Pollocks says.

Better routing gives complex issues the attention they need

When a conversation needs a person, Predictive Routing and Omnichannel Routing help connect it with the right team.

Previously, consultants chose which incoming chats to handle, which could delay harder queries. Automated routing assigns requests more consistently, helping customers receive support sooner and giving consultants clearer ownership.

AI also gathers information before escalation. If BGL needs permission to access a customer’s files, for example, the AI Agent can request it before the conversation reaches a consultant.

“Because of the nature of our software, we can’t perfectly integrate the AI Agent with every part of our financial systems,” Pollocks says. “But if it can gather the information we need to complete the task on the human side, that’s a way of speeding up the process.”

Two-thirds of BGL’s support engagements now come through messaging, available inside its software. Messaging volume has grown exponentially over three years 453 percent. BGL engaged in approximately 8,000 chats in 2022 and jumped to 44,211 in 2025. The company now projects to handle more than 45,000 chats in 2026.

Quality assurance protects a high CSAT experience

BGL has maintained customer satisfaction above 97 percent while introducing AI and managing rapid growth.

Zendesk QA helps maintain that standard by surfacing issues that may not generate a negative rating but still affect interaction quality. Team leads assess factors including tone, empathy, detail and whether consultants offer useful alternatives.

Previously, the same issue could occur repeatedly before BGL noticed.

“With Zendesk QA, managers and team leaders can now see trends and notice things faster,” Pollocks says. “If there is something wrong, or someone has done an incorrect process, we can fix it straight away.”

QA is also valuable during onboarding. Instead of manually reviewing every response from a new consultant, BGL can monitor interactions at scale and focus coaching where needed.

Keeping the human connection where it matters

BGL’s goal is not to replace human support but to reserve it for moments when it makes the greatest difference.

The company plans to expand AI Agents to email while keeping voice as an important human channel. Many self-managed super fund customers prefer speaking with a person, particularly about retirement or complex situations.

“We’ve always just wanted to free up the time to allow for stronger client engagement,” Pollocks says.

BGL is also exploring deeper automation, improved Dialpad integration, voice transcription and voice QA, as well as ways AI can help customers complete tasks rather than simply receive answers.

Advice for building AI-powered support

For other growing software or fintech companies, BGL recommends starting with the fundamentals.

“Make sure that the knowledge base is sorted first,” Pollocks says. “That is the groundwork.”

BGL also recommends starting simply, testing internally and being transparent when customers are speaking with AI. Customers should always have a clear path to a human, particularly when an answer is incorrect or an issue is complex.

After more than eight years with Zendesk, BGL views its support operation as an evolving partnership. A centralized administrator, close collaboration with Zendesk, and continuous improvements to knowledge and workflows have helped BGL keep pace with growth while preserving the customer experience.