Rakuten, Japan’s leading e-commerce and fintech giant, has placed artificial intelligence at the heart of its strategy to improve both customer experience and operational efficiency. The company’s AI customer service platform, introduced in late 2023, now handles over 60% of all user inquiries across Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten Card, and Rakuten Bank platforms.
The AI system, developed with natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, can converse fluently in Japanese and English, handling questions about orders, payments, refunds, product recommendations, and account issues. Rakuten’s chatbot is not only able to understand slang, dialects, and misspellings but also adapts its tone to match each customer’s sentiment—being empathetic with complaints and cheerful when assisting with rewards.
What sets Rakuten apart is its seamless handover between AI and human agents. If the system detects customer frustration or a complex case, it instantly transfers the chat to a trained representative with a full context summary. This approach has reduced average response time by 65%, and customer satisfaction scores have reached an all-time high.
AI-driven analytics also play a critical role behind the scenes. By analyzing millions of interactions daily, the platform identifies common issues, helps predict future demand, and guides product managers to improve listings and logistics. Additionally, fraud detection AI modules flag suspicious transactions in real time, saving Rakuten an estimated 2 billion yen in potential losses during 2023 alone.
Rakuten’s AI-powered customer service has become a case study in the Japanese tech ecosystem for how advanced language models and automation can balance efficiency, security, and genuine human connection. The project’s success has prompted the company to expand AI integration into marketing, inventory management, and personalized shopping experiences—cementing Rakuten’s reputation as a digital innovation leader in Asia.