Contact Center: What is an AI-Powered Bot?

Leading platform provider ComputerTalk on the modernization of Interactive Voice Response

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Published: July 18, 2024

Simon Wright - DP

Simon Wright

Bots are on the march. 

No longer just rudimentary Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solutions, AI is turning them into clever speech and messaging attendants capable of delivering an (almost) human-like communication experience. 

Flourishing thanks to the continuing evolution of Natural Language Understanding technology, increasingly sophisticated bots are delivering user enhancements, increased efficiencies, and productivity boosts wherever they are deployed. 

For organisations and their communication technology providers, the opportunities to leverage these gains are everywhere. All that is required is a vendor partnership capable of helping to maximize them. 

“They used to be called chat bots, but AI bots is now an altogether more appropriate name because they are no longer specific to voice or web chat – Natural Language Understanding makes that possible, and it is changing everything,” says Dennis Menard, Application Design Specialist at global enterprise-class provider ComputerTalk, whose ice Contact Center platform boasts a plethora of feature-rich, next gen bot functionality. 

“AI bots can be used across all communication channels, including voice, SMS, social media, and third-party messaging apps such as WhatsApp and others. Leveraging natural language to do so means organisations are no longer limited to old school IVR functionality which invites voice callers to press one for this or two for that. The door is now open to a new art of the possible, and the returns on investment are significant.” 

Among the recent innovations is ‘call steering’ – where a bot asks voice callers what they are looking for and is automatically able to route calls based on their spoken response. This replaces nested menus of choices previously relayed to callers who use their phone keypads to select an option. Call times are shorter because playing multiple prompts takes time. Also, the user experience is enhanced for mobile callers who, for example, are driving or otherwise constrained by an inability to press touch tones. 

ComputerTalk’s ice platform also offers ‘Say My Name’ bot functionality, where callers speak the name of the person to whom they wish to be connected, rather than requiring that person’s extension number; and ‘Slot Filling’, where, for example, a large hotel chain can deliver group-wide information to callers as well as insert separate, specific information relevant only to an individual hotel being called. 

“We are already working on expanding that functionality by thinking about how we create the perfect FAQ scenario,” says Menard. “Potential guests have largely the same questions but there always some answers that are unique to individual hotels. For every hotel in a chain of 500 to have its own bot is prohibitively expensive so we are developing an interface for each hotel to manage its own messaging and its own specific information, such as address, a local phone number, or available rooms. Our solution will learn and isolate those unique responses as they are added and share them with callers based upon which individual hotel they are calling. That is the kind of self-learning that enables AI-powered bots to get better and better.” 

Of course, how much AI a business chooses to deploy is influenced by multiple factors. The golden rule is to invest only when a tangible return can be expected and, better still, measured.  

The smartest deployments address day-to-day efficiency challenges at a granular level – delivering real-world user experience enhancements for callers and agents alike. 

“Organisations should benchmark how much automation they want based on the ROI,” says Menard. “An example is if every automated call saves $1, and the organisation take 5,000 calls a day, they can calculate the ROI. The AI can then keep track and report on that information going forward. Measuring the success is critical because it helps organisations internally spread the AI gospel and drive understanding and adoption.” 

It seems the bot is benefitting big-time from the relentless innovation in AI. 

One thing is undoubtedly for sure: it will pay to keep pace. 

To learn more about how ComputerTalk can help your and your customers’ businesses improve the communication experience, visit the website. 

Artificial IntelligenceCCaaSChatbotsInteractive Voice Response

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