Technology matters: 4 AI-enabled tools for enhanced customer service

Article by: Alexis Greenwood

Consumers’ expectations of the customer service experience have been rising steadily for the past several years — and the escalation continues. In a recent survey by Microsoft, 55 percent of consumers said they have higher expectations of customer service than they did just one year earlier. Pressures applied by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 have only increased expectations and forced digital interactions to the forefront, highlighting the need for operational and infrastructural changes in many companies.

If businesses are to win the loyalty of today’s consumer — and keep it over time — a comprehensive customer service strategy is an increasingly critical component of success. The strategic process enables businesses to build a roadmap for delivering the experiences customers want, helping agents do their jobs more easily and efficiently, and delivering the data needed to know customers better. Inevitably, technology tools are essential to ensuring successful implementation of the customer service strategy and achieving strategic goals.

In this article, we’ll explore four technology enablers that are helping businesses drive digital transformation in their customer service organizations, and we’ll offer some tips on what to look for in choosing the right tools for your organization.

1. Real-time voice transcription

Telephone continues to be a primary channel for customer care, with 93 percent of consumers saying they still rely on phone-based service, even with a host of digital options available. While the tried-and-true customer service phone call is here to stay, businesses are implementing voice transcription technologies that enable them to elevate each call into a relationship-building connection — and deliver additional benefits along the way.

When calls are automatically transcribed in real time, the agent can focus on the customer instead of on taking notes. The caller benefits from receiving the agent’s undivided attention, while the business captures valuable data that can help them better understand their customers.

Here’s what to look for in choosing a voice transcription solution for your organization:

• Output resembling that of a high-quality manual transcription, including punctuation and formatting
• Ability to add custom vocabulary words, such as product names and industry-specific technical terms
• Multi-language comprehension
• Ability to identify and, if necessary, redact personal information covered by data privacy laws such as GDPR and CCPA
• • Rapid transcription, providing text within seconds of the spoken utterance — as close to real-time as possible
• Ability to differentiate between different voices in a conversation
• Ability to understand accents, different sound volumes, and poor quality streams
• Integration with service management tools such as CRM, ticketing solutions, and telephony infrastructure

2. True omnichannel integration

Even though the phone still dominates customer service channels, customers increasingly leverage social media, text message, email, virtual agents, and websites — and they demand a seamless omnichannel experience. “Omnichannel” means much more than offering a variety of channels. A true omnichannel experience entails a seamless flow of information from one channel to another, so that any interaction on any channel benefits from a complete history of customer touchpoints.

If a customer makes contact via text message about a particular issue on Tuesday and then calls the contact center on Thursday, the agent taking the call should have the details of the earlier interaction — and all interactions that preceded it — eliminating need for customers to tell the same story over and over. Ninety percent of customers in a recent survey confirmed that they want “true omnichannel service” from the organizations they do business with.

AI can enable better omnichannel experiences in a variety of ways, limited only by our ability to define use cases that are enabled by rapid assimilation of information. One example use case might be for routing a customer to the warranty department after they’ve verbally said, “Is my phone still under warranty?”

Here’s what to look for in a platform when your focus is on supporting omnichannel service:

• Ease of integration for social media, messaging, and other channels of choice
• Seamless transition between voice and text formats
• Scalability to adapt to peaks and valleys in demand
• Ability to integrate AI for automatic skills-based routing to the specific agents who can address the customer’s concerns
• Historical and real-time analytics

To read final two AI-enabled tools for enhanced customer service, read the full article here: https://www.logic2020.com/insight/technology-tools-enhanced-customer-service?utm_source=social&utm_medium=Medium&utm_campaign=Business_Insight