Customers’ needs, wants, and preferences are rapidly reshaping business in the digital age. With social and mobile technology always in hand, consumers expect companies to be available online at any time with high-quality customer experiences.

These connected customers also expect an omnichannel approach to interactions: They want the convenience and accessibility of online self-service, but they also want access to talk with a human agent when problems get confusing or complex. And they look for seamless, personalized experience – whether it’s dealing with making a purchase or solving a technical glitch – at every touchpoint.

So how can companies deal with balancing these hybrid demands for both digital service and human touch? Can they deliver quality customer experience online while keeping costs down? And where can human agents be used most effectively?

Cognitive agents, powered by artificial intelligence, are creating new solutions, by offering companies a new channel to quickly interact with customers, automate back office process and provide support to human agents.

This blended digital-plus-human touch approach to service and support is at the center of the outsourced omnichannel customer experience management created by Teleperformance, the industry’s worldwide leader, present in 76 countries.

Many companies already use chatbots in providing some online service, because the AI enhanced software can quickly answer simultaneous questions on routine issues from multiple customers, freeing up human time and resources. But despite growing chatbots’ growing sophistication, the software still can’t contextualize data – the basic requirement for human-like conversation.

And they can’t provide the human reasoning needed in diagnosing a customer problem, understanding the mistakes that might have been mishandled by several different departments – and ultimately finding the solution.

That’s where Teleperformance’s technology is focused, creating a new way that online AI-based cognitive agents, a new generation of bots, can collaborate with human representatives to maximize companies’ interactions with customers.

For example, Teleperformance customer service cognitive agent, known as TP BOT, handles initial customer inquiries online, as most of these requests tend to be routine and easily understood. As soon as TP BOT cannot confidently handle the question, the chat is passed to a human agent via an automated customer service process flow, allowing the agents to continue the conversation where TP BOT left off.

This tag-team effort also enables the company to handle a higher volume of interactions than it would be possible with a human workforce alone. TP BOT is also able to support the work of agents, as they work with customers.

For example, an AI-based customer service cognitive agent can quickly analyze very large amounts of customer data — more than the human agents could analyze or understand on their own — and highlight the most relevant details based on the problem, allowing the human agent to respond immediately without searching multiple sources.

With this balanced approach, the company’s people can focus on solving complex problems with greater accuracy and efficiency – without losing the personalized touch that consumers want.

Dialogue, either spoken or written, is the ultimate consumer interface. But in order to offer this level of interaction and hold down costs, much of the conversations that focus on simple, much-asked-for information, will have to be handled automatically by the cognitive agents in the future.

Humans won’t be cut out of the customer relationship. Some people only want a voice interaction and some questions can only be resolved by an experienced person who can connect with the individual at an emotional level. When a problem arises, interaction between individuals and a company is not just about asking a rational question.

As companies think about the future of customer service, leaders should think about how technology can enhance humans on the job, not replace them. While a hybrid of AI and humans is remaking customer experience, humans can now focus on how to channel the speed, reach and efficiency of AI to work even more intelligently.

Click here to learn more how Teleperformance can help you balance the human touch and automation in your customer experience.

from HBR.org https://ift.tt/2p5wQ5C