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Dive Brief:
Voice AI can help contact centers unlock their potential, Nicole Kyle, managing director and co-founder of CMP Research, said during a Krisp webinar Wednesday. Interest in automated customer support may lag behind live support, but it’s growing every year among contact center leaders.
While consumers are interested in automated voice interactions, they often fall short of expectations, driving customers back to traditional self-service portals, according to Kyle.
“Given that voice is the most popular channel, it follows that if you’re going to win big on automation, it’s by offering an excellent voice AI experience,” Kyle said.
Dive Insight:
Contact centers need to shape their automated voice AI to match what customers want from the technology.
“Voice AI tech is getting better, and there’s an opportunity and there’s demand to be captured, but it really depends on the quality of that experience to get consumers to change their behavior,” Kyle said.
Only about 3% of consumers cite interacting with a conversational voice AI agent as their top preference for self-service, but that number could be higher if voice AI met consumer expectations, according to Kyle. Self-service portals are the most popular option, followed by IVR — a preference born of habit.
A good first step for rolling out voice AI technology is to find the subset of customers who prefer call-based customer service and are also open to automated self-service, according to Kyle. Companies can connect these customers with their voice AI option, rather than try to move everyone onto a new path.
Leaders also need to make sure they’re investing in the right technology, too. Conversational voice AI doesn’t necessarily mean generative AI, and leaders should invest in a solution that makes sense for their needs.
“Depending on the maturity of your contact center, and depending on the appetite of your own customers, sometimes a really, really great conversational AI tool is all you need for now,” Kyle said.
Some companies are embracing voice AI outside of the contact center to improve their overall customer experience. Red Lobster rolled out voice automation systemwide to handle its phone takeout orders, freeing up workers while improving front-of-house service.