Should Call Center Teams be Worried about the impact of AI?

Should Call Center Teams be Worried about the impact of AI?

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Should Call Center Teams be Worried about the impact of AI?

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In a blog post, we published on our site in January of 2018, we talked about how artificial intelligence was reshaping the call center industry. In that post, we shared out opinion about how customer service was and is going to be impacted by the use of artificial intelligence and automation going forward. In this post, we see the current scenario and see how the customer support teams that do the work at the ground level are being impacted by AI and whether they should be worried about it.

The Impact of Automation on Customer Support

Over the last few years, the impact of automation can be seen worldwide. Many b2c companies that have a huge volume of customers calling their support or trying to chat with them have employed AI and automation to reduce the burden on their support teams. As a result, the number of support agents required in those companies also had to be cut down, which resulted in job cuts.

IVR software was used on a greater scale to help customers get basic information and get their basic queries resolved. This trend is seen the most in e-commerce companies. Customers that have inquiries like “when will my order be delivered”, “how can I cancel my order” and “where has my order reached” can all be answered using IVR.

If any customer has a more complex issue, then they have an option to communicate with a human representative. However, the IVR system has reduced the number of calls that land to the support executives, thus reducing the number of customer support execs needed. So, in this sense, automation has hurt the customer support teams of many companies. And for companies that outsource customer support, this ends up hurting their outsourcing partners.

Another form of automation and AI is the chatbot. Chat support is one of the most preferred modes of communication for today’s generation of customers. Companies that once employed hundreds of chat support agents now have reduced their numbers as well to the double digits. The key reason behind it is the use of chatbots on their apps and website. Just like the IVR, chatbots help customers with their most basic of queries which are more often than not the most asked questions. Since a majority of information needed is provided by the chatbots and the FAQs provided, the number of chats that reach actual executives reduces, hence the need for chat agents.

Customers’ Point of View

From the customer’s point of view, automation is being received in a mostly neutral manner. While some customers like the fact that they can get a quick resolution using automation others miss talking to actual human beings and fret having to go through a lot of steps to reach a representative.

The issue arises when there are complicated issues that need a human understanding to resolve the matter. There is only so much that can be done without human intervention. That is also a cause of joy for the customer support teams and a fact that will always make them indispensable.

The Flipside of Automation in Customer Service

While on one side there are some valid fears over automation and AI taking jobs, there are others in the customer service teams that are thankful for automation reducing the burden on them. According to a study shared by Pega, 60% of customer support representatives want AI to be used in customer service and believe it would complement their customer support efforts.

While only 15% were concerned about the use of AI, this study shows that a majority of customer service professionals believe technology is a boon for their industry that will help them serve customers better, reduce redundant tasks and relieve some pressure from their over-burdened shoulders.

The Final Word

AI is here to stay. Businesses are adopting it at a break-neck pace. Certain industries are using it more than others but this technology is bound to reach others as well. While this has reduced the workforce and increased productivity to some point, the human touch will always be needed.

Complicated issues and frustrated customers can only be best served with the help of actual human contact of representatives. While automation helps them reduce their workload, the customer support staff can focus on more critical issues and help give customers the best resolution possible.