Application Development
3 benefits of AI in the contact centre
The quality of customer experience (CX) is declining, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Customer satisfaction is at its lowest point in 17 years: 73.2 out of 100.
Many factors are at play here, but there’s clearly an opportunity to improve the experience your customers receive. Adopting new strategies and technologies, such as AI in the contact center, can significantly improve efficiency and competitive advantage in three key ways.
1. Frees agents to focus on complex tasks
AI deployed in the contact center can automate routine tasks across the case lifecycle. This streamlines processes and enables agents to focus on complex case resolution, increasing customer satisfaction. AI can:
Boost agent productivity by automating manual processes and inputs
Reduce costs by mitigating labor-intensive assessment and issue resolution
Decrease redundancy by addressing similar incidents and cases at the same time
Give customers answers fast by reducing time to resolution
2. Improves understanding with sentiment analysis
Deploying AI in the contact center enables sentiment analysis, which helps agents gauge customer emotion quickly to provide next-best-action advice in real time. Agents gain a better understanding of the tone behind each customer’s request so they can focus their resolution efforts accordingly. Sentiment analysis also benefits organisations in prioritising product and service improvements based on trends across a customer base.
As an example, Mikayla faces a tight deadline to finish a monthly revenue report, and her laptop randomly shuts down. Rather than having to type an email describing the problem and sending it to the support inbox, she quickly submits her issue through a simple email or portal.
At the service desk, Julian receives her request. AI capabilities have automatically extracted the relevant information, eliminating the previous back-and-forth process to ensure he has everything needed to properly categorise and route the case. AI has assessed and pre-populated those fields. The chance that Mikayla’s case might be miscategorised is very low, which accelerates issue resolution.
Additionally, AI generates sentiment analysis insights for Julian that reveal Mikayla’s anxiety about the impact of her laptop malfunction on her workflow. He’s given recommended steps to help resolve her case and strengthen her contact center experience.
3. Saves time and improves employee satisfaction
Throughout the entire process, Julian saves significant time. AI handles all of the repetitive tasks, ensures accuracy, and helps route the issue to the appropriate team for resolution. Julian is able to focus on high-priority and interesting assignments, which improves his job satisfaction.
“For customers, AI-driven tools like predictive analytics can deliver a personalised and proactive experience that resolves issues before customers are even aware they exist—enhancing CX at every point along the customer journey,” McKinsey reports. “Tech can also assist in developing a high-performing workforce by identifying optimal work processes and practices using analytics.”
In short: AI offers unique capabilities for contact centers to help speed up response, increase agent productivity, and better understand customer issues in real time.
Find out more about how AI can boost agent productivity and improve CX.
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