Description

In Japan, customer service is rooted in omotenashi, the philosophy of anticipating needs before they are expressed. At Rakuten, we’ve applied this principle to conversational AI, building and scaling chatbots that power customer interactions across all our business lines, from e-commerce to banking to travel. We emphasize empathy, anticipation, and continuity. This presentation will share how omotenashi translates into agentic AI design. I’ll show concrete principles we use, proactive guidance instead of reactive Q&A, context retention across multiple services, and conversational tones that emphasize care rather than transactions. I’ll also contrast this with other models, highlighting where cultural expectations diverge and how that shapes adoption and satisfaction. The benefits for the audience: First, to see how Japan’s uniquely human service culture can inspire more trustworthy and engaging AI agents; second, to gain practical design takeaways that can be adapted for global markets. As AI becomes increasingly autonomous, the challenge is not only solving problems but creating moments of delight. Omotenashi offers a blueprint for doing both. Finally, if members in the audience are planning to expand their business to the Japanese market, the learnings will be useful when creating their Conversational AI strategy for this specific market.