How can Chatbots help in Call Centers?
Chatbots based on Artificial Intelligence are one of the most innovative solutions that automate customer service. Virtual Assistants are used more and more often to complement the services of representatives in call centers by providing answers to the most frequently asked questions. Chatbots can decrease the number of helpline calls by even 40%*. Their support ensures a significant increase in the effectiveness of call centers and this is only the first benefit.
How do Chatbots in Call Centers operate?
Chatbots use NLP (Natural Language Processing) technology thanks to which they can recognize customers’ questions and answer them. Chatbots act as intelligent middlemen on the front line of customer support that try to solve the customers’ problems by themselves or, if the question is too complicated, transfer users to a representative with the right experience (so-called escalation).
Due to the fact that they can provide immediate answers, the time to process the customers’ issues is significantly decreased and therefore the company’s resources can be directed somewhere else. A Virtual Assistant is able to respond to and solve from several hundred to several thousand cases a month on average. The best Chatbots, such as the one developed by Amtrak, a train operator in the US – service more than 5 000 000 queries a year. Such high performance stems from the fact that most questions are simple and repetitive and require only a routine answer, e.g. payment information, order status or changing contact details.
Benefits of Chatbots
One of the basic benefits of a Virtual Assistant is its availability – 24/7, including Sundays and holidays. It’s worth noting that the availability of Chatbots is much greater than that of human consultants. Chatbots, as opposed to people, don’t need coffee or lunch breaks, they don’t get tired of answering the same questions over and over again. Virtual Assistants provide immediate support and satisfy basic customer needs.
This state-of-the-art solution, supported by voice recognition technology, is gradually replacing IVR (Interactive Voice Response). Present on almost every helpline, IVR is a type of decision tree where customers listen to pre-recorded messages and then choose the right menu item with their phones. The system is considered by customers as unintuitive and tiresome. That’s why you may find online instructions on “how to skip IVR and connect directly to a representative”.
Using an Artificial Intelligence application that supports NLP can completely eliminate the need for IVR, because the customers will be able to simply say their problems. The Chatbot on the other side of the line will analyse the question and direct the client down the right solution path – it can automatically answer the most common questions, which until recently could only be done by humans. A Virtual Agent can work on the front line and pass only more complex issues to human workers.
At the same time the advisor gathers data in the system and, if needed, can be used to effectively pass questions to the appropriate representative who can solve the problem. Chatbots also make it possible to radically decrease call costs in call centers while at the same time increasing their performance. Implementing a chatbot can decrease customer service expenses by up to 25%*.
The future of Chatbots
The popularity and capabilities of Chatbots are constantly increasing. Customers value solutions that let them get help with their issues without unnecessary waiting times. According to Gartner, Chatbots will participate in 85% of company-customer interactions by 2020.
Transactional Chatbots that help customer choose or extend a service are growing in popularity. Sales Chatbots, on the other hand, can offer new products and services. Using a Chatbot is becoming the industry norm and every company that wants to stay competitive on the market needs to implement this technology.
InteliWISE Virtual Agent is an intelligent e-business solution that increases sales and automatizes customer service. The Chatbot understands questions and recognizes customers’ problems with even 90% accuracy*.
* Data based on InteliWISE’s own calculations, 2018
