Advice from a Call Center Geek 2024 CX, AI, and Contact Center Predictions!

As we step into 2024, the realms of Customer Experience (CX), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and contact centers are poised at the brink of transformative change.

Let's explore the exciting, realistic predictions that are shaping the future of these industries. These are part prediction and part wish list for what I would like 2024 to become.

1. Hyper-Personalized Customer Experiences

• AI-Driven Personalization: Expect to see AI technologies that understand customer preferences and history in unprecedented detail, offering hyper-personalized interactions. AI will not just be about understanding what customers want, but how they feel. Advanced algorithms will read emotional cues, leading to more empathetic interactions.This is the only way we will start to see a move away from the IVR of today to an LLM-type model. The ROI for change is not there until this technology is proven. This is the next big step in the first touch point self-service bot.
• Predictive Analytics: Using predictive analytics will enable businesses to anticipate customer needs and solve problems before they arise. This is a mix of agent assist and real-time analytics. Looking at what is trending to not only give proactive service but also be able to report on what is happening in real-time.

2. Translation

• Real-Time Multilingual Support: Expect to see breakthroughs in real-time voice translation, enabling seamless communication with customers in multiple languages, breaking down language barriers like never before.
• Cultural Understanding: These advanced systems will go beyond literal translation to grasp cultural nuances, ensuring more accurate and context-aware interactions. This will be a little harder but I know multiple companies that are currently working on this exact thing.

3. The Evolution of Contact Centers

• Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) Integration: Imagine resolving a tech issue through a VR-guided tutorial or selecting products with an AR interface. This has been a "want" of mine for the past couple of years. I am starting to see demos on these types of tools get better and better, Im betting 2024 will be the first time we see a viable product.
• Remote and Hybrid Work Models: Contact centers will continue to embrace remote and hybrid work models, leveraging AI for training and quality assurance. You can't put the cat back in the bag. WFH in the contact center world is here to stay so the tools from training and education will get better for WFH as well.

4. Ethical AI and Privacy Concerns

• Transparent AI: As AI becomes more integral, there will be a greater emphasis on ethical AI practices, focusing on transparency and customer data privacy. This will be a huge focus in 2024.
• Regulatory Developments: Expect new regulations governing AI usage in customer interactions, ensuring fairness and privacy protection.
• Robocall Laws: One of the big rules/laws that is going to have to be looked at is robocalling. I hate robocalls but people now think if you are using an AI bot it doesn't count as a robocall. It certainly does and I think you will see multiple lawsuits come out on the use of AI for cold calling prompting the FCC and FTC to take a look at these laws.

5. The Blending of Human and AI Interactions

• Seamless Handoffs: The interplay between AI and human agents will become more seamless, with AI handling routine inquiries and escalating complex issues to humans. I think this is a no-brainer, boring but still a need.
• Agent Empowerment: AI will not replace human agents but empower them with real-time information and decision-support tools. We will see more tools like advanced agent assist and real-time analytics have a say in the agent and customer experience

6. Final Move to the Cloud

• Cloud Adoption: Fighting cloud adoption finally comes to en end as companies see the fiction that on-prem solutions will have with AI adoption.
• AI Reality/Consulting Boom: Along with having to move to the cloud for the most seamless transition AI, companies will also realize they are not fully prepared for the transition and will be looking to AI consultants for assistance. Here is my tip:1. Get in the Cloud2. Integrate all Data Sources to Your CCAAS3. Create a Detailed KMS with as many product/Service Details as Possible.
• Cost of AI Bots: We will finally see costs for generative AI start to come down to make it more realistic from an ROI perspective for most companies. The supply of vendors will start to meet or outpace demand.

7. Enhanced Agent Assist Technologies

• Context-Aware Assistance: These tools will analyze more customer data and in real-time, including past interactions, preferences, and even social media activity, to provide agents with a comprehensive understanding of the customer’s needs and history.
• Emotion Detection: These tools will not only offer data but also look at customer emotions and recommend appropriate responses, making interactions more empathetic and hopefully more effective.

8. Automated Quality Assurance (Auto QA)

• Predictive Compliance Monitoring: Auto QA systems will use AI score calls based on either a legacy form or a proprietary scoring system. I can see calls being scored in real-time by the end of 2024.
• Continuous Improvement Feedback: These systems will offer instant feedback to agents, facilitating continuous improvement in customer interactions.
• Changing of Agent Roles: We will start to see the QA team do more coaching and supervisors become more of a basic data analyst.

9. The Fusion of Workforce Management and Intelligent Routing

• Dynamic Staffing: We won't need to actively 'manage' our day in terms of hitting key performance indicators (KPIs). Instead, we'll inform our AI supervisor or "mission control manager" of our targets, and the AI will handle everything. This includes analyzing historical KPIs for each agent and predicting wait times. The AI supervisor will strategically assign agents to different skills, adjust channel preferences, and provide human managers with updates on agent performance.

10. AI-Powered Training and Simulation

• Simulated Training Environments: Agents will train in simulated environments that mimic real-life scenarios, enhancing their skills and preparedness for a wide range of customer interactions. Im surprised we have not seen more of this in 2023.
• Continuous Learning Algorithms: These tools will learn and evolve from each interaction, continuously improving the guidance provided to agents.

11. Voice Takes over Transcripts

• Voice for AI: In 2023 you had to use transcripts or real-time transcription for analytics and AI development. In 2024 transcripts go the way of typewriters and full voice will be the main channel for AI development in CX.

12. Global Agent Headcount Starts to Decrease

• Head Count Reduction: In observing the trends within our industry, I believe we're on the cusp of a pivotal shift. Based on my analysis, I predict a 20-30% reduction in agent roles... This change isn't just about numbers; it's about how companies adapt to evolving customer engagement models.
• More Empowered and Skilled Agents: The future holds an exciting trade-off: fewer agents at the initial interaction, but more empowered and skilled agents equipped with advanced tools to enhance the customer journey.

13. BPOs have a new Role

• 2024 Role of the BPO: BPOs will be less about agents answering calls, they will start to change into CX technology partners that specialize in CX for customers who are looking to move down the AI path but are not sure how to get there. They will have the tools and know-how first.

14. The Beginning of the End of CX Dashboards

• Beyond Static Dashboards: Traditional CX dashboards, known for their static displays of data and metrics, will become less important. Instead, the trend is moving toward systems that not only present data but also interpret it in real-time and suggest actionable steps.
• Automated Querying and Prompting: Ask a question, get an answer. Prompting will be an important skill in 2024.
• Voice and Conversational Interfaces: The incorporation of voice and conversational interfaces in analytics tools allows CX professionals to interact with data in a more natural, human-like manner, making data analysis more accessible and less time-consuming.