Base your design of conversational AI on human-to-human conversation
Modern conversational AI is about bringing technology, language and the psychology of humans together. If you can ensure your AI solutions are based on human-to-human dialogues as opposed to just a set list of questions to get to the root of the problem, the result will be more efficient, engaging and natural conversations that lead to higher platform adoption rates.
Instead of just focusing on problem-solving, it's essential to consider how we use language to interact with people. People are more likely to engage with technology that understands and resonates with their emotional states, and by recognising and responding to the emotions conveyed in user interactions, conversational AI can provide empathetic and personalised responses that build a sense of trust and rapport between the user and the AI system, ultimately leading to increased user satisfaction and loyalty.
Place people are at the heart of all technological change
It's also important to consider how any change in terms of the use of technology will affect people within your organisation as well as customers. When implementing any AI solution, change should always be human-centric - and the important role of individuals cannot be undermined.
Before any changes are implemented - go and talk to your call centre team - they're your experts. Highlighting their valuable insights and expertise and working with them on successful change processes will ensure they feel valued and reassured that technological upgrades are meant to enhance their roles, not replace them.
Using technology to free them up will also mean they can focus on more meaningful work such as conversations that require a personal touch due to a complex issue or if a family member has passed away and the caller needs advice on closing an account, etc
Explore the capabilities of your existing software
It's also essential to ensure that your teams leverage all the different aspects included in your current technology. Most technologies already have built-in AI features, and businesses should explore the full potential of their current technology stack before adding new ones.
At Spark, we are trialling a range of generative AI use cases across the business, and where we see strong returns, we will look to scale further. This includes piloting tools that enable our call centre care team to extract information quickly and solve customer issues faster, which will improve customer experience and help us to reduce our cost to serve.
We are also using AI to map customers to the right queue to help address their needs more effectively, and exploring tools that summarise calls automatically to reduce admin for our care teams. We also use AI and data to generate insights into customer behaviour and preferences, to then deliver personalised products and services to customers. This includes serving ads about broadband deals to a customer that is moving house.
AI has the power to improve customer satisfaction and empower employees, fostering a more dynamic and responsive customer service environment. Embracing these strategies will ensure that you drive both efficiency and meaningful engagement, not the former at the expense of the latter.
Overall, AI is an enabler of new growth, of efficiency, and of better customer experiences. It has the power to transform how we work, learn, and connect, and help us adapt to become more productive.
