The Next Generation of Self-Service Is Happening Behind the Screen

By Renee Wagner, Billing and Payment Consultant

Utilities have invested heavily in digital self-service, giving customers more ways to view bills, make payments, start and stop service, manage accounts and find answers through utility websites or the IVR¹. As digital adoption grows, a new question is emerging: How intelligent is the experience behind the screen?

A customer may see a simple payment page or account dashboard, but delivering that seemingly straightforward interaction can require information from multiple systems, business rules, data sources and processes to work together seamlessly. When those pieces do not align, customers experience the consequences through incorrect information, confusing messages, inconsistent account details, or the need to contact the utility for help.

This is where intelligent automation can change the role of self-service.

From digital access to digital resolution

Traditional self-service often focuses on giving customers access to information or allowing them to complete a transaction digitally. Intelligent self-service goes a step further by using automation to anticipate issues, validate information, apply business rules and resolve problems before they become customer-facing friction.

That shift changes the objective from “Can the customer do this online?” to “Can the utility provide a positive customer experience the first time?”

For example, rather than simply displaying a customer’s bill¹, an intelligent process could validate that the account, rate, usage, charges and payment information are consistent prior to the customer’s bill being displayed when they pull up their account. Rather than simply providing a payment option, automation can help identify exceptions or discrepancies that could otherwise create confusion or drive customers to the contact center. The result is a different kind of digital experience: one that is designed around resolution, not just functionality.

Accuracy is becoming a customer experience metric

As utilities continue to move more interactions into digital channels, accuracy becomes increasingly important to customer trust¹. Customers do not distinguish between the utility’s billing system, CRM, website, mobile app or payment platform. They simply see the utility.

If information is inconsistent from one channel to another, the customer experiences that as a problem with the utility, regardless of which system caused it. This makes data consistency across systems and process automation more than technology initiatives. They are fundamental components of customer experience.

Utilities should consider measuring digital self-service performance beyond traditional metrics such as adoption and transaction volume. Additional measures might include:

1. First-time resolution: How often can customers complete an interaction without additional assistance?
2. Digital containment: How many issues are resolved digitally rather than transferred to another channel?
3. Exception rates: How often do automated processes identify errors or inconsistencies?
4. Channel consistency: Is customer and account information the same across web, mobile and other channels?
5. Customer effort: How many steps, screens or interactions are required to complete a task?
6. Contact center deflection: Which digital improvements are reducing avoidable customer contacts?

These measures help utilities understand whether digital investments are simply moving transactions online or genuinely making it easier to do business with the utility.

The opportunity is bigger than chatbots

When utilities hear “intelligent automation,” the conversation can quickly turn to generative AI and chatbots. Those technologies have tremendous potential, but intelligent automation does not have to be customer-facing. Some of the most valuable automation may happen entirely behind the scenes.

Automated validation, data reconciliation, exception handling, workflow orchestration and proactive identification of account issues can improve the customer experience without the customer ever knowing automation was involved. In fact, the best automation may be the automation customers never have to think about.

This also creates an important opportunity for utilities to rethink their digital roadmaps. Instead of asking only what new features should be added to an app or portal, teams can examine the points where customers experience friction and work backward to identify what processes, data or systems are creating it. That approach puts the focus where it belongs: on the customer outcome.

Designing self-service around what customers actually need

The future of utility self-service will not necessarily be defined by having the most features. It will be defined by how effectively the utility can remove unnecessary effort. That means connecting digital experience teams with billing, customer care, IT, data and operations teams to identify the processes that create friction across the customer journey.

Three questions can help start the conversation:

1. Where are customers still asking for help? Look beyond overall digital adoption. Identify the transactions and issues that continue to generate contacts, repeat contacts or escalations.
2. What is happening behind those interactions? Map the systems, data and processes involved. A digital pain point may actually be a process or data problem rather than a digital design problem.
3. What could be prevented or resolved through automation? Look for opportunities to validate information, identify exceptions, simplify workflows and resolve issues before they reach the customer.

The goal is not simply to automate more. It is to remove more friction. As utilities mature their digital strategies, that distinction will become increasingly important. Customers do not want more technology for technology’s sake. They want accurate information, simple transactions, and confidence that the utility can get things right.

That is ultimately what makes intelligent automation so powerful: it can turn self-service from a digital channel into a preferred customer experience.

See Intelligent Automation in Action

One utility putting this approach into practice is Con Edison, which recently earned Chartwell’s 2026 Gold Billing and Payment Award for its work transforming the customer billing and payment self-service experience. Its use of intelligent automation demonstrates how utilities can go beyond traditional workflows to improve accuracy, timeliness, consistency, and ease across digital channels.

At an upcoming EMACS session, Con Edison will share more about the work behind its 52 enhancements and how the utility is using intelligent automation to create a simpler, more reliable billing and payment experience for customers while increasing operational effectiveness and efficiency across the organization.

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Renee Wagner is a billing and customer operations leader with nearly 37 years of utility experience driving operational excellence and positive financial performance. Renee leads the Billing & Payment Leadership Council at Chartwell, Inc., where she facilitates peer collaboration on utility billing, collections, meter-to-cash processes, revenue cycle management and other emerging industry payment trends. 

Previously, Renee held leadership roles at Xcel Energy, spanning distribution operations, performance management, billing services, payment operations, information technology, and customer-focused business transformation.