The Future of CX Belongs to AI-Enabled Agents

The Future of CX Belongs to AI-Enabled Contact Centre Agents
Matt McKernan, SVP, Americas, Content Guru discusses

In the next decade, the most successful businesses won’t be those that simply adopt the latest technology; they’ll be the ones that continue to care. Customers can tell the difference between a brand that’s invested in their experience and one that’s outsourced it to a chatbot.

Every customer believes their issue is unique and urgent enough to warrant human attention. And while many queries can be resolved through automation, that doesn’t mean customers want to speak to a machine. Trust, empathy, and reassurance are still at the heart of great Customer Experience (CX). In fact, nearly 90% of customers still prefer speaking to a human over an AI-powered chatbot.

The challenge for today’s CX leaders is to strike the right balance: leveraging automation to improve speed and efficiency, while preserving the human connection that builds loyalty. By removing repetitive admin and enabling real-time insights, AI is transforming agents into more focused, efficient, and impactful contributors. The future of CX belongs to AI-enabled agents. The question is: how can organizations embrace this shift without losing sight of what makes great service truly human?

AI That Amplifies Empathy, Rather Than Replacing It

The best AI use cases don’t try to replace the human element, but instead empower human agents to deliver outstanding CX; in short, they help humans help humans. In many cases, AI also makes the agent’s role more fufilling and enables them to level up their performance. Generative AI, in particular, has demonstrated a still-growing positive impact.

The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 by OpenAI pushed the concept of Generative AI into the mainstream, but as with any technical advancements, there is a natural time lag between the launch of technology and the tangible business value being realized. Although a number of sectors are still grappling with how to reap the benefits of Generative AI, the CX industry has been an ideal proving ground for the nascent technology, and as a result, is setting the pace for implementation.

In addition to powering key self-service channels such as AI chatbots, Generative AI is being used to equip agents with tools that enhance their skills, shifting their roles from data entry and troubleshooting to relationship-building and problem-solving. In particular, Real-time Transcription and Summarization (RTAS) is allowing agents not only to share their workload but also be better supported:

1) Making CX Roles More Accessible

Live text transcription provides additional support to agents who are hard of hearing or have difficulty processing speech. Rather than having to ask customers to repeat details or risk recording incorrect information, live transcription enables agents to keep track of conversations, ensuring accessibility without compromising the speed or accuracy of customer interactions.
These AI capabilities encourage increased equality and inclusion in the workplace, creating a more supportive work environment for employees who may have difficulties and can expand the talent pool for organizations looking to recruit new employees for contact center roles.

2) Freeing Agents From Admin

Throughout their shift, agents juggle various administrative tasks, including note-taking and data entry, all while holding conversations with customers. RTAS capabilities, powered by Generative AI, capture key details of the conversation, ensuring that summaries of interactions are recorded without manual note-taking efforts.

Post-call work can also be automated through Generative AI, pre-populating forms with the agent simply checking the notes and submitting them. As a result, agents can give their undivided attention during interactions, leading to better problem-solving and faster resolutions, which in turn results in better overall CX and increased customer satisfaction.

3) Real-Time Coaching & Training

With real-time sentiment analysis, Generative AI can listen to and digest conversations. RTAS can detail information shared from both participants, customer and agent, and assign a sentiment score that is visible to only the agent, allowing them to gain a valuable second perspective on an interaction. Generative AI can also be used to offer script suggestions or ‘hints’ to agents, helping to guide them through challenging or complex interactions.

The improved analysis of interactions also allows companies to provide better feedback to agents based on real-world examples. Agents can be praised on well-managed interactions and receive precise guidance on interactions that have experienced low sentiment scoring.

Elevating the Agent Role with AI

The future of the contact center is not either AI or human agents, it is AI-enabled agents, working as one for the ultimate customer experience. It’s up to businesses to strategically implement AI for the maximum benefit of their employees, which will, in turn, consistently improve customer interactions and their customers’ overall experience. Businesses that embrace this shift will see happier, more engaged agents and benefit from a wider talent pool in the process.

Matt McKernan is SVP Americas, at Content Guru

Content Guru is the world’s foremost vendor of mission-critical, high-scale, feature-rich cloud contact centre and CX (customer experience) solutions.

Available in over 150 countries, storm® is the only cloud platform trusted to run national blue-light emergency services and its CX solutions have delivered the highest customer satisfaction scores in multiple industries for many of the globe’s largest organisations. Its brain® AI services provide leading automated and human-assist capabilities to bolster contact centre performance.