Future-proof your call center with actually helpful AI
By Damien Smith, Senior Communications Manager of PolyAI
Life is full of little annoyances. Maybe the coffee shop is out of oat milk, you forgot your grocery store membership card or you need to get gas when it’s freezing. If you experience one of these minor nuisances, you probably just sigh heavily and then immediately move on, that irritating thing just a fleeting moment in your day. However, if several of these pain-in-the-neck events occur in rapid succession, the annoyance stops feeling minor and ephemeral and starts snowballing into the kind of frustration that can derail your whole day.
One such classic day-ruining series of events? Trying to get in contact with customer service. First, a robot voice prompts you to describe your problem succinctly. After you unsuccessfully try a few word combinations, the robot voice repeats, “I’m sorry, I didn’t get that. In a few words…” So, you give up and ask to “speak to a representative.” Finally, you hear a connection tone.
That short-lived relief turns to dismay as the robot voice announces that all available agents are assisting other customers — and so begins the hold music. After what feels like hours of tinny Muzak, you finally concede defeat and hang up the phone without a solution, resigned to try again later, but the damage has been done. The exasperating robot voice, the time wasted on hold and the lack of a helpful resolution have worsened your mood, and now it’s a bad day.
Contact centers using traditional interactive voice response (IVR) systems are harbingers of the olden times. From confusing menus that loop you in circles to keyword-driven canned responses and inept speech recognition, IVRs have been call center bugbears for many years, leading to frustrated customers who don’t trust any call center AI.
Human call center agents are also victims of IVRs’ bad reputation. These systems’ ineffectiveness subjects human reps to a constant barrage of already frustrated callers. Pair that all-too-common scenario with surging employee attrition rates leaving the remaining employees with unending high call volumes, and the dream of providing outstanding customer service to each caller dwindles rapidly. These run-down reps and incompetent IVRs have resulted in many traditional call centers struggling to maintain an acceptable service level (and CSAT) baseline.
Amid this ongoing call center crisis, however, a new type of center is emerging — one powered by helpful advanced AI capable of understanding callers’ natural speech and providing effective, accurate answers. Spoken language understanding (SLU) advancements are setting the stage for call center improvements that will dramatically decrease aggravations suffered by callers and human agents. With groundbreaking language models and machine learning in place, revolutionary AI-powered voice assistants can resolve calls faster without people needing to “speak to a representative,” resulting in more satisfied customers and less stressed representatives. Intelligent voice assistants are a win-win.
The chronic pitfalls of call center experiences, plagued by lengthy wait times, inadequate solutions and impersonal interactions, negatively impact customer satisfaction and loyalty. The integration of AI virtual agents offers hope for a better call center, promising to significantly reduce frustrations through shorter wait times, 24/7 availability and immediate access to information.
Though AI still has some limitations when it comes to addressing complicated matters requiring empathy and a human touch, the future of the call center looks promising. Combining AI’s capabilities with human agents’ compassion and expertise means frustration-free customer service is no longer just a pipe dream but a likely future reality.
The Contact Center as a Service for improved customer service
What do you think of when you think of a call center? Probably countless employees packed into rows of cubicles answering unending phone calls, but a better, more streamlined version of the call center is arising. The Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) moves the physical terminals to the cloud, resulting in more agile (yet technically complex) agent environments. It also paves the way for deploying intelligent virtual agents on the front lines and a smaller team of more specialized human agents prepared to tackle complex issues AI is not (yet) equipped to handle. This harmonious blend of technology and humanity is poised to revolutionize call center customer service.
CCaaS improves operational efficiency through enhanced task delegation. The system first connects callers to a voice assistant capable of fielding many frequently asked questions while still understanding its limits. If the AI can’t solve a complicated question or request, the AI knows the right human expert to route the call to. The more these virtual agents assist callers, the “smarter” they become. This capability means the technology can handle more repetitive tasks, thus allowing human experts to deal with more intricate inquiries. An improved service model like this means quicker customer issue resolution, more time for human agents to develop meaningful customer connections and, ultimately, more satisfied customers.
Though the AI is cutting-edge, it can’t operate alone. AI trainers work behind the scenes to continuously refine the technology’s capabilities. As these voice agents improve, so will operational efficiencies.
The future of successful contact centers will be an effective collaboration between humans and technology. This scalable model leverages AI to deal with standard FAQ resolution so humans can work on building lasting relationships that drive loyalty and trust. This human-centric approach benefits both customers and the contact center while simultaneously doing damage control for call centers’ bad rap. As AI satisfactorily resolves more and more callers’ issues, the brand will improve and soon, the established negativity around calling customer service will be a thing of the past.
Economic realities fueling service improvements
Any brand that wants to stay in business — and remain competitive — should prioritize providing outstanding customer service, but the push toward automated customer service is being driven by more than just concern for the customer. Many organizations find themselves asked to “do more with less” and cut costs wherever possible.
Additionally, staffing shortages, especially in entry-level positions, continue permeating many industries, and contact centers are not immune. In fact, in 2022, contact centers saw agent turnover spike to 38%, prompting leaders to look for alternative solutions. It soon became clear that AI-powered automation could pave the road to sustainable success. According to recent Gartner research, AI-powered virtual assistants will be the main customer service channel for a quarter of all organizations by 2027!
Amid economic challenges, the most innovative organizations will focus on investing in technology with tangible value and problem-solving capabilities. Intelligent voice assistants can help meet those needs. Since voice assistants can provide efficient, high-quality service without the need to hire more staff, organizations are leaning on this technology to cut down on staffing costs while still exceeding customer expectations with outstanding service. More productivity with fewer people answers financially uncertain organizations’ prayers.
Customer service automation of the past lacked efficacy but tried to make up for it by sounding as “human” as possible to earn callers’ trust. As modern, high-tech voice assistants continue to improve, they’ll earn that trust by providing helpful solutions rather than merely accurately mimicking humans. The focus has shifted from simply sounding human to offering helpful solutions — just like a human — earning call center AI its own spot in the customer service ecosystem. Who cares if the voice on the other end of the line results from algorithms if it gets you the answer you need quickly and accurately?
Even with this advanced AI, automation alone won’t drive the future of customer service — instead, it will be a powerful collaboration between AI-powered voice assistants and skilled human representatives. This evolution, driven by necessity and the desire for a better experience, promises significant benefits for all stakeholders. By leveraging intelligent voice assistants to address common frustrations and allowing human agents to take on the more complicated tasks, organizations can boost customer loyalty and reduce employee churn, leading to fewer bad days for customers and agents.
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About the Author
Damien leads communications and customer advocacy for PolyAI, a London-based startup building customer-led voice assistants for the enterprise. He has a prolific tech-augmented CX background with customer-centric leadership roles at Gartner, Yelp and Workable.