AI and Human Intelligence

The traditional role played by interaction analysts is changing – there’s a new source of reliable feedback that’s providing greater insights into how people interact. The new source of human relationship and engagement feedback has taken some folks by surprise – it’s Artificial Intelligence. Artificial intelligence is helping businesses to build better internal and external relationships. AI is not taking the place of human interactions; it instead makes it easier for humans to build better relationships and develop stronger connections. The old traditional methods used to understand how employees and customers relate to each other are slow and often unclear. The data is collected mainly through lengthy surveys, interviews and interaction transcripts that require collating and analysis. By the time the manually organized final output reaches the appropriate manager or team member, it may have lost all relevance. AI Is Well-Suited to Analyzing Data Quickly and Accurately – Human Data Included Measuring the degree of positive engagement between service reps and customers requires the accurate analysis of huge amounts of interactive data. AI is well-suited to the task and can discern useful meaning by quickly scanning and analyzing thousands of human interactions as they take place. Trends that would have taken weeks to spot by humans working within one of the traditional approaches can now be reduced to mere moments. The suitability of the data presented by AI enables humans actions to be taken before situations develop that can be tough to control or reverse. In this respect, AI becomes a game-changer in relationship and engagement building; it enables managers to take effective and proactive measures rather than be forced into a reactive stance when small problems become big ones. Better Human Insights leads to better Decisions along with AI Due to the timeliness and accuracy of the analysis AI provides, the actions taken remain applicable to the most current and immediate situations. The enhanced decision-making process is of particular importance when the goal is to create better connections and relationships between service reps and customers. In this respect, AI helps customer-centric organizations become more people-centric. Call Centers Have Much To Gain When AI Supports Human Interactions Positive customer experiences are a primary goal of any customer-service operation. AI can quickly detect trends in customer calls and alert the human element of an organization to a developing issue as soon as it’s first detected. Forewarned is forearmed, and the customer service team will be much better prepared to deal effectively with a developing problem when the AI early-warning system spots the first spark. AI’s quick-detection capabilities are not limited to spotting negative trends – those team member actions that bring about the most positive customer reactions will also be detected. The benefit of their detection lies in AI’s ability to quickly share what it learns with the entire team. The combination of human intelligence and AI in a customer service department or call center can build more positive and loyal customer relationships. By monitoring and analyzing the interactions taking place, AI can quickly detect and report what’s making customers happy and what their concerns are. This is valuable and actionable information that becomes even more useful when it can be shared with the front-line team members as it happens, instead of weeks later. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

“Integrating HI + AI into daily contact center business operations has the potential to reshape the workplace and provide beyond belief opportunities for growth.” It seems that more and more everyday processes and jobs are starting to include a measure of automation, where there’s less for flesh-and-blood humans to do a specific task to be completed. That’s most certainly become apparent when it comes to call centers. With that in mind, you should know there’s much to be gained when you harness the power of AI and people rather than letting it become a source of anxiety. Artificial intelligence is good, but it is people who are working on the information derived from the technology. Let’s look why Humans cannot be replaced by Bots/Machines/AI. Some People Prefer Human Interactions Even though consumers have grown accustomed to interacting with automated services and not having to interact with another human when paying their bills or receiving answers to their questions, there are some situations that entail human touch. When that time comes, your callers expect efficient and professional service. Something else to think about is the fact that if your AI program is not sophisticated enough, it can cause more problems than it solves. Customers become frustrated while repeating the same responses, which can send them straight into the arms of your competitors. So how can you utilize such technological capabilities the right way? Customers Like to Be Entertained For all its technological advances, AI isn’t well-known for its humor. Sometimes all that’s needed to make a customer’s day or to diffuse a tense interaction is to inject a bit of humor into the situation. Your representatives are able to do this on the fly, usually in a way that’s neither too much for the situation nor too little to elicit a genuine laugh (or at least a smile). This use of humor paints your company as well as your call center in a positive light, one that’s sure to delight your audience and keep them on as loyal customers. While delivering impeccable service is certainly one of your top priorities as a call center leader, part of that quality service is putting your customers and callers at ease, and what better way to relax than with a good laugh? Find the Right Balance Between People and Machine The best and the first place to start is with analytics. It’s important that your AI program recognizes when it encounters a situation that’s best left to an agent. Some calls and issues require a bit of human empathy, and even the most well-programmed automated call center program can’t deliver that. There are occasions when a caller just wants to know your company truly cares and is making an effort to resolve an issue, even if it takes longer than he or she might like. On the other hand, an agent can provide the human touch in ways that are still beyond the capacity of AI. Look Ahead to Stay Ahead Customers have always wanted a seamless and effortless form of responses to their issues. According to Forrester’s report of 2014, understanding customer emotion and empathy are the most critical components to gain successful customer experience. Here, to touch the heart of the customer services being delivered, the human touch is required. When you have both, your investment in AI software can facilitate a marked improvement in agent success and retention, customer satisfaction and overall operational efficiencies. Artificial Intelligence along with people represents a huge step forward in delivering exceptional customer service experience. However, for its success, AI technology needs to be combined with conventional people skills to deliver a seamless customer experience which can balance your customer interactions with empathy. This ultimately provides a tailored experience for every customer issues and needs. Our Solution – Etech Insights Because meeting and exceeding customer expectations is the only priority. Etech’s quality solution, Etech Insights, works as an AI+HI solution. By synchronizing human intelligence with the data gained from artificial intelligence, Etech Insights helps you in identifying your customer’s/agents behaviors that enhances overall performance. We help businesses to connect with what customers really want. Learn how to make use of 100% of interaction data while understanding insights that are sure to improve and enhance every part of the contact center with Etech Insights. This blog was first published on LinkedIn