Artificial intelligence has already affected the way businesses use Big Data, interact with customers and market products and services. Now, AI is emerging as a component of potent contact center solutions that promises to speed the evolution of customer service.
In the past, companies regarded customer service as a resource drain. Now, companies recognize contact centers as profit centers that represent a long-term competitive advantage. AI contributes to the new emphasis on customer service by increasing the efficiency of existing human resources while improving the quality of service supplied to shoppers and customers.
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Companies that plan on updating their call centers should consider implementing AI-based contact center improvements as a way to keep their operation up-to-date, control payroll costs and improve efficiency. Tools such as predictive analysis, process automation and instant reporting-based agent training give businesses a hint of the fantastic personalized services AI can provide.
About Artificial Intelligence
John McCarthy, a researcher at Stanford University invented the term, “Artificial Intelligence,” in 1956. Since that time, scientists and engineers have invested many decades of work to develop intelligent machines and computer software. Such technology has now come of age. Now computers, equipped with specialized software and having access to large data stores, can understand human thought patterns and intelligently interact with human beings.
During the late twentieth century, the development of interactive voice response (IVR) and voice recognition systems foreshadowed the development of practical, business-friendly AI. IVR technology, though unintelligent, helped businesses understand and predict the way customers flowed through the customer service process and eliminated the need for operator-level human intervention for incoming calls. Meanwhile, the development of speech recognition created reliable interfaces for AI systems.
Technology has evolved to the point where customers can contact a company and converse with an artificial intelligence without becoming aware that the AI is a machine, not a person. Contact center agents can also naturally interact with an AI to improve the quality and speed of their work. Meanwhile the development of software integrations means that AI can act more intelligently and autonomously than ever before.
Using AI in Contact Centers
Recently, many companies have realized the importance of creating a positive experience for everyone who interacts with them. As a result, customers can communicate with brands and businesses through many channels including social media, telephone, email and chat. Still, for a long time, customers had to wait on hold or in queues waiting for assistance from a human agent.
Many companies that have embraced customer service excellence have capitalized on it, making it a vital competitive advantage. AI contributes to that trend and offers companies a way to make personalized on-demand customer service a reality.
When someone initiates contact with an AI-enabled contact center, the system continuously optimizes the experience. As the virtual agent listens and responds to callers, it can search for and present resources or involve human agents as necessary during a conversation. As a result, callers can often get the information they need without wasting any time.
AI works behind the scenes to evaluate agent performance and can use the data it collects to provide agents with real-time, on-screen training that can drastically improve employe performance and, therefore, customer satisfaction. AI can also reduce the amount of wrap-up time between calls by automating call summaries, updating knowledge bases and scheduling proactive follow-ups.
As AI works behind the scenes, it can evaluate the vocabulary and tone of voice used by callers. Such information can supply human agents with vital insights that can add precision to solutions and satisfaction to the customer experience. AI-based contact center solutions can also alert supervisors when customers become frustrated or angry.
Key Features
Despite the ongoing evolution of AI, the technology right now has much to offer businesses and their call centers. Some of the most important functions AI can supply right now include the following:
- Optimize the interaction between call-center agents and customers.
- Re-route calls based on changes detected in caller emotions.
- Use speech recognition to interpret and respond to customer concerns.
- Dynamically adapt to various personal conversation styles.
- Omni-channel integration. The same AI can interact via all available channels.
AI and Contact Center Improvements
AI-based call center technologies can deliver immediate measurable benefits to businesses, making them an appealing investment for firms of every size. In AI-enabled environments, the software handles a large portion of incoming calls, expanding the capacity of existing agents. As a result, companies can reduce the cost of customer service while simultaneously improving quality.
The ability of AI to analyze data and predict caller behavior reduces the amount of work demanded from customer service agents. The real-time routing capability of AI precisely matches callers with the digital and human resources needed to solve problems and optimize the customer experience. Companies can enhance the security and trust of their customers by using virtual agents to facilitate the transfer of confidential information such as payments and appointments.
Performance assessments created by AI can supply agents with in-line and on-screen training that steadily increases agent competence and provides guidance for supervisors. Meanwhile, the ability of AI to detect mood and vocabulary changes can alert agents to adjust their behavior and re-route calls as needed.
AI helps companies create an enjoyable, consistent and efficient customer service while improving agent performance and reducing operating costs. As a result, businesses improve their first call resolution statistics and enjoy a satisfied, loyal customer base.
Our Solution
We supply expert training for contact centers and supply businesses with innovative and effective call center improvements that boost profitability. We can help you create a competitive advantage by deploying new technologies such as AI into your call center. Together with other available call center solutions and our expertise, we can improve the experience customers have with your brand while providing a framework for affordable growth.