Accelerating CX Success Through AI and Data

Published 07/11/24 under:

Generative AI is reinventing the customer experience (CX) and the role of the contact centre agent. Predictive tools reduce time and stress hunting down information, note-taking and wrapping up interactions. Each of those is recorded consistently in the same format. Meanwhile, bots are morphing into true personalised virtual assistants to provide context-based conversations, instead of stilted scripted responses.

These topics came under the spotlight at the Kerv CX) strategy event at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. Read on for all the latest tips and insights.

CX advancement in the AI age

Kicking-off, Kerv Senior CX Consultant, Paul Cox, polled the audience to gauge AI adoption levels. 21% of attendees said they were already using Gen AI to support agents or chatbots, with a further 46% planning to move forward soon.

So, where can Gen AI exert the biggest impact in the contact centre? Based on Kerv’s first-hand experience and deployments to date four potential game-changing use cases have emerged:

1. Translation
   Overcoming language barriers non-native speakers encounter when using chat, WhatsApp, and other messaging apps. The effect on agent satisfaction and cost savings (from not hiring niche language specialists) can be truly transformational.
   
2. Content generation
   Gen AI pulls in source content and drafts process documents and knowledge articles. Taking care of the initial heavy lifting, so managers, supervisors and subject matter experts only need review and edit before publishing.
3. Summarisation
   Gen AI provides the agent with a summary of the conversation, reason for contact, resolution notes, next-best actions and suggested wrap-up codes. All of which significantly reduces time and effort on after-call work.
4. Data analysis
   Non-technical users can answer business-related questions themselves and run scenarios such as demand, sales, and profit forecasts, simply by dropping data from a spreadsheet or custom app into a Gen AI engine.

Sadly, Gen AI models can still hallucinate and make mistakes. So, it’s important to make sure they only use data from trusted internal sources and knowledge bases, while also factoring human-in-the-loop intervention for extra protection.

Genesys guard rails

Next up, Zaheer Gilani, Director of Strategy and Consulting at Genesys, explained why talk among board members and contact centre leadership was how to leverage AI for improved business results. Indeed, 37% of Genesys customers were already doing that. In the words of one, the best approach was to be curious and open to experimentation, while keeping expectations realistic.

Even so, Genesys remains mindful of the impediments to AI success. In particular, the need to address concerns around data access, controls, security and perceived long return on investment.

Tackling these issues head on, privacy by design is one of the leading principles behind Genesys Cloud and associated AI-based solutions. Key to protection is a Master Subscription Agreement, which details explicit opt-ins and the customer’s consent to data use, including further anonymisation under regulations and compliance structures. In addition, Genesys understands and continues to actively mitigate bias in its AI models, ensuring customer decision-making is always steered in a fair and ethical manner.

AI and digital innovation in action

PureGym

Head of Member Services, Michelle Kaye and Operations Manager, Scott Adams, shared their transformational journey with Kerv and Genesys. A 100% digital contact centre provides PureGym customers with consistently great service, regardless of whether they prefer email, chat or social platforms. Service operations have been further boosted by the introduction of AI-powered Genesys gamification tools and a context-aware chatbot.

Results achieved so far include a:

• 27% uplift in member self-serving.
• Near-triple deflection increase (from 85,000 to 250,000 contacts).
• 24% reduction in agent hours.
• 14% increase in contacts handled per hour.

Importantly, contacts now tend to not abandon during busy periods, enabling the company to capitalise on revenue opportunities and process more member applications than before. With satisfaction scores trending upwards, PureGym no longer has the expense and headache of recruiting temps to managing incoming calls.

Mi Hub

Providing a glimpse of what CX evolution means for a global workwear solutions company, Head of Customer Operations, Sarah Shanks, faced a common starting point. Two Mi Hub service centres worked very differently with non-standardised tools and processes. Clunky and unstable on-prem systems resulted in regular downtime and user frustration, while reports either didn’t exist or were difficult and time consuming to create. Consequently, customer and employee experience suffered.

Looking to unify contact centre operations and enable efficient hybrid working, Mi Hub wanted a long-term partner driven to see it succeed, beyond the initial project implementation. Other reasons for selecting Kerv Experience were in-depth knowledge of Genesys Cloud, AI and CX innovation, and the contact centre marketplace. Key to a successful migration was a five-month ‘lift and shift’ phase, delivered by Kerv with onsite training and support to rebuild agent confidence in the new system.

Several months on and Mi Hub has already upgraded from Genesys Cloud CX2 to CX3 licences. Agents now manage all contacts through the same user interface. Crucially, there’s less guesswork. Real time reports are available in a few clicks, thanks to AI-powered quality management enriched with speech and text analytics.

As a result, Mi Hub can spot and fix broken processes and customer journeys much sooner. Along with a significant drop in repeat contacts, the company has seen:

• 12% reduction in average handle time.
• 20% increase in agent feedback.
• 6% improvement in employee engagement (from 90% to 96%).

Next steps on the AI and digital roadmap include the introduction of Genesys Agent Assist to surface relevant knowledge, recommend next-best actions and autofill data entries. In turn releasing agents to listen and deliver more accurate and efficient personalised service. Also under consideration are Genesys gamification tools allowing agents to take control, even at home. They can see how they measure up through WEM scorecards and leader boards while visualising areas for further development.

How Kerv and Genesys can help 

To learn more about Kerv Experience and the Genesys Cloud solutions, or to register for future events, please contact sales.experience@kerv.com.