AI, automation and machine learning are rapidly transforming the contact center, adding a level of intelligence and support that is revolutionizing the customer service industry. Google’s recent announcement that its Contact Center AI has become generally available is another milestone in the evolution of the omni-channel contact center, as well as the future of work for the next generation of customer service agents.
Two of the key features of Google’s Contact Center AI that have become available are the Virtual Agent and Agent Assist functions. Virtual Agent enables businesses to offer their customers 24/7 access to personalized self service by automating basic interactions. Customers are handed off to human agents for more challenging questions and issues, and agents are provided with real-time call transcription to assist with queries.
The Agent Assist function provides those agents with continuous support throughout their customer service interactions, transcribing all calls in real time as well as identifying customer intent. Real-time, step by step assistance is also offered, including visual workflow and recommended support articles, and call dispositions are also automated. Contact Center AI may be easily used with existing contact center workflows via integrations with Google partners Avaya and Mitel. Google also has integration partnerships with 8x8, Cisco, Five9, Genesys, NICE inContact, Salesforce, Twilio and Vonage. Those integrations will be generally available in future updates.
The solution has already been deployed by companies like Hulu and GoDaddy, which have experienced major changes in the way their contact centers operate. One of the key changes the businesses have observed is better levels of engagement with customers, something contact centers have struggled with for decades.
“To deliver on a best-in-class viewer experience, we need to respond effectively to our viewers whenever they’re reaching out to Hulu for help,” said Matt Kravitz, director of viewer experience at Hulu. “Contact Center AI from Google Cloud and Salesforce was the best solution for our needs as it enables recommended responses and next best actions. With these tools, our team can focus more on engaging with our viewers.”
GoDaddy is using Dialogflow, the core technology in Contact Center AI, to power its conversational self-help experience. The component helps developers build interfaces like chatbots and IVRs, enabling natural and intelligent conversational experiences. In use by more than one million developers already, Dialogflow supports both HIPAA and PCI compliance, while also offering support for the Virtual Agent function.
Additional features of Dialogflow include self-service telephony integrations via Google’s partners, which let businesses set up their virtual agents quickly. The agent validation feature provides feedback and a list of errors and warnings so developers may create high-quality agents and improve and tweak their performances as needed. Google has also improved its natural language processing through a number of enhancements. The system entity extension enables greater accuracy and recognition, while regular expression entities improve return matches and match patterns instead of specific terms. Fuzzy matching facilitates entity creation by providing better matching, regardless of word order.
“We chose Dialogflow because of the promise of flexibility the platform provides,” said Mira Lynn, head of conversational AI at GoDaddy. “It has enabled us to develop a unique approach that maintains conversation designers’ independence from engineering development cycles, allowing us to move quickly and flexibly to iterate and respond to customer needs. Our agility has allowed us to provide a customer and Guide-first experience, giving our customers the right answers in the mode that they choose, while also enabling our Guides to better serve them.”
To provide more information about how AI and automation are transforming the contact center, customer service and the future of work in those industries, TMC is hosting its Future of Work Expo in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The event, which will take place from February 12-14, 2020, will explore how AI and machine learning technologies are being used to transform the contact center space and evolve the quality of customer service.
Edited by
Maurice Nagle
