As we inch out of lockdown, organisations in every sector are faced with the challenge of predicting what the workplace of the future will look like. How soon can staff return to offices and will they all want to? Will consumer habits developed during the pandemic – notably, an increased reliance on digital channels – endure?
For those responsible for the customer experience, this creates a dilemma around resourcing, and getting the optimal level of staff for unpredictable levels of demand. One option is to build a more flexible workforce – but this incurs higher costs.
In our view, an increasingly viable alternative is to use virtual agents, powered by artificial intelligence to work with and complement your staff.
Today’s virtual agents are far more effective than previous generations. They feature advanced voice recognition and natural language processing, meaning they are better at understanding and responding to customer needs.
Think Alexa and Siri, rather than the clunky voice menus of a few years back.
Crucially too, customer expectations have evolved. A growing majority of customers will seek self-service channels first – and are willing to use AI to help them complete their task.
For businesses, using AI in this way leads to:
- Reduced costs – straightforward interactions are fulfilled via low-cost channels
- Improved service and higher customer satisfaction – there’s no waiting for AI-supported self-service, while contact centre advisors are freed up to manage complex interactions
- Better 24x7 coverage – virtual agents provide a low-cost and reliable workforce for the shifts humans don’t want
- Simplified compliance – sensitive customer data can be collected by the virtual agents
- Increased flexibility – at peak times, your virtual workforce scales up effortlessly
To see how effective today’s virtual agents can be, join Connect’s forthcoming webinar on AI for CX. As well as setting out the business case, we’ll provide a live demo of the Five9 Intelligent Virtual Agent – in our view, one of the best CX AI tools on the market today.
As Head of Contact Centre Go-To-Market at Conn3ct, Tim North applies over 25 years’ experience of working in the voice and contact centre solutions market to help clients enhance their customer interactions. He leads the Conn3ct team across its...
Thomas John is Vice President of Channels for Five9 with a proven 23 year track record in Telephony and IT, especially focused on Enterprise Cloud Contact centre, Web & Mobile Unified Communications, Agent and Customer Experience as well as...
Dr Damian Copeland was the co-founder and managing director of ICR Speech Solutions which was acquired by Connect in 2020. He has a background in the design and development of interactive systems going back over 3 decades, and for the past 22...
Nicholas Brice is founder/CEO of Soul Corporations® and Bite-Size Plays. Nicholas’ career as a conference chair, keynote speaker and performance culture consultant has seen him lead and present numerous blue-chip brand and culture change...
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