The traditional contact center model is evolving into something more advanced: agentless contact centers. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), Generative AI (LLMs) and automation, these centers are revolutionizing customer service by providing efficient, cost-effective, and personalized experiences. This blogpost explores the agentless contact center benefits, challenges and their evolution.
The Evolution of Customer Service Automation
Customer service has come a long way from basic phone and self-service support. Historically, organizations encouraged customers to use self-service options like IVR or chat-based bots as well as self-service support web pages to reduce the high costs associated with voice interactions. However, today’s advanced digital AI-based voice agents are capable of handling voice calls with efficiency comparable to digital chat agents, offering customers their preferred interaction channel.
Why Hasn’t Self-Service Automation Fully Included Voice?
Despite significant advancements in AI and chatbots, the integration of voice in self-service automation has lagged. This is due to challenges such as:
- Speech-to-Text (STT) Accuracy: Variability in accuracy across languages and input lengths affects customer satisfaction.
- Compounded Error Rates: Combined with AI conversational platforms, STT technology can produce error rates below the business threshold of 90% for first-time accuracy. The digital voice agent need to have capabilities to correct the errors introduced by the STT component. Very few are capable of this and is a critical aspect of succeeding with the goal of an Agentless Contact Center
- Handling Complexity: AI systems must manage the nuances of natural language, particularly challenging in voice interactions.
Technical Challenges with Voice Recognition
Voice recognition technology still struggles with achieving high accuracy. Beyond transcription, Natural Language Understanding (NLU) must accurately grasp the context and intent behind words. Consistency across all channels is crucial for maximizing ROI in voice AI contact centers. Read more about the challenges and solutions in agentless contact center implementation.
Why Automating Voice is a Higher Priority Compared to Chat
Automating voice interactions offers higher ROI compared to chat, particularly in cost per call (CPC) reduction, average handling time (AHT) reduction, and first call resolution (FCR) improvement. Automated systems can handle peak call volumes without additional staffing, enhancing scalability and reducing costs.
What to Consider for Voice AI Automation in Contact Centers
Successful voice AI automation requires focusing on improving NLU accuracy above 95%. This can be achieved by addressing STT error rates, using deterministic layers to enhance intent detection, and employing data optimization techniques.
Additional Reading
Generative AI in Contact Center Automation
Generative AI is transforming the landscape of contact centers by enabling more natural, efficient, and personalized customer interactions. Explore how this technology enhances automation in our Generative AI in Contact Center Automation.
Contact Center Automation ROI
Achieving a positive ROI from contact center automation is crucial. Automation technologies, such as Voice AI and automated call routing, not only reduce operational costs but also improve customer satisfaction and efficiency. Learn more about how automated call routing is transforming customer interactions in our call center automation blog. Discover strategies and real-world examples in our Contact Center Automation ROI section.
Read the full Contact Center Automation guide.