CONTACT CENTRES
Cracking the “chatbot code”
Chatbots are evolving in contact centres. Three quarters (74%) of internet users prefer to deal with chatbots for straightforward queries. From the first chatbot, ELIZA, in 1966, to now, it’s remarkable to see the journey that chatbots have gone on to become a pivotal tool in today’s online customer engagement.
Looking at contact centres specifically, chatbots have become a real game changer in streamlining customer interactions. It’s now an invaluable tool for analysing large data sets, providing real-time insights and summarising information from resources like documents, emails, and call or video transcripts, so agents can be more available and reactive in meeting customer needs. But this is not all; instead of waiting for the customer query, chatbots proactively anticipate needs, learn from previous engagements and actively steer customers towards the help they most likely need through personalised recommendations and real-time actions. By boosting the efficiency of the agent, chatbots help to alleviate waiting times and ultimately enhance the customer experience.
chatbots can sometimes produce biased, misleading or unhelpful responses; there have even been cases where poorly trained chatbots have resorted to abusive language with customers. A chatbot is an electronic version of a company’s brand, culture and reputation so these instances of misinformation or counterproductive, long-winded exchanges can be harmful to a company’s customer service reputation and customer loyalty. To mitigate these risks, it is crucial for contact centres to vigilantly monitor and filter their systems. Training the chatbot is just the first step; understanding the specific tasks it should perform, the data it can access, and ensuring robust integration with existing systems are equally important. Continuous testing, feedback loops, and refining the system based on customer interactions help maintain a high standard of service. Whilst chatbots are
Jonathan Mckenzie Senior Contact Center Product Manager
8x8.com
rapidly becoming the backbone of first-class customer service, the ‘human’ element of customer experience isn’t going anywhere. Instead, by leveraging both the time-saving strengths of AI and human intuition, contact centres can take the customer journey to the next level.
So, what’s the “but”? Whilst the increased use of chatbots promises significant benefits for contact centres, as they get more complicated in their make, deploying them is not without a challenge or two. Despite their ability to mimic human- like conversations, when poorly trained,
ucadvanced.com
17
Powered by FlippingBook