ChatGPT marks a new era for BPOs

*IMPORTANT NOTE: some parts of this article were written using ChatGPT!?

If you haven't heard of ChatGPT by now...then where have you been?!?!?!

ChatGPT is a large language model chatbot developed by OpenAI, which is super impressive in providing responses that are surprisingly human. It’s part of a new generation of AI systems that can converse, generate readable text on demand and even produce novel images and videos based on what they’ve learned from a vast database of digital books, online writings, and other media. According to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute , such tools have the potential to contribute up to $13 trillion to the global economy by 2030. This could be due to several factors, including increased efficiency and automation of specific tasks.

In fact, Artificial Intelligence such as ChatGPT is bound to fast-track the Autonomous Enterprise . Due to 2023 wage inflation, recession, and people refusing to return to the office, organizations have had to desperately look for a new way of work that would allow them to thrive despite the market uncertainty and the economic downturn. As a result, companies are increasingly supplementing or completely replacing human tasks with automation. Taking the example from HFS , imagine you’re running a finance department of 500 people, which is reduced to 250. How do you get stuff done now?

You better reconfigure how processes work to take advantage of automation that has the capability to interact. Therefore, automation experts are now defining the new term “digital employees” to describe how this transformation can be achieved by leveraging intelligent bots. Unlike humans, these bots can function autonomously, can respond to both voice and digital interactions, can develop both short and long-term memories, and can genuinely replace or supplement human activities to deliver workflows and processes to provide the data company leaders need – at speed and scale.

But is this type of Artificial Intelligence really “new”?

Not really. In some shape or form, this AI technology has been available to us for some time. For example, generative AI can be seen in auto-complete with Gmail. However, OpenAI has done a great job repackaging ChatGPT - just like Apple did with smartphones, it has now been repackaged into a more useful, easier-to-use, and exciting tool that will drive innovation forward in multiple ways.

So, how will ChatGPT help BPOs?

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is the practice of outsourcing certain business functions, such as customer service, to third-party service providers. These providers handle tasks remotely, often in different countries, and can offer cost and efficiency benefits to the companies that use their services. However, the traditional model of BPO has limitations and has faced criticism for issues such as language barriers and cultural misunderstandings.

To test it myself, I decided to personally ask chatsonic to give me additional input. This tool is powered by ChatGPT and has the latest google data available to it and the ability to use personas!

Here is its reply: The five biggest business outcomes that ChatGPT will provide to BPO vendors are:

1. Automation of customer service and support operations to reduce operational costs.
2. Enhancement of customer experience through personalized conversations.
3. Streamlined data collection and analysis for better decision-making.
4. Automation of customer segmentation and targeting for marketing and sales campaigns.
5. Automation of customer onboarding processes.

How about we give some further thought to the bullet points above?

First, unlike traditional service companies, ChatGPT harnesses its capabilities to provide high-quality, personalized customer service at scale. After asking some further questions to chatsonic, it appears that tier 1 providers such as Accenture and IBM are already using ChatGPT to help with customer service, survey automation, personalized conversations, customer segmentation, and target marketing. This makes perfect sense!

One of the primary benefits of ChatGPT is its ability to understand and respond to natural language inputs with a high degree of accuracy. This means that customers can communicate with this technology in a way that feels natural and intuitive to them, rather than having to follow rigid scripts or navigate complicated menus. This not only leads to a better customer experience but also reduces the need for costly and time-consuming training for human agents.

In fact, Interactions with AI will become more and more challenging to differentiate from actual humans - it is already difficult with online chats, and some automated phone calls can also be VERY convincing. What’s next?? Will you be able to tell the difference between emails written by AI or even AI video interactions?!?!?!

Furthermore, bullet point #3 particularly excites me. Many BPO providers today struggle to provide real insight into the data they process for their customers as they are stuck with descriptive reporting. However, ChatGPT and similar technologies possess the ability to understand the context at speed, which will surely open up the possibilities to help drive predictive and even prescriptive business outcomes. In addition to its language processing capabilities, ChatGPT can learn and adapt over time. As a result, it can improve its performance and accuracy as it processes more and more interactions with customers. This not only leads to a more efficient and effective service but also allows BPOs to handle a broader range of queries and tasks as it continues to learn.

Lastly, another advantage of ChatGPT is its ability to provide 24/7 service. Traditional BPO models rely on human agents, who are limited by the need for breaks, vacation time, and other factors. On the other hand, ChatGPT can operate around the clock, providing seamless and consistent service to customers no matter when they need it. This not only leads to increased customer satisfaction but also allows companies to handle more queries and tasks without the need to hire additional staff.

Despite all the hype, one potential concern with ChatGPT is the risk of job displacement for human BPO agents. Will it mean the end of certain jobs?

Certainly. But while AI could lead to job displacement in specific sectors, it also has the potential to create new jobs. A report by the World Economic Forum estimates that up to 75 million jobs could be displaced by AI and automation by 2025, while 133 million new jobs could be created.?

It is important to note that ChatGPT is not intended to fully replace human labor, but rather to augment and enhance it. Although ChatGPT can write marketing copy, create content, write code, generate ideas, create training plans, and much, much more, I don't believe it will fully replace people's jobs just yet. It is more likely that there will be jobs that don't use AI and those that do use AI. The obvious winners will be those using AI, such as ChatGPT, to gain a competitive advantage thanks to speed, creativity, accuracy, and more.

In conclusion, ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize the BPO industry by providing high-quality, personalized customer service at scale. Its ability to understand and respond to natural language inputs, adapt and learn over time, and provide 24/7 service make it an attractive alternative to traditional BPO models. While there may be some concerns about job displacement, ChatGPT is ultimately intended to augment and enhance human labor, leading to increased efficiency and effectiveness in the BPO industry as a whole.