Verint has announced it will have 50 specialized bots generally available to customers by the end of January 2024.
After that, it plans to release another 50-100 bots before the beginning of 2025 to support contact center teams further.
Verint designed each to automate specific tasks and seamlessly integrate into contact center workflows – according to David Singer, Global Vice President of Go-to-Market Strategy at Verint.
In an exclusive interview with CX Today, Singer said:
We want to talk about bots, not about generalized AI, because we’re focused on driving specific value using AI.
The slide below from a presentation at the recent Verint Analyst Day demonstrates this targeted and application-specific approach.
Moreover, it highlights a handful of the specialized bots Verint has already brought to the market.
Singer pinpoints the “Interaction Wrap-up Bot” as an excellent example – which leverages generative AI.
“The bot operates by listening to conversations in real-time, regardless of whether they are voice or digital,” he said. “It then provides a summary after the call concludes.” Agents may then upload this to the CRM and accelerate post-contact processing.
In addition, Verint has a “Transfer Bot”, which summarizes human- and AI-led contacts before an escalation. That summary then passes to the next agent or supervisor, allowing them to pick up the conversation from where it dropped off.
While there are many others, Singer also offers a teaser of what’s to come, highlighting how the vendor will soon bring a “Flex Bot” to market. He said:
The Flex Bot will have the ability to make shift modifications without requiring prior management approval… balancing the benefits for both agents and the organization.
This will be only one of many, as Verint’s Da Vinci AI architecture – which integrates with new LLMs – paves the way for a more frenetic pace of innovation.
Yet, the primary goal of Da Vinci – as per Singer – is to shield customers from concerns related to selecting the best LLM and managing issues like prompt engineering, hallucination, and drift.
Welcome to Verint 4.0
Alongside the dawn of its specialized bots, Verint also hit the headlines this year for the launch of its Open CCaaS platform. This allows contact centers to fit their core systems around their ideal workflows – instead of vice versa.
These moves set the stage for a new Verint: Verint 4.0, as Singer refers to it. He said:
Verint 1.0 focused on recording, 2.0 was WFO – which combined workforce management and quality assurance – 3.0 was WEM (workforce engagement management) – which brought knowledge management, analytics, and more into the equation… Now, we’re launching Verint 4.0.
Verint 4.0 centers on three pillars: data, AI delivered by bots into workflows, and openness.
Yet, Singer reassures Verint’s customers that continued WEM innovations – like the upcoming Flex Bot – still place high on the agenda.
“Verint’s forward mission involves maintaining its leadership in WEM while strategically pivoting to drive CX innovation,” he confirmed.
That will involve delivering CX solutions to customers through the Open CCaaS platform, built on this data, openness, and AI foundation.
More Innovation from Verint
Alongside all its specialist bots, Verint announced a refresh of its WEM mobile app for agents.
This features enhanced schedule and performance visualization – as the slide below teases.
In addition, the refresh includes a new workforce branding feature, allowing organizations to build a distinct identity for their workforce.
There is also a conversational interface for agents to complete scheduling and related tasks.
“The conversational interface enables agents to ask questions and make requests without navigating through menus,” said Singer.
“For example, agents can query their schedule, request shift changes, or bid on available options.”
Bots will also strengthen the app in the future, alongside the core WFM system. “They will enable advanced request handling, multivariate modeling, automated model prediction, and other features to enhance model accuracy,” added Singer.
Finally, Verint’s QA tools will receive a generative AI makeover. As Singer suggests, the AI will augment the systematic design of forms and quality scoring.
“The goal is to introduce more bots that automate various steps in these processes, ultimately aiming to enhance customer experience at a lower cost,” he concluded.
Already, Verint is making significant progress here, as it is in the CCaaS space.
Indeed, in Ventana Research’s latest market evaluation, Verint’s Open CCaaS platform ranked third out of 23 prominent platforms – despite only being months old.
To dive deeper into that research, check out our rundown here: The Contact Center Suites Buyers Guide 2023: Top Takeaways