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Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing how we interact with computers, obtain information, and perform our daily jobs. This applies to all industries. AI can be used for tasks as simple as finding detailed information on a specific topic or as complex as writing software code. AI will continue to grow dramatically over the next few years.
AI is already impacting the call center industry and presenting many of us with new challenges. In June, I participated in a panel session at the ATSI conference in Phoenix, where we reviewed many of these challenges and offered insights about turning them into opportunities. This article reviews some of those topics.
Are you losing clients to AI automated agent solutions?
Amtelco and other call center platforms are now offering AI automated agent solutions that allow you to retain those clients by providing your own automated solution. Amtelco’s new Ellie® Intelligent Virtual Agent (IVA) is part of the core Amtelco Intelligent Series platform. It helps you get started quickly by enabling automation with a simple click of a button to activate an existing live agent script as an automated script. Imagine having the ability to retain a client who might otherwise leave by offering an integrated solution that seamlessly combines automation with live agent support while still utilizing all the resources they already rely on, such as on-call scheduling and dispatching.
How many of you struggle to have enough agents to handle peak traffic and keep your call queue times low?
AI automated agents can augment existing call center agents to cover peak call traffic times. Give callers the choice to speak to an automated agent rather than wait for a live agent. Some AI tools can direct calls to AI automation based on reaching certain call thresholds, such as the amount of time a caller has been in queue or the number of calls in queue.
Do you struggle with only being able to listen to and perform Quality Assurance (QA) on a small number of your calls?
AI tools such as Amtelco’s Active Insights are a great solution to automate this process. This makes evaluating a much higher percentage of calls possible, saving time for supervisors. Look for an AI solution that can:
- Automatically transcribe call recordings into text.
- Break up the transcription into what the agent says and what the caller says.
- Analyze the conversation to evaluate how the agent handled the call.
- Generate a summary of the call, which can be provided to the call center client.
- Determine the caller sentiment.
- Based on the caller interaction, provide insights about opportunities for new services or enhancements to policies.
AI does this by following the instructions or context that you provide it. For example, you can ask AI to generate a warning if the caller has become agitated or angry. This can alert the agent, and the call center supervisor that this call may be in trouble.
For those of you using AI automated agents, do you struggle with ongoing updates that your customers may ask for with the call flow?
AI automated agent solutions require building a call flow to control the interaction with the caller. This is referred to as context. If a client requests a change to the call flow, this context must be updated. Keeping this context within the control of the call center provides the ability to react quickly to these requests. Amtelco’s Ellie IVA utilizes the existing live agent scripts to drive the call flow with their own built-in context, which you can use as is or update to adjust for automation versus live agent interaction.
How do I handle callers who don’t like interacting with an automated agent?
The key here is to always provide callers with an option to speak to a live agent. Many AI agent solutions allow for defining keywords callers can say to reach a live operator. AI can also detect when callers are struggling to provide the required information and ask them if they would like to speak with a live operator. With Amtelco’s Ellie IVA, the AI automation interaction uses the same script that the live agents handle. This provides the ability to pass all of the information the caller has provided and the current state of the call to the live operator, ensuring that the caller doesn’t have to start over.
What do I tell clients who expect to utilize AI automation at a lower cost than live agents?
This can be a challenge for many call centers facing the decision to offer automation, knowing that the client will expect it to be less expensive than live agents. The decision may be centered on whether you wish to keep that client at a lower rate rather than losing the client. Offering a hybrid solution is a key benefit a call center can offer, where callers are able to speak to a live agent or an automated agent. This can help a call center sell their solution versus an entirely automated solution.
AI automated agents are less expensive than live agents. AI automated agents take calls 60 minutes each hour versus the industry average of 40 minutes of live call taking per hour. AI automated agents work 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, don’t take breaks, don’t require PTO or other benefits, are happy to work holidays, and don’t require office space.
Do you face challenges with multi-lingual callers?
AI automated agents such as Amtelco’s Ellie are a great solution for this challenge. One of the significant benefits Ellie offers is the ability to write an agent script in English, and the AI LLM (Large Language Model) handles translating that into the language the caller is speaking. This allows handling multi-lingual callers without having to do any special programming for each language. The results of the caller interaction can then be saved in English or in the chosen language for the call.
The Future of AI
Although the concept of AI has been around for many years, the technology and features are advancing rapidly in the call center industry. In addition to voice services, AI can provide next-generation interactive text or web chatbot experiences. While adding AI tools to your call center may seem overwhelming, reviewing the available capabilities, and comparing those with the needs of your call center and clients is an excellent place to start.
