There are numerous myths about AI in customer support. For example, many news headlines claim that AI will take away call center agents' jobs.
However, this just isn't true. The reality is that AI can't replace humans. Instead, it'll be used to augment call center agent performance. In fact, research shows that AI can improve agent performance by 14%.
When used correctly, AI can help your agents do their jobs better, which is a win-win for your business and customers. Below, we go over five ways your company can leverage AI to increase call center agent productivity.
Five ways AI improves call center agent productivity
AI is an essential tool to helping your agents successfully meet the rising expectations of your customers. Here are a few ways AI can help your agents be more productive at work.
Onboard call center agents faster (so they can hit the ground running)
A good call center agent onboarding program is crucial to reducing agent attrition and creating a better customer service experience. Many onboarding programs are plagued by outdated resources and a lack of access to reliable resources.
As a result, new agents often lack the information they need to do their jobs well. This can lead to high turnover rates or more experienced agents having to do more hand-holding instead of tackling customer support tickets. All of this can create a poor customer service experience, which increases churn and negatively impacts your company’s bottom line.
Using AI technology in your agent onboarding program can shorten the onboarding process and help agents provide more effective customer service. With AI, agents can access dynamically updated training materials to help get them up and running much more quickly.
This can help you retain the agents you need to keep your call center running smoothly. Employees with a good onboarding experience are 58% more likely to be with a company three years later.
Improve agent efficiency
AI can also help agents be more efficient and productive in their day to day tasks. For example, your call center can utilize conversational AI chatbots to answer customers' frequently asked questions. This frees agents to work on more complex service requests requiring human expertise.
AI can also route customers to the right agent or team the first time. Ensuring customers get to the right expert helps provide a better customer service experience and reduces average handling time (AHT). Additionally, AI's ability to use intelligent routing can also increase first-call resolution rates, which in turn reduces call center expenses and improves the customer experience.
AI also helps agents get more done in less time. Research shows that customer service professionals who use AI save as much as two hours per day. That's because AI can automate time-consuming, repetitive tasks that would otherwise be left up to agents. This means your agents can work more effectively by focusing on their jobs' more complex, customer-facing aspects.
Keep agents more engaged (and reduce burnout)
Burnout is a common problem at call centers. The right AI solution can help your agents stay engaged and reduce turnover.
Engaged employees are critical to the success of any call center. Employee engagement is critical for creating a better customer experience. Research shows that companies with engaged employees have a customer loyalty rate that is 233% higher than those that don’t.
AI can be a critical tool for keeping employees engaged. It can be used to improve agent onboarding, provide critical agent training and development opportunities and identify warning signs of burnout.
Additionally, because AI can also be used to answer customers’ frequently asked questions, your call center can reduce case burdens on agents.
Use AI to helps agents provide better live support experiences
Call center agents providing live support often rely on a library of physical devices to guide customers through troubleshooting. However, physical devices are expensive to maintain and quickly become outdated.
The over-reliance on physical devices can make it difficult for agents to provide accurate live support, leading to a poor customer service experience and increased customer churn rates. Nine out of 10 customers leave after just one bad service experience, so it’s important to provide your agents with tools that help them do their jobs effectively.
Instead of using outdated physical devices, call center agents can use AI to access a knowledge base that updates dynamically. This means your agents can provide answers to customer questions faster instead of placing them on hold while they scour the internet.
AI can also provide call center agents with the guidance they need to navigate tech support interactions successfully. Beyond technical information, AI can be a powerful tool to gauge how customers feel and suggest how agents can pivot their approach to ensuring a smooth and successful service interaction.
When agents have AI technology that helps them provide better live support, it’s a win-win for both your business and your customers. If they’re able to find the answers they need to customer queries right away, agents can reduce customer churn and improve your net promoter score (NPS).
AI can help agents personalize each customer support interaction
Personalization is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have for any successful customer service strategy. More than three-fourths of customers say they’re frustrated by the lack of personalized interactions with businesses. Tailoring your interactions to the needs of each customer is critical to staying competitive in increasingly crowded telecom and broadband markets.
But how do you create tailored interactions when you have thousands, or millions, of customers? Thankfully, AI can help your call center personalize at scale, making sure each customer service interaction is unique to the needs of your individual customers.
AI uses customer data to help your agents anticipate customer needs and even predict future customer behavior. For example, if a customer recently purchased a Google Pixel phone, AI might suggest you recommend a compatible phone case or other accessory. This allows agents to provide more effective customer service and increased success with up-selling or cross-selling.
There are numerous advantages to providing personalized customer service. Companies that take the time to tailor customer interactions enjoy benefits like increased revenue, higher customer satisfaction and improved customer retention rates. With AI technology, implementing personalization is easy and effective.
Leverage AI to helps agents do their jobs better
Contrary to popular belief, using AI in customer service won’t put agents out of work. AI technology is a powerful tool that your business can use to improve call center agent productivity. With the right AI solution, you can keep call center agents engaged and help them provide the stellar tech support experience your customers expect.
Are you looking to learn more about how AI can enhance your call center’s performance? Check out our AI customer service guide to learn more about the future of tech support today!
