How is the role of agents changing within generative contact centers?
The ability to integrate generative AI into contact center interactions has fundamentally changed the way companies interact with their customers. We are therefore moving towards a Generative AI Contact Center model.
CX Today has drawn up the list of use cases for the application of generative AI in customer care: for example, in the automatic generation of content and personalized responses, in speeding up the activity of packaging and typing responses by agents, in the automation of post-call tasks, such as, for example, summarizing the information contained in customer requests, compiling reports, collecting feedback and recap of activities.
Generative AI becomes a virtual colleague to support human activity, which however remains central to the task of supervising, adapting, controlling and directing technology.
The concept of “human centered AI” or “human in the loop” refers precisely to the necessity and desirability of human control that prevents the risk of “hallucinations”, i.e. the unexpected or not entirely accurate responses that a language model generative can produce.
generative ai contact center: Human in the Loop
The role of human feedback, both from customers and within the customer care organization, is even more critical when artificial intelligence acts independently.
Roles related to customer service automation, such as Chatbot Manager and Conversation Designer, will be increasingly focused on monitoring interactions and improving the performance of chatbots and virtual assistants.
Humans will be responsible for identifying and correcting errors and improving performance over time, because even the best-performing artificial intelligence can still make mistakes.
The human role is to optimize LLMs for their intended use, in order to provide customers with accurate information and avoid impacts on the company’s brand reputation.
As a result, rather than diminishing the role of customer service professionals, generative AI is set to amplify the importance of “human touch.”
generative ai contact center: super-human agents
A study conducted by Entrepreneur revealed that within the Contact Center, 83% of customers still prefer some degree of human involvement. While AI chatbots and virtual assistants help handle the simplest requests, complex problems still require the expertise and empathy of human agents.
Already in 2019, McKinsey studies referred to the figure of the “super-human agent”, that is: a hybrid professional profile that combines the human element with technological potential and works to the advantage of customer experience and organizational optimization.
The role of the call center agent is therefore already well beyond simply answering the telephone and managing emails. Within Generative AI Contact Centers, agents will be increasingly involved in problem solving and high-level collaboration to deliver more efficient and personalized customer experiences.
According to McKinsey, AI is already handling around 95% of customer requests in some highly advanced organizations; the remaining 5% of requests are the most complex and therefore require the attention of human agents.
In this way, contact centers improve their service in terms of faster response times and user experience.
Furthermore, artificial intelligence solutions allow you to anticipate customer needs and interact proactively through automated and personalized messages.
Psychometric profiling, for example, allows you to outline the profile of the individual user at the very moment of the conversation, through the analysis of the frequency of use of the functional words used within speech.
Based on the psychometric profile detected, it will be possible to return messages and actions in line with the customer’s expectations and personality, increasing the level of interaction and overall satisfaction.
The synergy between AI and the human factor
A study conducted by Statista revealed that approximately 60% of customers are satisfied with their experience interacting with AI-powered customer service chatbots.
However, despite the growing role of artificial intelligence in the Generative AI contact center, the role of agents is not diminished, but rather emotional intelligence and critical thinking skills allow them to dedicate themselves to managing the most complex problems.
In conclusion, as technology evolves, agents must be trained on the new tools and software that will increasingly be an integral part of their work and acquire new skills, in terms of supervising conversational flows via chatbot and analyzing conversation data and profiling.
The goal is to generate greater value in a contact center where the synergy between AI and the human factor will really make the difference.
