Embracing Call Center Technology with AI

From routing customers to providing self-service solutions, artificial intelligence is improving call center technology in a number of dramatic ways. Artificial intelligence is able to automate many of the more mundane business processes associated with call center operations, improving the experience for both the call center users and the call center employees. Through artificial intelligence, call centers will be able to operate at higher volumes with lower costs, as well as providing better customer service overall.

How Artificial Intelligence is Changing Contact Centers

Artificial intelligence is able to be integrated into many simple business processes. As artificial intelligence has become more complex, it has been able to be used for increasingly sophisticated tasks. A few ways in which artificial intelligence can change the landscape of contact centers includes:

Providing better self-service options

Artificial intelligence can operate as a layer between customers and human operators, asking questions about the customer’s problems and determining the information that the customer needs. If the AI fails at determining the customer’s needs or solving the customer’s problems, it can then escalate to a human operator with the information that it has been given. Many customers prefer to self-service if possible.

Capturing and analyzing data

Throughout a call center system, data has to be analyzed regarding the volume of calls, customer satisfaction, the departments that are being called the most, and the problems that customers are most frequently experiencing. By analyzing this data, artificial intelligence can help a call center anticipate a customer’s needs, while also identifying large scale issues that may be occurring.

Routing calls more effectively

Artificial intelligence can now use voice recognition software to route calls effectively depending on what the customer needs. These calls can also be load balanced appropriately, so customers experience shorter wait times and employees don’t become overwhelmed.

Predicting customer behavior

Artificial intelligence can be used to provide insights into customer data trends, such as times of higher capacity, or emerging customer needs. These customer behavior predictions can be used by a company to draw conclusions about existing products and services.

The goal of artificial intelligence is not to replace human operators but rather to make it so that human customer service representatives are able to more effectively and quickly help their customers. Through this, each call center is able to take a larger number of calls, and overhead costs are reduced.

Improving Customer Relations through AI

When it comes to call centers, artificial intelligence is designed to improve customer relations by personalizing the experience of the customer. Artificial intelligence is able to take in and analyze large amounts of data, including data that may be in a customer relationship management suite or call center solution. AI can provide this information to human CSRs or use this information to help the customer themselves find the information that they need.

The better integrated AI is, the more effective it can be. Artificial intelligence can be integrated into a company’s website to provide advanced help via live chat and instant messaging, in addition to being integrated into the company’s own live phone system. Artificial intelligence can be hooked into a knowledge base to help customers by deriving the customer’s needs through the data it has, or it can be connected with a customer relationship management suite to predict what a customer may need help with.

Further, artificial intelligence is designed to work with a company’s existing technology, integrating as a third-party feature to call center solutions and platforms that already exist. By integrating this AI, companies are able to streamline their operations and optimize their profit potential.

Call centers reside in a competitive industry, and artificial intelligence can aid a call center in being more flexible, scalable, and agile. Over time, artificial intelligence is able to pay for itself through its ability to streamline business operations—as well as improving upon customer support and satisfaction.

Utilizing the newest in telecommunications technology, as well as staying current in industry standards and emerging trends, will give your company a competitive edge.