10 Ways Voice AI Empowers Contact Centers

Voice AI is transforming the contact center as we know it. The traditional customer service model is in dire need of a technological revamp, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to make groundbreaking advancements. From fast, accurate and contextual customer service interactions, to increased job satisfaction among agents, we invite you to learn how conversational AI is empowering contact centers in 10 transformational ways with Replicant Voice.

#1 Create flexible IVR systems

Typical Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems have countless shortcomings. Whether it’s customers giving up on the long list of menu items or instantly pressing zero to connect with an agent, these rigid systems are set up for frustration. Created decades ago, IVR systems attempt to direct customers to the correct agents and occasionally answer questions, but don’t always succeed. Similarly, Interactive Voice Assistants (IVA) have slightly more emotive characteristics, but can also be equally frustrating for customers. 

Replicant Voice is what we as consumers have all been waiting for – the loss of complicated menus, the ability to use full sentences to describe issues and reassuring resolutions that are contextual. Replicant’s “Thinking Machine” was developed to rise above the worn-out norms with its conversational, smart responses. Today, it is rare for a customer to have a good experience with IVR and IVA systems, and our goal is to bring quality service back to phone calls.

#2 Provide customer service that is on 24/7

Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of on-boarding voice AI is that it’s there for your customers any hour of the day or night. Leaving a voicemail or having to call back during business hours is simply icing on the cake for any stressed-out caller. With Replicant Voice, customer service is always on – allowing you to scale with technology rather than people.

This is especially valuable for businesses with a global customer base. No matter where they are in the world, each customer can have consistent service experiences 24 hours, 7 days a week. As your contact center closes for the day, you and your employees are left at peace of mind.

#3 Deploy elastic and scalable customer service

We like to describe elasticity as the power of a 1:1 caller to agent ratio, or the scalability factor of voice AI. Imagine the ability to scale customer service elastically. You no longer have to plan for seasonal fluctuations or predict demand shortages. From major holidays to peak product sales, voice AI lends each customer an on-brand experience while keeping agents from getting overloaded.

#4 Expand quickly without offshoring or partnering with a BPO

This perfect 1:1 ratio makes for easy refinement of customer service agents. The ability to keep a team of your primary agents at headquarters rather than offshoring or deploying Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) supports brand quality. It’s simple: if your team is spread across the globe, it’s harder to keep your customer service experience consistent.

If your business is booming, it’s common to partner with a third party for quick expansion. Outsourcing is an outdated solution and voice AI is an exemplary alternative to taking on extra traffic and reducing overhead costs. Voice AI allows you to know exactly what type of experience your customers are having and gives you the ability to adapt as your business prospers.

#5 Tailor customer interactions to your brand

With each call, your team leaves an impression in the minds of your customers. With voice AI, you can create a predictable, consistent service experience that your customers can trust every time. You’ll know exactly how Replicant Voice interacts with your customers and can adopt the conversation flow as needed to fit your brand. Cultivating the perfect brand experience and improving it over time with each customer interaction… we know, it almost sounds too good to be true!

You also no longer need to train agents to stay on script or retrain them as your call scripts evolve. Humans are, well, human. They go off-script, get fatigued, make mistakes and are inconsistent by nature. We believe agents should not be replaced entirely, but making the call service experience as satisfying as possible for repetitive and task-oriented calls will only benefit your company.

#6 Reduce overhead costs on FTE, training and attrition

On-boarding voice AI into your call center is not just about hiring fewer or replacing agents – it simply creates a better experience for your current team which in turn increases satisfaction and retention rates. Replicant Voice saves valuable time for trainees and agents by requiring less training for low-urgency troubleshooting and placing more emphasis on emotive, high-care customer training. In turn, this reduces attrition, agent turnover and overhead costs. If agents feel valued you’re bound to see spikes in agent job satisfaction.

#7 Increase job satisfaction for agents

Taking away mundane, repetitive calls and giving your agents time back for complex customer questions empowers agents and makes it known that their human presence and problem-solving talents are essential for your brand’s success. A core motivation of voice AI is to eliminate customer frustration. With Replicant Voice, agents know the kind of experience your customers had with the “Thinking Machine” before speaking with them. Replicant Voice can send a summary of the key issues expressed during the call to the agent, creating a more seamless pass-off so agents are prepared and customers don’t have to repeat themselves.

#8 Create multi-channel customer service with text and voice

Replicant Voice was developed to resolve issues dynamically. During a call with our “Thinking Machine”, it has the ability to ask a customer if it can send them a text. Whether this be a link, order number or other information needed to solve the problem, each interaction is automatically captured and stored as data. If a customer must be passed on to an agent, the agent can see this captured data. This multimodal approach, blending voice and text, allows for faster  customer service solutions and less repetition or re-explaining from the customer. As we all know, any customer loves a fast, efficient answer.

#9 Take a new approach to guided self-service

There’s an emerging term in the industry called “self service”, where a customer takes it upon themselves to search for a solution to their issue. It can be overwhelming to search for a company’s app, chat window, email address, phone number, etc. Replicant Voice is there to metaphorically hold the customers hand, so it quickly becomes another smart source that your customers can rely on  for their most important questions or concerns – we like to call this our “guided self-service” approach. As customers increasingly search for solutions alone, voice remains the fastest form of communication. Offering a quality call center experience creates an effective form of guided self service for your customers, strengthening loyalty and exceeding service standards.

#10 Use unstructured customer data in new ways

Replicant Voice turns customer service calls directly into data by measuring common intents and troubleshooting issues by adapting call scripts accordingly. It understands the biggest drivers behind your customer’s issues by using both structured and unstructured data.

Imagine the ability to collect data on anything from your most called-about products to the customer’s mood. With this knowledge in hand, your call scripts can be fine-tuned to solve issues and the smarter our “Thinking Machine” gets at handling your specific customers, the easier it becomes to take on greater call volumes.

What will you imagine next with Replicant Voice?

Take a moment to imagine what your brand could achieve with newfound voice AI abilities. Whether it’s wow-ing customers with consistent care, streamlining agent’s skillsets or collecting valuable data, voice AI is here at-the-ready to empower your call center.

Jill Accardo

Office Depot

Vice President Customer Service and Order Managment

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