With AI, companies can reduce the pressure on contact center agents by delving into various systems and spotlighting real-time, relevant information to the customer case they are working on.
Conversational AI may also relieve the strain on the contact center by swallowing up simple, transactional customer queries.
Yet, AI can’t do everything. It can’t deliver the same empathetic and creative experiences that people expect from a real human agent.
Indeed, there is often significant value in having genuine people communicating with customers.
The good news is that AI solutions make it easier for your agents to demonstrate empathy.
By presenting this relevant information at the optimal time, AI ensures that teams have the data they need to deliver unforgettable experiences.
AI and Empathy in Customer Experience
Virtual assistants and chatbots are enhancing customer journeys in many ways. However, AI’s biggest benefit is perhaps in its support for live agents.
For instance, artificial intelligence tools can collect information about a customer’s previous purchases from their profile on a CRM system.
Such a solution lets agents quickly see what customers have bought, what they may have complained about, and which agents they’ve spoken to before.
This information, delivered rapidly, makes it much easier to customize the conversation.
Artificial intelligence solutions can also compare customers’ actions to other user profiles in a similar segment, determining the next best steps for service agents.
These capabilities allow service reps to make better decisions during the customer journey.
AI solutions can even understand when a conversation is going south, so it knows when to ask for help from a supervisor elsewhere in the contact center.
If a company can use such technologies to prioritize and drive empathy within its culture, it may achieve better revenue and profits, according to a McKinsey & Company report.
Indeed, the top ten “empathy leaders” in the study achieved two times the results of the bottom ten in the stock market.
AI Augments and Empowers Human Agents
AI solutions are becoming increasingly good at understanding various aspects of the human customer journey.
With the optimal tools, businesses can carefully assess the needs of a target audience and help agents engage in better, more meaningful interactions.
However, there is still the need for a human agent to be present to deliver the best experience.
For instance, AI-driven agent-assist tools often use sentiment analysis to understand the feelings of a caller. Still, only a live agent can use their know-how to turn a negative experience into a positive one.
An AI system may also use predictive analytics based on previous interactions to determine what an agent should do next. However, the agent is still an essential part of the experience.
By offering insights into the expectations and experiences of customers, AI ensures that agents have the information they need to deliver more meaningful and empathetic experiences.
These examples highlight how an AI system doesn’t simply replace the human agent but also augments their workflows to enhance service experiences.
Learn more about the augmented agent by reading our article: 10 Top-Notch Augmented Agent Use Cases
