AWS’ agent copilot has been equipped with a new step-by-step guide feature.
Available for users of the company’s Connect CCaaS platform, Amazon Q will now provide real-time recommendations for step-by-step guides based on specific customer queries.
By analyzing live customer service interactions, the assistant can discern the customer’s intent and proactively serve an agent with the relevant guide needed to solve the issue.
AWS believes that the additional step-by-step feature will help reduce handling times, boost first-contact resolution rates, and elevate customer satisfaction.
Indeed, in discussing the news, Michael Wallace – Solutions Architecture Leader for Customer Experience at AWS – detailed how the new enhancement was a win-win for customers and agents:
The first call resolution is the holy grail in the contact center. Legacy tools require call center agents to click through multiple applications on multiple screens before they can address a customer’s issue, increasing the potential for mistakes.
“Q in Connect’s step-by-step guides streamline this process through workflows, elevating the agent experience. Happier agents lead to better customer experiences and improved call center resolution rates.”
Are Step-By-Step Guides Really a Step Up?
Having made step-by-step guides for the Amazon Connect agent workspace generally available in March of last year, the latest update takes the solution a step further by eliminating the need for agents to manually make decisions on which guide they need.
Prior to the latest release, AWS designed guides for the four most common customer conversation steps: customer identification, intent recognition, issue resolution, and post-call processing.
Plug-ins were then created for each stage, including voice ID and both first and third-party system integrations. During customer interactions, agents were able to navigate the most applicable guide via toggle buttons.
Once selected, agents were guided through a sequence of UI pages, controlling the call and progressing through the workflow step-by-step.
By removing the need for agents to peruse and select the necessary guides, AWS is avoiding possible silos caused by issues such as agents selecting the wrong guide – making the process smoother and boosting case management efficiency.
This shift from information-providing to decision-making was also discussed in more detail by Michael Wallace:
“Generative AI (GenAI) is already revolutionizing the contact center by powering self-service chatbots and providing thorough recommendations to agents. In the future, we see generative AI as a decision-making tool in the contact center, rather than only providing information to human agents who then make the decision.
Taking the manual decision-making out of the support process will speed up interactions and create better experiences for the customer and the agent.
While AWS is yet to release any data on how the enhanced step-by-step guide is impacting performance, it did outline the following improvements when the guides were originally made available:
- Onboarding time reduced by 50 percent
- Average time to proficiency reduced by 40 percent
- Average handling time reduced by 35 percent
Another Step
Prior to Amazon Q’s step-by-step enhancement, earlier this year the company revealed an update to its overall Step-by-Step Guides – allowing contact centers to create self-service experiences for live chat customers.
Previously, Amazon Connect users could design visual flows for agents to resolve customer queries. Now, using the same drag-and-drop interface, they can craft interactive experiences directly for customers, eliminating the need for an agent.
These interactive experiences consist of sequential pages within the chat window, enabling customers to navigate and solve their queries independently.
These experiences are supported by plug-ins that allow contact centers to craft customized guides, integrate data with backend systems, and automate customer journeys like onboarding, renewal, and commerce.
Additionally, Connect users can utilize this technology to teach customers new skills.
