Author: Jarrod Davis, Product Marketing Manager at Cognigy
Lately, AI can seem overwhelming between the pace of innovation and sudden pressure to use it. Big things can come in small packages so let’s step back from the seemingly endless possibilities and look at how you achieve great outcomes within a short period of time and in low-risk areas. Sound too good to be true? Keep reading.
Yes, recent developments in Artificial Intelligence are downright mind blowing but let’s be honest, we still must wake up and work in the real world that’s happening right now, and that real world is filled with technical debt, budgets, project management and plenty of other fun. Luckily, we don’t need to start everywhere if we start at the right somewhere.
Starting Small with an Iterative Approach
Just because you have a paintbrush, doesn’t mean you have to paint the Sistine Chapel. Similarly, just because use you are using or starting with Conversational and Generative AI, does not mean you have to go for KITT from Knight Rider (even though Toyota actually has). As we all know from the contact center, the biggest bang for your buck can come from some of the simplest, yet repetitive tasks, such as ID&V or inquiries for basic order information like where a package is.
This is why the key to sustainably unlocking the power of AI and ROI is adopting an iterative approach. By attacking smaller, very narrow business cases you can simultaneously get your first AI project off the ground and achieve business-changing results in a remarkably short amount of time all while validating your decision.
One final tip before we get into use cases, it is better to automate an existing channel than try to launch an additional one in a new project. Based on our experience, here are some of the best first use cases with the shortest time to value.
Your First AI Use Cases
ID&V – This is one of the most basic and initial steps in almost every service process, yet it costs an unreasonable amount of time to do manually. With a straightforward integration into your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, an AI Agent can quickly deliver incredible results.
Consider a Fortune 100 insurer who deployed an AI Agent simply to identify and verify callers, determine their intent, and then transfer the call with context to the best-qualified agent. This AI Agent has achieved a 95% automation rate for ID&V and reduced AHT by 1.5 minutes, which amounts to a 27% improvement. And it does that while handling around 20 million calls per year. It is a business case that sells itself and immediately creates excitement and buy-in for further cases.
High Volume Simple Queries – Nearly every business has a few high volume, high frequency, yet low complexity inquiries. E-commerce companies, for example, constantly get “WISMO” (where is my order) questions. Selecting just one issue like that to automate with AI remains a small, bite-sized project that simultaneously has a massive impact on containment rate, AHT, agent workload, and customer satisfaction.
Agent Assistance – For the slightly more ambitious, starting with internal AI use cases is a low-risk option that impacts both customer and agent experience. Integrating AI Copilot into your agent desktop, which the customer never sees, can knock out a host of individually small issues in one fell swoop. AI Copilot, while monitoring the conversation in real-time, can automatically and proactively pull up CRM and order records, search and surface knowledge and suggestions faster than the Agent could click into a legacy search box, and finally, use AI to automatically generate a case, summarize the conversation and then prefill all the data. That turns 3 minutes of after-call work into a 15-second quick look and click.
E-commerce Case Study
Mister Spex, a Europe-wide e-commerce eyewear company, began its AI journey with the simplest of use cases. They planned to hire an AI Phone Agent to automate their voice channel. Within three months – yes just 90 days – this implementation resulted in a 70% caller verification rate and saved 30 seconds per call, addressing over 50% of “Where is My Order” (WISMO) inquiries autonomously. This has not only enhanced the customer service team’s efficiency but also improved the overall customer experience, highlighting the undeniable business value both internally and externally.
3 Low-Risk Implementation Strategies
Since you are neither the first nor the last to get started with AI, take advantage of others’ experiences, and consider the following proven strategies:
1. Start with Proof of Concepts (POCs): Before making a significant investment or commitment, conduct POCs to validate the effectiveness of AI solutions for your specific environment and requirements. This allows you to assess the technology, identify potential challenges, and refine your implementation strategy. Do not be afraid to rely on the vendor or partners. By nature, they will typically have much more experience than you. You are not just buying a solution, but also the expertise and support that comes with it!
2. Leverage Cloud-based Solutions: Cloud-based AI solutions offer a low-risk, scalable approach, eliminating the need for complex on-premises infrastructure and enabling rapid deployment and seamless updates. Best of all, you can easily combine cloud-based solutions with your on-prem installations.
3. Focus on Change Management: Successful AI adoption requires effective change management. Invest in training programs to upskill your agents, communicate the benefits of AI clearly, and address any concerns or resistance to change. Moreover, consider how the addition of AI may change existing processes, make others obsolete and create opportunities that previously did not exist.
Innovation without Disruption
By starting small with low-risk, targeted use cases and leveraging the expertise of experienced partners. By doing so, you can unlock the full potential of AI, drive significant improvements in customer experience, and achieve substantial returns on your investment in a controlled and sustainable manner, all without disruption.
Remember, the journey towards AI-powered customer experiences is not a sprint but a marathon. With careful planning, execution, and a willingness to embrace change, your contact center can stay ahead of the curve and deliver exceptional customer experiences that drive business growth and long-term success.
Learn more about Cognigy’s Conversational AI solutions for Avaya customers: https://www.cognigy.com/solutions/cognigy-for-avaya
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