Contact centers play a crucial role in defining success for customer-centric businesses. They form the primary touchpoints for most customer interactions. Hence, business leaders must explore technologies that can make contact centers more profitable and productive over the years. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a valuable technology in this regard.   

Though the concept of AI is not new, understanding its scope in the contact center space is key to leveraging it.  

So, how can AI elevate operations and, in turn, enhance customer experiences, profitability, and revenue predictability?  

Let us find out.  

What comprises Contact Center AI?  

Contact center AI is a broad term that covers everything from routing tools and IVR systems to modern chatbot solutions and virtual assistants. But in the context of modern contact centers, AI has two main components: Generative AI and Conversational AI.  

Generative AI uses machine learning algorithms to build text, translate languages, and create different types of content. Additionally, Generative AI adds advanced analytic and real-time data assistance capabilities. 

GPT-4 and ChatGPT are examples of generative AI tools that most of us know of.   

Now, Conversational AI is a technology that improves the way machines interact and engage with humans. Conversational AI models rely on natural language processing and machine learning technology to evolve over time.  

In their most basic form, conversational AI tools use predefined or canned responses and rule-based systems for responding to customers. Contact centers with more advanced Conversational AI capabilities employ applications like chatbots, messaging apps, and virtual assistants.  

Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri are examples of conversational AI. 

At the outset, generative and conversational AI sound similar. But they are not the same.   

The main difference between generational and conversational AI is that they have different goals and unique capabilities.  

In the context of contact centers, conversational AI is more focused on human-like conversations and interactions. Meanwhile, generative AI creates content in different forms.  

So, you would find conversational AI powering virtual assistants and chatbots while generative AI would be more suitable for dealing with written content or messaging. Another significant difference is that conversational AI models are trained on information in the form of conversations. Meanwhile, generative AI uses both input and data to understand patterns and generate responses or content.  

Neither is mutually exclusive, and both are relevant as modern contact center technologies. Hence, most modern contact centers use both components in different capacities to enhance their operations.  

Let us now look at the different benefits AI offers contact centers from a holistic perspective.  

Replaces the redundant IVR and facilitates better inquiry routing 

Most customers dread being confronted by a traditional IVR system with a menu when they call a business. The options menu rarely collects useful information and it has very limited automation capabilities.  

Fortunately, AI-powered IVR systems have changed this situation. AI systems use natural language processing to communicate with businesses and streamline the customer journey from the first contact. They can also collect data, route inquiries to the right department or agent, and improve the overall efficiency of operation.  

Live transcription and translation  

Modern AI tools are adept at collecting and processing large amounts of information. This enables quick transcription of calls, speeding up the resolution process.  

When generative AI tools are in the loop, they can even summarise calls and capture the relevant details without human intervention. Multi-language support is also possible, reducing the dependency on humans.  

Sentiment analysis for improved support 

Conversational analytic tools can analyze customer sentiments and improve customer support. AI models can be trained on existing data to identify patterns in speech and written content that suggest the customer is unhappy or stressed. This insight will help agents fine-tune their responses to support and not frustrate the customer further.  

Advanced tools can even notify supervisors when the customer seems too frustrated, so they can barge in and take over to prevent churn.  

Big data analysis and handling 

Modern contact center agents deal with high volumes of data. This often leads to exhaustion. Interestingly, most customer queries are redundant. Dealing with the same type of queries with little challenge affects the morale of agents. With AI tools at the forefront, offering support for repetitive queries becomes easy.  

The repetitive part can be handled by machines while human agents save their time and energy for complex tasks that require the human touch.  

Predictive AI for proactive customer support  

For businesses to thrive, a proactive and customer-centric approach is essential. Gartner has laid down the importance of proactive customer support for long-term business success in their DCE framework.  

AI plays a critical role in facilitating such proactive customer service. Machine learning can offer valuable insights and predictive analysis, to help contact center agents streamline their strategy. They can use these insights to reach out to a customer in advance to offer support, thereby improving brand perception and customer loyalty.  

Improved security and compliance  

Security and privacy standards keep changing with time, clearly indicating the importance of customer data security. AI tools can help to beef up security by enabling the use of biometrics or voice recognition for authentication. It can also be used to ensure that employees use only approved terms and words in conversations that will not attract compliance issues.  

The future of Contact Center AI with Engage 360 

With advanced contact center solutions like Engage 360 at the forefront of innovation, the future of contact centers is promising. These solutions deliver personalized, efficient, and human-like interactions that enable businesses to easily manage customers while maintaining a human touch.  

Beyond enhancing customer experiences, solutions like Engage 360 enhance agent productivity and improve their efficiency. By streamlining and automating routine tasks, this contact center solution reduces operational costs, allowing organizations to allocate resources more strategically. The predictive analytics and insights provided by Engage 360 empower businesses to make informed decisions, optimize workflows, and ultimately drive revenue growth.  

As the contact center landscape continues to evolve, AI-powered contact center solutions like Engage 360 work towards not only elevating customer interactions but also improving operational excellence.