In the rapidly evolving landscape of customer service, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a pivotal tool to enhance customer experiences and support for contact centers. According to Gartner, Inc., a leading research and advisory company, the convergence of Generative AI, digital customer service, and conversational user interfaces (CUIs) is poised to transform customer service and support by 2028. Drew Kraus, Gartner’s Vice President in the customer service and support practice, emphasizes the common theme among these technologies: their capacity to streamline the customer journey and meet the escalating expectations of consumers.
One of the primary challenges faced by contact centers is the imperative to deliver a superior Customer Experience (CX) in the face of factors such as high agent attrition, increasingly complex interactions, and inadequate onboarding and training processes. To address these challenges head-on, contact centers are leveraging AI to make agents more productive, provide managers with enhanced visibility into agent performance, and ultimately, ensure customer satisfaction while keeping call times to a minimum, according to Tim Shi, Chief Technology Officer at Cresta.
A key aspect of AI implementation in contact centers is real-time agent assistance. AI is being utilized to coach and guide agents in real-time, offering optimal responses during calls or chats. By identifying key behaviors that lead to successful business outcomes and guiding agents to exhibit these behaviors, AI enables agents to navigate every conversation expertly. Additionally, AI empowers agents and coaches by providing unprecedented visibility into agent performance and behavior. This includes features such as live alerting, real-time online coaching, and workflow optimization, creating an environment where agents can deliver a personalized and relevant experience for every customer interaction. This not only makes conversations more meaningful and productive but also contributes to increased customer satisfaction and reduced call times, subsequently lowering call volume.
Moreover, AI is instrumental in transforming the customer support journey. With the influx of AI tools, brands have the opportunity to significantly impact their support operations. Erik Ashby, Head of Product at Helpshift, emphasizes the need for a practical approach, stating that brands can see a dramatic impact when they strategically deploy specialized AI across their customer support journey. This includes leveraging Intent AI based on natural language processing (NLP) to detect and classify intent, automating responses to simple queries using unmanaged generative AI, and seamlessly integrating multiple AI technologies to handle a majority of customer tickets.
Ashby explains that the practical approach creates a seamless customer journey where AI operates in the background, often imperceptible to the consumer. Specialized Intent AI, capable of classifying 90% of all tickets, forms the foundation. Unmanaged generative AI then steps in to automatically answer simple questions based on existing knowledge, resolving 20-30% of tickets with minimal setup effort. The result is an efficient and automated support system that not only handles a substantial percentage of tickets but also leads to an increase in Customer Satisfaction (CSAT).
In conclusion, the integration of AI in contact centers is poised to revolutionize customer service and support over the next five years. Real-time agent assistance, powered by AI, is enhancing agent productivity and customer satisfaction, while a practical approach to AI implementation is proving to be a game-changer in automating and improving the customer support journey. As AI continues to evolve, contact centers that embrace these technologies will undoubtedly lead the way in delivering exceptional customer experiences in the digital age.
