AI to Enhance – Not Eliminate – the Human Touch

Author: Robin Gareiss, CEO & Principal Analyst Not available for licensing. 3 Key Customer Expectations for Contact Centers As Customer Experience (CX) strategies evolve to include AI and digital channels, consumers want a mix of communications options. Depending on the issue at hand, sometimes they’ll use self-service and other times, they’ll speak to or text with a person. In any method, they crave friendliness, empathy, and efficiency—all characteristics of human touch. That’s why it’s important for businesses to adopt an AI strategy that enhances—not eliminates—the human touch. In this report, we will examine what a balanced mix of customer care solutions looks like and how leading business are—and should be—delivering. Key areas for improvement, among many others, include the following:

• Offer a broad range of integrated channels – In order to serve customers, businesses must meet them where it is most helpful with integrated interaction channels, including video and screen sharing, among many others. By using AI for triage and across all channels, customers have shorter wait times, and agents receive more insightful coaching.
• Enable customers to serve themselves – For certain issues, customers prefer to use self-service FAQs, IVRs, searches, or website apps because they’re faster. Pairing self-service with AI-powered bots helps speed resolution.
• Speed up resolution with the right expertise – By integrating unified communications (UC) and contact center platforms, businesses can more easily help agents solve problems and close sales by bringing in experts. It also enables consolidated data analytics across the organization.

Metrigy’s research shows that most companies offer many channels for their customers to communicate, but not enough have integrated those channels. Consumers want to use a variety of channels to communicate with businesses, but which channel they select depends on the reason for their interaction, according to our research. For example, 51.2% will use the phone when addressing problems with products and services, while 49.2% are fine with self-service to order products or services. The key with any interaction channel is weaving AI into the channel where appropriate to speed or automate resolution, and then carrying context from the interaction across any channel. Improvements to customer experience are ongoing. CX leaders must tackle new projects as technology innovation progresses at a record pace. But it’s also important to strengthen the foundation prior to a laser focus on AI and other advanced applications.

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Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
• One Size Doesn’t Fit All for the Contact Center
• Omnichannel Crucial for Delivering Customer Channel Preferences
  • Visual Engagement Boosts Efficiency, CSAT
• Role of AI to Help Customers in Self-Service
• Consolidated Platforms Help Agents Help Customers (and More)
• Conclusions and Recommendations