4 Ways AI Will Help—Not Replace—Human Call Center Agents

4 Ways AI Will Help—Not Replace—Human Call Center Agents

- Updated Aug 15, 2024

Illustration: © AI For All

With recent advancements in AI, there’s been a growing concern that the technology may soon replace human agents. A recent Financial Times article predicted that the days of people taking customer service calls were numbered, as forecasted by execs at two major Indian IT groups. The reasons cited include call reduction and chatbots.

Ideally, AI should be able to predict an incoming call and then proactively address the customer’s pain point. Then a chatbot can analyze a customer’s transaction history and do much of the work currently done by call center agents.

This seems like a natural evolution: tech takes on the role of a human, businesses save time identifying, nurturing, and compensating talent, and everyone’s happy.

This, however, is oversimplifying a far more nuanced situation. It could even be detrimental to businesses to rely so heavily on AI when more often than not, human compassion and critical thinking are necessary.

While we don’t have a crystal ball, one thing is certain: AI may have its place, but human agents are not going anywhere.

So, where does the balance lie in the race to replace humans with machines? The first step is to stop looking at tech and real workers as an either-or.

The most useful applications of AI happen when the technology augments human workers’ ability to act faster and more efficiently. Here are four ways modern contact centers can benefit from this approach.

AI for Modern Contact Centers

#1: An Expanded Talent Pool

The rise of AI has unlocked capabilities that were not possible five years ago. From real-time translation services to voice augmenting technology, there’s a shift happening from a human capital perspective.

Generative-AI-powered communication solutions have successfully broken-down conversational barriers, enabling organizations to hire more offshore talent. This equates to a lower business cost and a need for more—not less—agents.

Not only can businesses preserve CX by having a human on the other line, but they can hire faster, and in more places, while providing the same level of service and quality.

For example, using different gradients of AI voice harmonization technology can open up new hiring opportunities in second-tier cities in India and the Philippines, expanding the global talent pool and creating jobs outside of major, revenue-generating cities.

#2: Enhanced Human Interactions

Human conversations are complex, filled with emotions, context, and subtext that are difficult for AI to fully comprehend and respond to accurately. While AI has made significant strides in understanding language, it still struggles with sarcasm, humor, and cultural references.

Human agents, on the other hand, can pick up on these subtleties and respond in a way that is genuine. Considering most customers reach out to call centers in moments of frustration or distress, this emotional intelligence is necessary.

In such situations, a human agent’s ability to empathize, listen actively, and provide reassurance can make a significant difference in resolving issues and ensuring customer satisfaction.

#3: More Personalized Service

Customers appreciate when they feel heard and valued, which is something that human agents are adept at providing. Human agents can refine their approach based on the customer’s tone, mood, and specific needs, offering a level of personalized service that AI struggles to match.

While AI can be programmed to handle routine inquiries efficiently, it often falls short in complex scenarios that require critical thinking and a personal touch.

Perhaps even more important, loyalty is built on relationships. A friendly, helpful interaction with a human agent can turn a disgruntled customer into a loyal one. While AI can result in expedient resolutions and satisfied customers, as its current capabilities stand, it’s missing a big opportunity to drive repeat customers.

#4: Higher-Value Exchanges

Regardless of the part AI plays, the role of call center agents is evolving. The future of the call center will focus more on sales and revenue generation rather than its historic role of providing customer service.

While automation can and should be optimized any and everywhere it can, for more complicated tasks, AI is just not there yet.

Take Dominos, for example. Americans’ Friday night pizza orders are being routed from the US to 8K+ agents in the Philippines ready to upsell. While chatbots can handle simple issues like a refund request or FAQs, agents are free to focus on higher-value exchanges.

This is a prime example of how more human agents paired with AI augmentation can revolutionize traditional customer service.

Rather than viewing AI as a replacement for human agents, it’s far more realistic and advantageous to view it as a powerful support tool. AI can handle routine, time-consuming tasks, freeing up human agents to focus on more complex and strategic interactions.

AI can also assist human agents by providing them with real-time support, information, and suggestions during customer interactions, and analyze their performance post-call.

In other words, both human agents and AI have their roles in today’s call centers. While this will continue to evolve with time and technological advancements, we’re not to the point of machines taking over entirely just yet.

Chatbots

Customer Service

Customer Experience (CX)

Author

Yishay Carmiel

Yishay Carmiel is the founder and CEO of Meaning. He has a successful track record of building, launching, and growing disruptive, AI-driven, revenue-generating products and services across startups and Fortune 500 companies. The author of numerous research papers on conversational AI, machine intelligence, and deep learning, he's been recognized as a leading global expert in the field of voice technology.

Author

Yishay Carmiel