It’s no surprise that AI has become a hot topic across industries. Whether it’s generating content, fueling underwriting decisions, or analyzing datasets, AI is here to stay. The efficiency AI offers shouldn’t be overlooked—it has a place in nearly every area of your organization, including your contact center.
The value and role of contact centers are being reimagined thanks to AI. According to Genesys, 62% of bank customers say they use phone calls as their primary method of contacting their bank. With this in mind, how can AI enhance the support contact center staff provides?
Let’s dive into five key areas:
1. Predictive Routing
AI-driven systems analyze incoming calls using Natural Language Processing (NLP) to understand the nature of inquiries and route them to the most appropriate agent or department. This routing is based on skill set, availability, and historical data, ensuring customers get the help they need faster. AI can also prioritize high-value customers or urgent issues, guaranteeing critical matters are addressed promptly. By analyzing past interactions and patterns, AI can even predict which agent is best suited to handle a particular customer or issue, improving both efficiency and customer satisfaction.
2. Emotional Intelligence Monitoring
Through real-time analysis of voice tone, word choice, and speech patterns using NLP, AI can gauge a customer’s emotional state—whether they’re frustrated, satisfied, or confused. These tools can alert agents when a caller’s emotional state is declining, enabling them to adjust their tone or approach to defuse tension and enhance the customer experience. With some software, an agent can tag a supervisor to monitor, join or take control of a call. Emotional intelligence monitoring helps humanize customer interaction, even when AI is involved.
3. Suggested Best Actions
AI can provide agents with real-time suggestions based on live conversation analysis. By recognizing intent, context, and keywords, AI recommends the best course of action. This might mean suggesting a pre-built response, directing the call to additional support, or offering relevant troubleshooting steps. This not only empowers agents to resolve issues faster but also improves the customer experience by ensuring a more tailored and informed response.
4. After-Call Task Automation
AI tools can automatically generate detailed summaries of conversations, capturing key points, next steps, and customer sentiment. This reduces after-call work (ACW) for agents, giving them more time to focus on the next customer. Additional automation features, such as scheduling callbacks, sending follow-up emails, or initiating post-call surveys, further free up agents to concentrate on more complex, value-driven tasks.
5. Improving Employee Satisfaction
Empowering employees leads to better customer service. AI can enhance job satisfaction by giving employees the tools they need to make smarter, faster decisions. With ongoing feedback from AI tools, agents can receive personalized coaching that highlights their strengths and areas for improvement. AI can also monitor agent burnout by analyzing voice fatigue or stress markers.
What to Consider When Choosing a Contact Center Partner
When outsourcing your contact center, it’s essential to ensure that potential partners prioritize safety, security, and support. Look for providers who have clear strategies around the following areas:
1. Compliance
Your contact center provider should help you harness AI to create better customer experiences while staying compliant. This includes adhering to regulatory standards, as well as safeguards for data security and privacy. Additionally, ensure that the provider offers auditability and reporting capabilities to demonstrate compliance. After all, 53% of banks report concerns that using AI could diminish trust in their brand (FT Longitude).
2. Incorporating the Human Touch
While AI enhances efficiency, human interaction remains essential for complex or emotionally sensitive issues. Your contact center provider should offer a balance of automation for routine tasks and skilled human agents for more personalized conversations. AI can provide data-driven insights, but human agents are better equipped to adapt to the customer’s emotional state. Providers should also have human oversight of AI interactions to prevent misinterpretation and ensure service quality remains high.
3. Integration & Infrastructure
Seamless integration with your existing systems is key to streamlining processes and improving response times. A contact center provider with scalable infrastructure can handle increasing call volumes, new communication channels, and additional agents without sacrificing service quality. This ensures that customer support remains efficient, even during peak times or periods of rapid growth. Choose a provider that can grow alongside your business and adapt to your evolving needs.
Conclusion
AI isn’t going to replace your contact center—it’s going to enhance it. Whether you are navigating change of a digital banking platform conversion or a bank merger, by choosing the right partner, you can leverage AI’s power to improve customer satisfaction, increase efficiency, and support your business’s growth. Contact centers that combine the best of AI and human interaction will be the ones that deliver superior customer experiences and drive lasting business success.
Read on for additional questions to consider when selecting a contact center partner, or reach out to Vericast for expert guidance on optimizing your customer support.