Tomorrow, Microsoft will release an update to enable and install Copilot automatically across Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise environments.
The update will impact Microsoft’s CCaaS customers in its Australia, UK, and US regions.
After the installation, each customer will find Copilot available on the contact center agent desktop “by default”.
At first, this default Copilot will only include case and conversation summarization features, which aim to standardize and accelerate post-call processing for agents.
However, other Copilot features – including the capability to auto-generate emails for agents – are not part of this update.
As such, Microsoft is giving the sizzle of its Copilot, but if contact centers want the sausage, then additional costs will come into play.
Sharing the announcement in a Microsoft blog post, Rushil Vora, Program Manager of Dynamics 365 Customer Service, stated:
We believe this update presents a significant opportunity to fundamentally alter the way your organization approaches service by quickly improving and enhancing the agent experience.
“This update applies only to the Copilot summarization capabilities, which integrate with service workflows and require minimal change management.”
Microsoft has tested the deployment of Copilot across its contact center operations, claiming that it helped reduce average handling time (AHT) by 12 percent.
Yet, additional Copilot capabilities also contributed to these significant time savings.
Such features included the ability to auto-draft emails to customers and surface knowledge for agents from natural language inputs so they don’t have to open various applications.
However, these additional capabilities – as Vora suggested – require more change management as agents have to embrace new workflows, and leaders must prioritize knowledge management.
Whereas the default case and conversation summarization features may augment current processes for after contact work (ACW).
Vora suggests these summarization capabilities alone will make an invaluable addition to service-based operations. He said:
Generative AI-based service capabilities have a profound impact on efficiency and customer experience, leading to improved customer satisfaction.
Managers may be able to track this impact by using Copilot analytics to highlight how agents are using the application. Together with quality assurance (QA) data, this could offer insight into how Copilot impacts customer and agent experiences.
Although, it’s unclear whether this reporting will be available within the default version of Copilot.
Is Copilot By Default the Right Approach?
GenAI hit the headlines across 2023, and many stories questioned the possible risks posed by large language models (LLMs).
These stories covered everything from hallucinations, fabrications, and copyright issues to data privacy and cybersecurity concerns.
Since then, Microsoft has installed multi-factor authentication, compliance boundaries, and further privacy protections to help increase confidence in Copilot.
Yet, many contact centers will want to put their own policies and processes in place before leveraging GenAI – like many research firms recommend.
As Satyamoorthy Kabilan, Senior Executive Partner at Gartner, wrote on LinkedIn:
Securing your data internally and ensuring appropriate access through Generative AI is potentially as important as securing your data from external access.
“It will take a team that cuts across your organization, going beyond IT, security and data, to effectively deal with the risks posed by Generative AI.”
As such, many teams may have wanted more time to consider the security implications of deploying Copilot in their service environments.
Indeed, Microsoft only alerted system administrators to the change in December.
That said, Kabilan notes that avoiding GenAI applications like Copilot isn’t a long-term option either.
“When considering the risks of adopting Generative AI, also consider the risks associated with banning it and not venturing into this space,” he said. “The potential disruption that Generative AI can bring means that you cannot afford to ignore it.”
However, there are other potential reasons why contact centers may not want Copilot yet.
For instance, some may have instead intended to implement summarization bots from an integrated platform, such as Verint.
As such, future planning for GenAI and virtual agents is now paramount for Microsoft CCaaS customers.
So, while some may question Microsoft’s tactics, the tech giant will have helped to push these all-important conversations forward.
For more on Microsoft’s approach to contact centers and AI, check out our article: Lift Off for Microsoft In the Contact Center? 2024 Could Be the Year
