The Future of Customer Service AI-Powered Efficiencies in Contact Centres - CX Today News

Published: November 29, 2023

As they strive to do more with less, the need for efficiency, particularly at the crucial interface with customers or users, is in the spotlight.

So, can the advanced AI and embedded automations of the Microsoft-certified Contact Centre Anywhere365 Dialogue Cloud offset their investment costs, by boosting the efficiency and productivity of human customer service agents?

Chris Goodwill, Strategic Partner Manager and Solution Specialist at Symity describes the integration of AI in contact centres as a transformative revolution:

AI and human: Partners in customer service excellence

Anywhere365 Dialogue Cloud involves expert agents collaborating with AI, which is seamlessly integrated at each touchpoint. “The AI continuously monitors resources and workload, directing the right tools to the most suitable agents at the perfect time,” Goodwill explained.

“It’s an omnichannel approach. Dialogues are directed through different modes of communication, whether to a chat bot, direct to a knowledge base or through web chat with an agent.” Long emails can be summarised into action points and automatically pushed to the best agent to deal with it. “This can have a significant impact in reducing agent time on interactions, freeing them to deal with more complex customer requirements.”

“Mundane and repetitive queries can be fully dealt with by self-service directly, as the AI replies directly. If a web-chat exceeds the capabilities of the AI, it can be handed off smoothly to the right human, with a clear summary and action and decision points needed. And the agents can become specialists in complex and more challenging queries, while the customer doesn’t have to repeat information already given.”

A good example of the use of channel shift or deflection for local regional government has been the reduction of voice calls to services such as Highways and Waste Services.

As Goodwill explained, “leveraging Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services we use intent recognition, transcription and text to speech services, monitoring speech for key phrases such as ‘pothole’, ‘recycling’, or ‘bin collection’ and then issue automated SMS messages (where calls are from mobiles) to direct customers to digital services, whether portals or knowledge bases. Similarly, where emails are sent to departments, monitoring the subject lines and content, automated responses can be created and fine-tuned to ensure citizens get the information they require quickly and agents are free for more complex calls – the principle can also be applied to webchat conversations.”

With the AI maintaining an overview of global resources, it can match queries with agents at both an individual and organisational level, advising on staffing and shifts, and ensuring the data is used in a smart and timely way. “What we’re seeing is information being relayed to the right people at the right time. It could be users themselves, it could be managers, it could be senior leaders making long-term decisions.”

Efficient management of human and technological resources

Significant implications also arise for workforce management, leading to enhanced efficiencies.

“The AI can help with training and development,” Goodwill continued. “Instead of following fixed scripts, the AI Copilot sits there coaching them as they go, and responding to the conversation as it develops.

The AI’s cognitive services effectively monitor every call at all times, unlike the old days of random listening. “It identifies the sentiment as well as the content of the conversation,” he explained, “maybe things aren’t going particularly well – in that case it could recommend a supervisor to listen in, to whisper privately to the agent, or even to barge in and take over the call.”

Of course, the contact centre is just one aspect of the customer-facing world in many organisations, and by integrating the AI across documentation and record-keeping, yet further efficiencies can be found.

“In local government, health care, or law, there are huge volumes of information being relayed to each caseworker,” Goodwill pointed out. Loss of detail, lack of consistency in record keeping, and wasted time updating, can all be mitigated with the right automation. “As well as extracting the information, the AI can summarise it, compare it, transcribe, and even translate. Instead of the typical situation where a caseworker ends a call and has to type up notes.” Rather than being a backup for compliance or disputes, the recordings therefore become an active part of the record and the case history, so that the client can be better served with solutions that meet their needs, and continuity preserved if staffing changes.

“With all touchpoints in a customer journey encapsulated within a single platform, this ensures the full customer journey is captured. This can be reviewed and measured, so that Customer Experience (CX) can be improved, to ensure that those contacting the organisation receive a high-quality service consistently.” Goodwill concluded.

All in all, investing in the latest AI-supported call centre technologies represents a win-win for all stakeholders: the organisation, its employees and its customers. And we’re still in the early days, of what this technology will do for the public-facing edge of every kind of organisation.

To learn more about how Microsoft-certified Contact Centre Anywhere365 Dialogue Cloud can drive a revolution in your contact centre, contact Symity.

Maya Middlemiss

The Future of Customer Service: AI-Powered Efficiencies in Contact Centres