Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been introduced into many contact centres and is used to assist with many tasks; from automating responses to dealing with large amounts of data. AI is undoubtedly offering advances that improve the quality of call centres, but as AI continues to evolve, some concerns have been raised as to whether this technology will eventually replace human agents. We explore how there is no need for such concerns; as rather than making call centre agents redundant, AI will work alongside each agent to help boost productivity and efficiency.
How is AI Used in Call Centres?
Common uses of AI in a contact centre come in the form of chatbots, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, especially those which use Natural Language Processing (NLP) and can be integrated into your dialler system.
AI is extremely useful for the completion of repetitive tasks, as well as routing calls through to human support agents, or helping customers with self-service options. AI is also particularly useful for providing customer support outside of the usual working hours to provide customers with answers 24/7; when human agents may not be available. They also help at peak times, when there may be high demand from customers, but not enough agents to take the calls. With the AI features in place, chatbots and IVR systems can work to answer more basic queries. AI will also work to route calls to the most appropriate agents, eliminating the need for customers to be passed between departments, repeating their problem or query.
How Can AI Help Contact Centre Agents
Instead of replacing a human agent, the AI supports contact centre agents by taking control of some of the monotonous and mundane tasks that can be time-consuming and demotivating. This provides the agent with more time to focus on the parts of their job that require human emotion, such as creative tasks, decision making, and responding to customers with empathy when required.
A big problem for call centres is that many customer service agents feel worn down after having to handle such monotonous calls and tasks. Repetitive jobs are often dull and can make workers lose efficiency, potentially leading to human error with data entry or scheduling. With AI taking charge of many of these repetitive tasks, it is likely that contact centre workers will be more motivated and productive.
AI is also particularly useful to agents, acting as a sort of assistant. Types of Artificial Intelligence have already been welcomed into the home in the form of virtual assistants, like Siri and Alexa, and AI in a contact centre can work similarly for agents. AI can be used to help manage workflow, taking control of scheduling in calls and tasks, so that such administrative tasks need not be worried about by the agents. When an agent is on a call with a customer, the AI can pull up relevant files, without the agent having to manually search for information. This will save agents a lot of time and effort and will ensure that new data is added to the system in the right places.
Why Won’t AI Make Call Centre Agents Redundant?
With AI offering call centre agents so much, it can be understood why many are apprehensive about what the future holds for human agents. While it’s clear that AI can take on certain roles, it is not yet advanced enough to be replacing human agents, who are needed for many tasks that an AI simply isn’t capable of completing.
While AI is currently being developed so that it is able to understand customer intent better, and the emotions that a customer holds about a situation, at present, AI is a long way off being able to do this at the same level as a human. When a customer gets in touch, it is likely to be about an issue that will need care that can only be achieved by a human agent. AI cannot always understand context fully or pick up on emotional intent, so it may miss the urgency of a situation. For example, if a customer is expecting tickets to an event for the next day, but they haven’t arrived and are checking on the delivery status, a chatbot or IVR system may simply display tracking details, rather than prioritise getting an agent to respond as the urgency of the situation isn’t detected.
There is a limit to the amount a chatbot or IVR system can answer, as it would be almost impossible to source answers to every possible complex query. Businesses are ever-changing, and the relevant information is constantly updating. As such, developing a chatbot that can answer every possible query is very unlikely, so human agents will be needed to continue providing customers with answers to more complicated situations.
If you recognise the ways in which AI can help your call centre agents to work better, rather than worry that they will be replaced, then Hostcomm offers a range of contact centre solutions to suit your requirements. From chatbot software to predictive diallers, these systems can work together, alongside your agents to form a cohesive and efficient contact centre.
