The AI Revolution in Customer Service: Balancing Efficiency, Cost, and Human Touch
AI is transforming the customer experience in the contact centre, creating win-win scenarios for businesses, consumers, and agents – Will Blench, CEO at AnywhereNow discusses.
Businesses are facing a customer experience challenge. As consumers, we are surrounded by choice and – in most cases – if we are frustrated by a service, we can take our business elsewhere. According to the ICS, problems and service failures cost UK organisations £7.3 billion per month. So how can organisations address the customer experience disconnect?
Here, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a force that promises to revolutionise how businesses interact with their customers.
This is because the customer interaction process is being transformed through strategic AI integration that begins even before a human agent enters the conversation. AI can manage the first point of contact, performing tasks such as determining the context of customer requests, conducting initial verifications and gathering essential background information.
By the time a call reaches a human representative, significant groundwork has already been completed. The AI system provides comprehensive context, ensuring the agent is fully prepared. The agent receives an immediate summary of everything that’s happened, knowing who the customer is, their verification status, and the full context of their inquiry.
Empowering, Not Replacing, Human Contact Centre Agents
Crucially, AI is designed to augment, not replace, human capabilities.
At AnywhereNow, our approach is to use AI as a supportive tool that makes human interactions more effective and meaningful. We see AI as giving agents superpowers – during conversations, AI continues to listen, helping agents solve problems, suggest solutions, and identify potential opportunities.
This method addresses a critical concern about AI in customer service: the potential loss of human connection. Fifty-four percent of consumers value human interaction or assistance for all purchases, according to EY. But by providing real-time assistance and automating mundane tasks, AI actually allows agents to focus on more complex, nuanced customer interactions.
Contact Centre Agents can also spend more time on interesting, meaningful work instead of being bogged down by administrative tasks. Put simply, it automates the boring stuff, which increases job satisfaction and allows agents to do what they do best – provide genuine human support.
Measurable Outcomes and ROI
Aside from enhancing human capabilities, one of the most compelling aspects of AI in customer service is its inherent measurability. Contact centres are uniquely positioned to demonstrate AI’s value through precise metrics.
We measure everything in a contact centre – from handle times and first-time resolution rates to net promoter scores and customer satisfaction metrics – so we can easily track and demonstrate the ROI of AI deployments.
This data-driven approach addresses a common challenge in AI implementation across industries. In the contact centre space, businesses can clearly see the tangible benefits of AI integration.
Practical AI Applications
There are several practical AI applications that can deliver immediate value:
1. Intelligent Routing: Matching customers with the most appropriate agent based on complex contextual analysis
2. Real-time Assistance: Providing agents with instant information, suggested responses, and next-best actions
3. Post-call Automation: Automatically generating call summaries and updating CRM systems
Normally, after a call, an agent spends time typing up details. With AI, we can automatically present a summary of actions and discussions. The agent can quickly review and confirm, dramatically reducing administrative overhead.
Outlook for AI
Looking ahead, AI is part of a broader transformation. Just as we had a digital transformation over the last decade, we’re now entering an AI transformation period. Every business process will be touched, optimised, and potentially transformed by AI.
But AI represents not just a technological upgrade, but a fundamental shift in the customer experience, with more personalised, efficient, and satisfying interactions. It will continue to break down barriers, providing businesses with unprecedented insights and capabilities, creating win-win scenarios for businesses, customers, and agents.
This means businesses can increase customer expectations and improve experiences, while simultaneously reducing the cost of service delivery.
The future of customer service isn’t about choosing between human agents and AI, but creating a mutual relationship that leverages the strengths of both. For businesses looking to stay competitive, the message is clear: embrace AI not as a replacement, but as a powerful collaborative tool that can transform customer service from a cost centre to a strategic advantage.
Will Blench is CEO at AnywhereNow
Founded in 2010, AnywhereNow is a Netherlands-headquartered and fast-growing provider of Customer Experience SaaS solutions. AnywhereNow empowers voice and digital dialogues for organisations worldwide and brings to life Agentic AI platforms for increased productivity and effectiveness. AnywhereNow’s products are award-winning, recognised by industry analysts, and trusted by over 2,000 global customers, including Rabobank, DHL, Emirates, KPMG, Swarovski, Mazda, Deloitte, Aldi, Vodafone and Zeiss.
For additional information on AnywhereNow visit their Website
