As the digital world continues its rapid growth, there is a need for quality services that can keep up with the changing landscape and utilize advances in technology. As a result, organizations are looking at cloud and AI tools to provide a better experience for their customers. In fact, recent years have shown us that contact centers are often where cutting-edge technology first makes its debut. While AI is projected to improve a number of operations in enterprises, this year the focus is getting clearer as to which contact center functions will be impacted most by AI.
What We Can Expect From Contact Centers Using AI
Better management of unpredictability
Customers and employees alike contribute to a level of unpredictability during contact center interactions. Unlike technology, humans tend to act on their emotions rather than applying pure logic and reason. With remote work only adding to that unpredictability, it can be difficult for managers to gauge the stress levels of customers and agents using the physical cues often seen in office settings.
Additionally, while consumer actions may follow historical trends, their exact behavior is still difficult to predict with absolute accuracy. Consumers decide when to call, often while trying to find the fastest path to resolution. For example, they may use chat messaging while waiting to speak to a live agent, and they may post to social media if placed on hold. Usually, their communication is motivated by external events, but the behaviors are unique to each consumer, factoring in their circumstances, mood, etc.
In this case, AI has tremendous potential in its utility by automating routine tasks and optimizing processes that are able to be predicted. Especially in the contact center setting, AI can help enterprises even better manage unpredictable events as well. For instance, a website outage or other unforeseen circumstance may result in higher call volume. If an AI-driven tool is reviewing calls, it can detect commonly used words or phrases that notify leadership there is a problem much sooner than if the situation was left to chance.
More personalized and efficient customer interactions
While there have been fearful predictions of technology replacing human agents for decades, time has shown that it is not truly the case. First it was going to be email, then instant messaging, then social media, and more recently, bots. In reality, we are seeing these technologies incorporated into contact center operations without significantly supplanting human agents. In fact, it is clear that AI technology and human agents are best suited to work together to create the optimal experience for customers.
Previously, many people held the belief that automated chats are robotic and impersonal. Perhaps that would be the case without the complement of human agents, but having the two work together actually makes the customer experience more personal. As technology continues to evolve, sophisticated AI is able to provide agents with richer data and information they can use to communicate with customers effectively and overcome issues efficiently.
Cutting-Edge Customer Service With Cloud9
At VOIP Networks, our commitment to protecting clients’ communications investment drives us to transform our business offerings as digital transformation and the emergence of AI technology continues. Our Cloud9 contact center solutions can create virtual, multimedia environments that allow people to choose how to interact: voice, email, webchat, and even SMS. Not only do these solutions respond to public demand, but they also provide important information about how well the organization meets the needs of its customers.
