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The current pandemic has expedited the need for digital transformation across industry verticals. Business leaders are taking bold steps to transform customer service and bridge the chasm between customer expectations and service delivery using AI and automation across industries. But the human element in customer service can never be overemphasized. Artificial Intelligence has to work with human intelligence to make a real difference. So, now would be the right time for contact centers to combine the best of human intelligence and Artificial Intelligence to deliver excellent customer service.
Delivering a Consistent Customer Experience
Today most contact centers are overwhelmed with customer calls, a majority of the agents are working remotely, and customers are expecting a quick resolution of their queries. A combination of human intelligence and Artificial Intelligence can help to resolve all of these issues. There are tasks that machines are good at, and then there are certain domains wherein humans have the upper hand. The trick is to have the optimal blend of the two to deliver a consistent customer experience. Let’s discuss a few such instances.
The job of the contact center agent is one of the most stressful. If technology can help to ease the burden on the agents, then that will, in turn, help them do their jobs better. It means AI can take over the mundane and repetitive tasks while the agents can focus on what they do best – empathize with the customers. Some of the tasks that AI can do well include capturing and analyzing vast amounts of data, predicting customer behavior based on their voice, holding a simple conversation at scale with customers, and even facilitating self-service options.
AI can Augment the Human Agent
Human intelligence is invaluable for solving complex problems, allaying customer anxieties, and reassuring them. Humans can build bonds with customers that can lead to deeper customer engagement and long-term customer value. But in the context of a contact center, the human agent is expected to juggle between multiple tasks, access knowledge banks, connect with other team members, look at a customer’s history, and so on. Thus AI can augment the capabilities of the human agent. It offers access to knowledge banks at the click of a button, connect with subject matter experts, let the supervisor monitor the agent remotely, raise a red flag if the agent is facing difficulties in discharging his duties, and so on. The AI can also help the agent with real-time alerts and notification, check if the agent goes as per the script, adhere to regulatory compliance, and fulfill the disclosure clauses.
It is all but clear that AI will not replace the human agent in a contact center anytime soon. The job of AI is to help humans to do their jobs better. One such important area wherein machines help humans is related to the after-call work (ACW). ACW is mandatory for contact centers, but today AI has evolved to do this job faster, better, and cheaper than a human would do. For a large contact center with thousands of agents on the floor and with each agent handling close to a hundred calls in each shift, you cannot overemphasize the benefit of AI-powered after-call work enough.
Customers Prefer the Human Touch
According to recent research from Uniphore, customers prefer the human touch regardless of industry vertical and geographic location. This same research also highlights the importance of not keeping your customers on hold. It is where AI can step in without increasing the number of agents in your contact center. Thus, it is all about man and machine’s symbiosis achieved the right that wins over customers any day, any time.
Get in touch with Uniphore to learn how you can blend the best of human intelligence and Artificial Intelligence in your contact center now.