Keith: Hi everybody, welcome to Today in Tech. I’m Keith Shaw. Joining me on the show today is Glenn Nethercutt. He’s the Chief Technology Officer at Genesys and an expert on customer service technologies. Welcome to the show, Glenn. Glenn Nethercutt: Thanks for having me, Keith. Keith: All right.
Before we get into AI transformation, I want to quickly run down a list of what’s been annoying me in the world of customer service and chatbots — some of this goes back 10 or 15 years. I’ll run through this list, then ask how AI is changing these issues.
First, phone systems that won’t let you speak to a human, or only offer meaningless info — like “Press 1 to hear your balance.” I already know my balance. These systems think they’re saving time, but they’re not. Are those still called IVRs?
Glenn: Yeah, IVRs — Interactive Voice Response systems. Keith: Second, I hate when I provide all my info — name, phone number, Social Security number — to one agent, and then I get transferred and have to repeat everything. The systems aren’t connected. You’ve experienced that, right? Glenn: Absolutely.
Keith: Third, the chatbots that can’t solve anything. It feels like they’re just following a rigid flowchart. Are those still around? Glenn: One hundred percent. Keith: So those are my top three annoyances.
What are you seeing now in terms of generative AI—how is it solving these issues, and what can it do beyond that?