Artificial intelligence (AI) and use of bots is already changing the world. AI technology is already making a huge impact in the call center industry. There is a fear among people that the use of AI technology and automated bots are displacing the jobs of millions of agents globally. However, the use of AI technology brings lots of benefits to the call centers, making them more effective and efficient. Progress made by bots in automated messaging is rapidly changing the landscape of the customer service industry. Call centers are known to be the forefront of all large organizations providing a link between businesses and clients. AI technology helps in promoting the link between customers by consistently giving clients the right data at the right time. This is made easier by the AI technology offering self-service options which can be accessed at any time.
This eliminates the need to call customer service. Secondly, AI helps in providing more information to call agents at any given time. This can be very helpful in handling complex problems that self-service auto bots cannot resolve. This shows that AI and bots can be by customer service representatives to predict the behavior of customers and provide guidance on how best to deal with issues. Companies are recognizing this resourcefulness and embracing the concept of integrating AI technology and bots in call centers. Let us look at the impact of artificial intelligence and automated bots and how it is affecting the customer service industry.
- Automation of monotonous tasks
Call centers are typically busy in nature, receiving large volumes of requests from customers with Monday being the busiest day of the week. This is one among the very many facts about call centers. The workload on customer service representatives can be greatly reduced by AI-based software and auto bots managing most of these tasks. In an ideal scenario, AI-software handles all data entry and retrieval procedure. Call agents on the other hand, handle the front line duties of all call centers to satisfy the customers. This saves a lot of time which would have been wasted trying to solve menial issues.
- Reduced human activity quickens the overall process
Ultra-smart AI platforms such as liveperson conversable contain features that reduce human contact. A good example is automated bots handling communication with clients instead of human beings. This reduces the response time between the call center and the customer. Auto bots are normally equipped with features that help it move on and bypass other steps that appear often in many procedures.
This decreases the overall human interaction enabling call agents to deal with urgent and areas that need attention. Speech analytics by auto bots can also prove to be very useful in analysing what frustrates or pleases customers.
- Use of live chat apps to aid customer support
Customer satisfaction and quick response to queries are some of the widely known call center facts that are very important in boosting an organization’s credibility. The use of live chats applications helps in assisting customers faster while preventing the accumulation of delayed responses. There is an abundance of chat tools that help call agents answer queries quickly. The c an also pause incoming questions when the support team is not available.
Auto bots can also be integrated into some of these chat tools to aid in the communication process between clients and the support team. This can be very resourceful to the organization, especially during odd hours when no one is available to chat with a client.
- Reduction in hiring and training costs
Hiring and training of staff is a time-consuming process that requires lots of money. These costs rapidly escalate with an increase in employee turnover, a common situation in call centers. Automation platforms can be very effective in helping reduce these costs. Some of these platforms like Watson normally come pre-programmed with industry and departmental knowledge. Instead of retraining he entire support team, during an overhaul one only needs to redesign the entire software thus saving a lot of time and money.
- Robots handling the communication process
Robots are known to be very efficient with their approach unlike human beings who can be prone to errors occasionally. Robots can always be relied upon to solve issues efficiently while always being available for help. Auto bots come with self-service applications to help resolve complaints quickly.
If AI technology is implemented effectively, robots can prove to be quite beneficial. They can help and guide customers on how to solve complex issues reducing the cost incurred by human interactions. this aids in enhancing the organizations self-service potential.
- Helps in managing huge information
Call centers acquire huge amounts of data on a day to day basis. This can lead to accumulation of information on clients. Customers are aware of this fact and anticipate that providing lots of information should aid in the improvement of customer service. Customers find it very frustrating to constantly repeat basic details constantly to call agents during queries. In other instances, clients receive information that is totally irrelevant to them. In such cases, frustrations start to creep in amongst unsatisfied clients.
Robotic process automation (RPA) aids in eliminating repetitive information being provided by capturing, analysing, and storing of data for future references. This is achieved without the robot intruding into the customer’s personal life.
- Boosts maintenance time
AI -Technology eliminates the need for constant repair and maintenance of appliances. This is achieved by the AI constantly diagnosing for machine faults and fixing faulty equipment promptly as compared to calling maintenance to fix your equipment which can take some time. As a matter of fact, AI-software eliminates the need for maintenance due to their self-maintaining properties.
In conclusion, there is a fear that AI technology will take over the traditional roles of human beings in a workplace. Using AI and automated bots is not meant to increase unemployment. Instead, it smoothly aids human beings in their day to day processes. This ensures that customers are satisfied and helps relieve stress in the workplace. Without a doubt, AI technology and auto bots will completely change the call center industry for the better.