Content Design for a Regulated Energy Provider's Self-Service Experience

Customers of a large energy company could submit service requests online, to start, stop, or move their utility service, but had no way to view or edit those requests after submitting them. That gap was the second-highest driver of customer service calls on the project, right behind the initial request itself. For something as routine as managing a utility account, customers were being pushed back into a phone queue simply because the digital experience didn't give them a way to fix a mistake or change their mind.

I worked as the content designer on a small embedded product team, shipping content across several features aimed at closing gaps just like this one. That included a review, edit, and cancel flow for submitted service requests, confirmation and edit paths tied to billing timing, a way for customers with existing third-party service agreements to carry those agreements over when moving within the state (built to meet a regulatory deadline), an FAQ feature developed from user testing through to implementation, and a calendar reminder feature for upcoming service dates. Each piece meant writing content that held up against plain-language goals, legal and regulatory accuracy, and the constraints of an existing design system, all at the same time.

One example stands out. A confusing error modal appeared for some customers trying to edit a service request under specific account conditions, and it told them only that they couldn't proceed, with no explanation of why or what to do instead. I mapped the path that brought customers to that dead end, then rewrote the modal through several iterative drafts until it arrived at a better point of clarity - actually telling the customer what had happened, and what their next step was.

I also led a CTA audit across a related set of assistance-finder tools, meticulously mapping button text and destination pages to make sure every "next click" honestly described what a customer would find there, work that required understanding both the internal program structure, and how it mapped to public-facing microsites.

The review, edit, and cancel feature alone saved more than $56,000 in customer care costs shortly after launch, tracked through a metrics share-out with the product owner. More broadly, giving customers the ability to self-serve on requests they'd already submitted reduced call volume and increased use of the digital channel over the phone channel.

This project demonstrates successful content design work embedded directly in a cross-functional product team, the ability to hold plain language, regulatory accuracy, and existing design patterns in balance at the same time, and a documented case where iterating on a single piece of confusing content led to a measurable drop in support costs.