Self-service involves empowering customers to manage their accounts independently or find information and advice through a website, mobile app, chatbot, or automated call center. In self-service support, customers have access to knowledge bases, diagnostic tools, FAQs, forums, and other community support spaces. For example, a customer can manage their TV subscription settings or activate call forwarding on their phone line using self-service. Online banking also falls under the umbrella of self-service.

This approach allows companies to reduce their customer support and management costs while providing a service valued by customers seeking autonomy, 24/7 availability, and the avoidance of long phone wait times. However, the development of self-service tools can sometimes lead to a dehumanization of interactions and pose challenges to efficiency in handling complex questions or in-depth information searches. A small-scale case study would provide a concrete example illustrating the complementarity between self-service and human customer service.