As organisations continue to strive for a competitive edge, the delivery of exceptional customer service can prove pivotal in underpinning the elevation of the customer experience. Technology has increasingly been deployed to help improve the customer journey, be it through maximising agent productivity, automating routine interactions, or providing data-driven business intelligence. Artificial Intelligence (AI) specifically ushers in a whole new set of rules within the service space. Its rapid development has generated unprecedented opportunities and challenges across the sector. In a climate of soaring customer demands and loyalty ever harder to earn, companies prioritising consumer experience acknowledge that AI will likely play a significant role in any of their engagement strategies moving forward.
Contact Centres and AI
Contact centres (CC) are being transformed by AI, both in terms of useability and efficiency. The benefits are so substantial and have progressed at such a rapid rate, that a staggering 51.8% of contact centres are already operating with some form of AI integration[1]. Key data metrics, processed at high speed by leading AI tools, also have such functional relevance that CC Agents are empowered to deliver a higher level of customer care with little amendment to their traditional routine. Leading CCaaS providers maintain that an Agent is a contact centre’s greatest asset[2], and AI is proving a hugely effectively way of reprioritising an Agent’s time to boost productivity. Predictive analysis for example, is reported to increase Agent output by up to 60%[3]. By evaluating customers data and their historical interactions, AI can ensure that key information is made available at a glance for Agents to effortlessly enter the communication without the need to physically search through customer records.
Collaborative Intelligence
This touches on ideas discussed by AI specialists as far back as the 1950’s and forms the baseline for AI functionality in business. It is the concept of Collaborative Intelligence[4]. Humans and AI have two different but hugely complementary skill sets. Living up to its name, the key dynamic behind Collaborative Intelligence is attempting to harness the unique (& irreplaceable) elements of human-based interaction and supplement it with the high-speed data processing and analysis of AI. Within a CC, AI should continue to be used as an auxiliary tool to enhance the quality of its final delivery. A company’s business processes should be amended to prioritise the key strengths of each asset. Human Agents excel on a ‘personal’ level, and when the interactions become more complex and divert from the traditional format. Bespoke requests or situations that requires more subtlety or understanding are fundamental area which should utilise an agent’s distinctive skills.
Enhanced Performance
There are many remarkable ways in which AI can be embedded into a Contact Centre. From Intelligent Triaging, which accesses a customer’s historical needs and preferences to send them to the Agent best suited to assist them; to real time Multilingual support, which can provide real time translations to enable foreign customers to interact with companies in their native language. As such, organisations who fully embrace the benefits of AI can unlock new dimensions to their customer service offering. It is, however, crucial that they do this sooner rather than later. Beyond the 51.8% of Contact Centres currently implementing AI, a 2023 study found that 86% of people believe that AI had already become a mainstream technology at their company[5], especially following the growth of natural language based chatbots like ChatGPT.
The Current Market
This evolution is yet to show any signs of slowing and the AI contact centre market is predicted to be worth over £6 billion GBP by 2030[6]. The promise of streamlining processes, enhancing efficiency, and minimising costs is understandably, highly appealing. That said, it does also require a lot of careful thought. The implementation of new AI-powered services will likely need to be embedded into preexisting systems and integrate with a variety of different software. Moreover, the variety of offerings from Contact Centre providers can be overwhelming and prove difficult to determine which solution will fit your companies’ unique criteria. With the market rapidly expanding, it is important you have the right people with the appropriate experience and knowledge base to help you make these key decision
How We Can Help?
At Trig Point Consulting we take great pride in applying our unique expertise to create bespoke strategies tailored specifically around our client’s needs. As subject matter experts, our specialist knowledge of the industry and how Artificial Intelligence fits into it allows us to help businesses realise the full potential of AI within their Contact Centres; supercharging their customer engagement and releasing the benefits – both commercial and strategic. Incorporating AI into a business strategy is an extremely exciting undertaking, yet to really experience the full breadth of these advantages, everything within the organisation must be aligned correctly. Trig Point’s methodology helps clients find the perfect cohesion between People, Process and Technology, so that together, their companies can oversee a period of real, impactful change. Interested to see how your business can unlock its potential with AI, book your free 30-minute consultation with our Principal Consultant, Richard Betts.
[1] UC Today (2021): https://www.uctoday.com/
[2] Ring Central (2022): https://www.ringcentral.com/gb/en/blog/agent-centric-contact-centre/
[3] Finances Online (2022) : https://financesonline.com/call-center-trends/
[4] Harvard Business Review (2018): https://hbr.org/2018/07/collaborative-intelligence-humans-and-ai-are-joining-forces
[5] Replicant (2021) : https://www.replicant.com/blog/the-rise-of-contact-center-automation-in-12-stats/
[6] Data Bridge Market Research (2022) : https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-call-center-ai-market
