Using AI to Enhance a Brand’s Human Connection

While we all snap back into gear following the election, it is so important to remember how emotions rule human behavior.? As we move into a more AI-enabled world, we cannot lose the connecting thread that leads us, as people, to understand the issues, wants, and needs of other people.? Their context, motivations, priorities. In the work I do on the personalization front, I remain hyper-conscious of the importance of human connection, and feel that the "co-pilot" aspect of AI has an incredible amount to offer before we take it to the extreme of offering complete automation that replaces human labor.?

I see the balancing act happening in one of the first areas where brands now are personalizing customer experiences to actually add value, as opposed to just being more efficient.? Call Centers are far from loved by most consumers.? No one wants to call in for a problem anyway, and the challenges of getting through layers of IVRs, balkanized capabilities that prevent a rep from truly resolving a complex problem, and simply taking the time for what you know will be a long time on the phone, are incredibly discouraging. But the capabilities offered by AI are already transforming call center operations and customer support offerings, while enriching and accelerating the feedback businesses can get to rapidly address the issues that are leading to calls.??

In all of these cases, the question is now on the table of whether to just push a chatbot in front of a customer, instead of making them talk to a rep, even a more empowered rep. My sense is that for a large number of basic calls, this will be fine if operations leaders truly test the range of use cases and edge cases that could emerge, to see if the option for a customer of using a bot will actually improve their experience.

But I see, more often, and for a while, AI tools as the superpower that can make call center reps the human heroes they should be for the brands they represent. Here are some great examples that I have seen in the past few weeks:

• SearchUnify puts a chat window in front of a rep (and increasingly just listens to the customer and assumes the needed prompts) that gives them integrated access to the knowledge base that can answer a customer's question, or the screens to take a needed action.? When data and systems that a rep uses are scattered around a company (when I was Aetna CMO, I saw reps needing over 10 log-ins to different systems to answer a customer's question!), and the precision of an answer also depends on integrating information about the customer themselves into the construction of a solution, AI can treat it all as one knowledge system, on one pane of glass for the rep to use. Answers happen quicker, and more accurately, with much higher call resolution numbers, and often more opportunities to pivot a discussion with a customer towards a sale of other brand-enrichment activities
• DataOrb digitizes the conversation between a customer and rep, turning it into a range of highly useful real-time data.? Operations teams can see what types of rep dialogs work better, which reps need more coaching, and get a rich early warning system about escalating issues.? The AI system can generate training programs for new reps. Marketing teams can learn about competitor offers that customers cite, what the attitudes are of customers, and again, what counter-discussions work.? At an individual level, they can spot dissatisfied customers needing more care to prevent attrition, and hold them out of general marketing pushes until they are more satisfied. Telecom providers have been flocking to this capability, seeing higher NPS scores, and also higher satisfaction and retention of their reps
• Genesys bought a company called Pointillist a couple of years ago, and are now rolling out their capability to understand a customer's journey across a company's touchpoints. Using AI to find a customer across every interaction database and then stringing those touches together into a "journey map," the tool can inform a call center rep of the last few actions a customer has taken, as the customer calls in.? A rep can know that a customer just had trouble using an app, or using a feature on a product, or opened up a sales offer, all of which can automatically trigger a relevant set of prompts for the rep to better anticipate what the customer wants. It also provides another form of early warning system, as it captures data such as escalating problems for customers using an interface.? As enterprises upgrade customer systems to work in the cloud, for example, that transition has risks that can affect the customer experience. Using tools like this, you can immediately see any issues and arm your call center for how to address them.

This is merely a lightweight skim through the capabilities emerging to make call centers a hub for not only useful personalization, but also brand enhancing assets. It could be one of the easiest, and most obvious places to start. What's happening to your customer when they call in?? How well enabled are your reps to deliver the experience that those customers deserve??

While everyone is caught up in the frenzy of looking to cut costs using AI for call centers, let's also look at what it can do, while cutting costs, to enhance your differentiation. I would love to hear how initiatives like this are going for you!?