3 Ways Chatbots Can Revolutionize Contact Centers

Customers expect more from their customer support interactions than ever, and chatbots provide the key to meeting these high standards.

In the age of digital transformation, automation technology has been sweeping across a variety of industries in an effort to streamline operations and eliminate monotonous tasks. In particular, contact centers have been a testing ground for these tools to address pain points for customers and brands alike.

Requiring employees to keep track of stats like average handling time and first call resolutions in addition to dozens of other tasks, contact centers have always suffered from high attrition rates due to the high-stress work environment, with 65% of agents expecting to leave their position in two years or less. On the surface, it may seem like chatbots are primed to replace agents in the wake of these large gaps left by turnover, but the truth is that these bots are merely modifying the way their human counterparts work, often to their benefit.

From providing quick 24/7 support to common questions to offering methods to help equip agents for future customer interactions, chatbots have quickly become the future of contact centers, offering a variety of comprehensive solutions to issues that have impacted both agents and contact centers for ages.

Improving the Customer Experience

With the high demand across the digital landscape, support agents are struggling to handle the high volumes of requests. While agents are trained to handle more complex matters quickly, it is nearly impossible to meet the massive numbers of queries—both large and small—that come in each hour of the day.

Perhaps the most popular reason for their adoption is that chatbots essentially act as agents that:

·?????? Are active 24/7, 365 days a year

·?????? Deliver near-instant answers to many frequently asked questions

·?????? Offer support through the internet, SMS, or mobile apps

With these smaller requests taken care of, live agents are freed up to focus their attention on more complicated issues customers might face in a more timely and positive manner.

On the other side, chatbots free customers from long service calls, greatly helping boost customer experience scores within contact centers. Data shows that 68% of customers appreciate how quickly chatbots respond to them, and over 40% like that bots provide help outside of normal contact center hours.

Allowing Far Greater Organizational Scalability

Contact centers provide support to customers all throughout the year, but the amount of calls they receive can vary wildly depending on holidays or certain time periods. However, while contact centers are often prepared to hire and train new agents fairly quickly, many of these traffic surges are becoming harder to predict, leaving many organizations at a loss when it comes to scaling their operations.

As a customizable piece of software, chatbots can quickly be modified to handle sudden rushes in contact center traffic. With the capability to store significant amounts of customer information and be further enhanced via Natural Language Processing to handle more complex issues, chatbots offer flexible support at a lower cost than a full-time agent.

But what about the issues causing these surges? Through the data they generate by assisting customers, chatbots can even provide insights into why these rush events occurred, giving both organizations and agents the information they need to prepare for similar incidents later down the road.

Enhancing Agent Performance

Chatbots may have been initially planned to assist customers, but that doesn’t mean agents can’t also benefit from them.

In recent years, chatbots have emerged as a cost-effective solution to traditional training. With a whole database of customer interactions to choose from, these “teacher” bots simulate real-life exchanges agents will likely experience during their time on the job, giving them firsthand experience with the ins and outs of their role far quicker than a traditional written course.

This not only means that agents are able to get out on the floor faster but also are more knowledgeable on how to quickly resolve customer queries and ensure a superior customer experience.

Give Your Agents the Support They Need to Succeed

Chatbots have become essential for the contemporary contact center, but striking a balance between them and your agents is no small task.

eClerx offers?demos of our own proprietary AI-powered chatbots?so you can see firsthand how your business can utilize them to help your agents in their day-to-day operations, and technology experts are ready to tailor the bots to your organization’s needs and size.