How AI will change contact centres

The end of contact centres as we know them has been a theme I’ve read about many times over the last 15 or more years.? Every time there is a technological shift, the stories start up again and the death march of the sector kicks into high gear.

The rapid pace of AI is the next ‘big thing’ to end us all! Well, not really.? Perpetuated by a multitude of media reports since ChatGPT captured everyone's imagination, a new article, media report or warning (and anything else you can think of as it relates to the demise of every single job) has focused 'water cooler' discussion.

But I can assure you, a naked terminator is not about to materialise in the middle of suburban Melbourne or Sydney ready to protect John Connor because Skynet became self aware and is about to destroy humanity.

We do need to understand and accept a few items of what undoubtably will be a disruptive impact in how we engage in many things in our every day lives and work, but some things still remain true.

Human connection remains a critical element.? This will not change.

Connections matter.?

Strong ties to community, family, friends, and yes, brands, provides us with happiness, security and a sense of purpose.? In business, human connection creates loyalty and enhances the customer experience.

AI / Digital disruption will make many mundane, repetitive tasks so much easier for customers to deal with, and at the same time, remove these same tasks from employees who don’t really need to be completing simple, mundane tasks.? This is not where the real connection occurs.

So, how will contact centres change?

In my opinion, contact centres will continue to be an important function of business, but in a post-AI world, while many routine and repetitive tasks will be handled by AI systems, a number of roles will evolve and will remain essential to ensure smooth operations, focused on providing personalised service, and manage complex or unique situations.

Here are (some of)my thoughts on what is coming down the line:

AI Trainers and Supervisors: AI systems will continue to evolve, that is for sure, but as they do, there will be a need for professionals to train, supervise, and fine-tune AI algorithms to ensure they provide accurate and relevant responses. They will also monitor AI interactions to maintain quality standards.

Customer Experience Experts: These roles will focus entirely on optimising the overall customer experience - the true customer experience, not the measurement of task completion masked by a CSAT or NPS score (not intended to be controversial here). These experts will use their experience to identify pain points in customer journeys, propose improvements, and implement strategies to enhance customer satisfaction.

Escalation Specialists: For complex or emotionally charged issues that AI systems will struggle to handle, escalation specialists will become vital. They will handle escalated cases, provide empathetic support, and find creative solutions to unique problems. Rather than disparate departments, contact centres can implement enhanced shared service models to maximise the benefit of this skill.

Quality Assurance Analysts: These professionals will continue to monitor and assess customer interactions, both automated and human-driven, to ensure they meet quality and compliance standards. But rather than listening to a small sample size of all interactions, 100% capture (voice, screen, chat, social) will be the norm and these experts manage exceptions in the experience. They will provide feedback and training to agents and, at the same time, AI systems to continue to enhance the models designed.

Data Analysts: Data analysts will play a critical role in extracting insights from the vast amount of customer data generated by AI systems. They will use these insights to make improved data-driven decisions, manage improvements to processes, and enhance customer and employee experiences.

Technical Support Specialists: AI systems may not always be equipped to handle complex technical issues. Technical support specialists will assist customers with troubleshooting, diagnosing problems, and providing solutions for technical challenges.

Training and Development Coordinators: Continuous training and development of agents and AI systems will be crucial. Coordinators will be responsible for creating and delivering training programs to keep agents and AI systems up to date with the latest information and skills.

Customer Advocates: These individuals will champion the voice of the customer within the organisation. They will gather feedback, identify areas for improvement, and advocate for customer-centric changes in policies and processes. They will be embedded within the contact centre environment, creating the connection between training, quality and system development.

Innovation Strategists: To stay competitive, contact centres will need professionals who can explore emerging technologies and trends, assess their relevance, and implement innovative solutions to enhance customer service. They will work collaboratively with IT and marketing partners and be key in how these opportunities are identified, developed and implemented in the new AI powered contact centre.

This is only a short list of some of the role evolution that I see coming to a contact centre near you.

Of course, there will be other impacted areas, such as workforce planning functions. AI will enhance traditional workforce planning, working with enhanced customer insights and predictive modelling which will only elevate our thinking on workforce optimisation and scalability modelling of complex or large operations.

AI powered demand forecasting will become the norm, with supportive analysis for Workforce Optimisation teams, completing deep dives into historical data and real-time information to make accurate predictions about call volumes and peak hours. Sentiment analysis by day of week and time of day, aligned to peak demands will become normal, with enhanced routing logic to specialist teams. This will enable contact centres to staff appropriately to meet customer demands without overloading agents during busy periods or having too few agents during slower times.

While AI will automate many routine tasks in contact centres, the human touch remains crucial for handling complex and emotionally charged situations, providing personalised service, and ensuring that the customer's experience is as positive as possible. In short AI should, and will, support and augment capabilities rather than replace them entirely. Therefore, roles that require empathy, critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills will continue to be in demand.

It is not all doom and gloom for contact centres.? The reality, I believe, is extremely exciting.?

We should embrace the way forward with curiosity about what is possible and actively engage our teams in the transformation that is coming.?