Contact Centers have already been the focal point of rapid automation, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated this transformation. The pace at which Conversational AI is developing has us wondering about the multi-fold benefits it brings to the table across functions.As per a Research And Markets report, the global market for AI technologies in contact centers is set to grow at a CAGR of 22.6% for the forecast year 2019-2024. And given the popularity of voice-based search and virtual customer assistants, it is only a matter of time when AI voice bots become the new normal.

Limitations of Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

Before getting into the rise and popularity of voice bots driven by AI, let’s examine the saturation point that IVR systems have hit, which has limited their potential. Here is a quick round-up:

• • Limited input mechanism
  • Impersonal and mechanized way to address queries
  • Long menus with irrelevant options
  • Scripts can be too long or unnecessarily detailed
  • Evokes frustration
  • Limited scalability

While the above issues may appear to spell doom for the IVR systems, Conversational AI can breathe new life into these legacy technologies. In their case, a more future-forward approach would be to integrate both the technologies in a way that one can offset the disadvantage of the other and vice versa. Resultantly, we can get a robust system with almost negligible disadvantages.

How AI-powered Voice Bots Make Contact Centers Customer-Friendly

As one can see from above, the primary issues surrounding IVR revolve around operational hurdles and diluted customer experience. And AI voice bots knock the ball straight out of the park in this area. AI voice bots transcribe audio clips, extract useful information, and offer instant support.

Here’s how an AI-powered voice bot for contact centers can make them user-friendly:

1) Customer Service Automation

Did you know that a voice bot can successfully attend to nearly 80% of routine customer interactions? As a result, you will only have to escalate complex issues to human agents. Thus, the AI-powered self-help systems introduce a layer of automation right at the initial stages by using a voice bot for the contact center.

2) Value-Added and Empathetic Conversations

Empathy may not come naturally to machines, but it can definitely be taught. With the right contact center solutions, you can have a voice bot system that mimics this emotion with unquestionable elan. Voice bots equipped with machine learning capabilities can derive insights from voice analytics to deescalate situations and offer an appropriate and value-added solution.

3) Personalized Interactions

Using Conversational AI in contact centers can be one of the best strategies for offering customer-centric, personalized services. Voice bots divert from the standard one-size-fits-all policy and tailor the experience. It can access and extract crucial information from CRM data repositories, such as contact history details, and use it to offer custom solutions - something that your customers will appreciate.

4) Higher Scalability

AI-based contact centers can handle large volumes of customer queries without breaking into a sweat. In addition to shouldering the bulk of the inbound calls, AI voice bots can seamlessly integrate with other systems to support a wide range of applications, like contact center voice recognition for authorization. Most importantly, voice bots allow contact centers to operate 24x7, which is the highest form of commitment that you can get.

5) Lower Call Drops

As Conversational AI attends customer queries almost instantly, it will drastically reduce the AHT/wait times. Furthermore, it can quickly dispose of issues, thereby reducing the total call drops.

Ready for an intelligent future?

If you are wondering, “What is the future of contact centers?” the answer is, “Definitely intelligent.” More specifically, it is artificially intelligent. Now that it is evident that AI and contact centers go hand-in-hand, it is time to upgrade your obsolete IVR system for a cutting-edge AI-powered voice bot!Gear up for an enhanced and futuristic way of Customer Support!Gnani’s conversational AI-based solutions enable seamless and secure conversations and offer a simple, intuitive, and personalized experience across multiple channels.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is conversational AI changing contact centres?

Conversational AI is replacing the rigid menus of legacy IVR with natural spoken interaction. Research and Markets projects the global AI contact centre market to grow at a 22.6 percent CAGR between 2019 and 2024, driven by these limitations of IVR.

What are the main problems with traditional IVR systems?

IVR systems have six main weaknesses: limited input options, impersonal interaction, long and irrelevant menus, verbose scripts, customer frustration and poor scalability. Rather than scrapping IVR outright, integrating existing IVR with AI gives callers faster and more natural routing.

How much routine work can voice bots handle?

Voice bots can handle nearly 80 percent of routine customer interactions, escalating only complex cases to human agents. This deflection keeps queues shorter and lets agents spend their time on issues that genuinely need judgement and empathy from a person.

Can voice bots personalise the conversation?

Yes. Voice bots connected to CRM systems can see contact history and offer tailored solutions instead of one size fits all responses. Machine learning based voice analytics also help the bot respond with more empathy and de-escalate tense calls.

Does conversational AI reduce average handle time?

Yes. Faster resolution lowers average handle time and wait times, which in turn reduces call drop rates. Voice bots also operate around the clock, absorb high call volumes and integrate with authorisation and recognition systems for secure self-service options.