AI Could Silence Hold Music Forever

While AI may not be ready for the pop charts, the technology is perfectly capable of writing hold music that’s as good as any human’s. It’s a low bar, of course. Nobody wants to hear human hold music either.

The truth is that being placed on hold is a nuisance to just about everyone. For years, players in the space have been trying to pinpoint exactly how annoyed consumers really are. A survey from Replicant found that hold time is the leading consumer complaint around customer service, with 44% of respondents saying they feel angry when faced with a 5-15 minute wait time. Another study from SQM Group showed even shorter patience: on average, customers abandon customer service calls after a wait time of 2 minutes and 36 seconds.

(Wait) Time Is Money

Abandoned calls can lead to abandoned revenue. According to Zendesk, attrition runs extremely high when consumers get sub-par service. Half of the time, they’ll switch to a competitor after just one bad service experience. The answer isn’t as simple as hiring more staff: research from McKinsey shows that call center turnover can be as high as 60%, so just keeping people in place is challenging enough.

So what can be done? Consumers grow irritated with long wait-times, but in many instances there aren’t enough staff to handle the inflow of requests. Thankfully, powerful AI has stepped in to fill the void.

AI to the Rescue

AI is revolutionizing the call center industry, making it possible to handle higher call volumes while enhancing the overall quality of service. By automating repetitive, low-skill tasks, AI allows customer support teams to focus on more nuanced and complex customer inquiries. When implemented correctly, AI has several clear benefits for call centers.

1. Enhanced Efficiency with Task Automation

AI excels at managing repetitive, low-complexity customer inquiries like address changes or order tracking. By handling these easy tasks autonomously, AI frees up human agents to focus on high-skill, high-value interactions, such as resolving conflicts or managing escalations.

2. Scalability for High Call Volumes

AI-powered systems make it possible for call centers to manage unprecedented volumes of customer inquiries, all without compromising service quality. Virtual agents can operate 24/7, cutting down wait times and ensuring every customer receives timely assistance.

3. Faster, High-Quality Support

With immediate access to a company’s most up-to-date data, AI can provide accurate responses – sometimes faster than humans. Because AI can handle multiple data streams simultaneously, customers who call with questions about orders, for example, can get instant answers about product stock, order status, or shipping and delivery without having to be transferred from agent to agent.

4. Cost Savings

By reducing the need for a large human workforce to handle routine queries, AI can create significant cost efficiencies for an organization. Not only can a company handle larger workloads more easily, HR can get a breather because in many cases, human agents’ burnout rates – which can be extremely high – tend to drop as well.

5. Value-Based Pricing Potential

AI introduces the possibility of value-based pricing models in support organizations. By aligning service costs with customer outcomes, businesses can increase their revenue potential and reduce costs for unsuccessful or unresolved calls.

Preparing for Successful AI Implementation 

While the benefits are numerous, putting AI to work in a call center comes with its own challenges. When executed improperly, the results can be disastrous. There was that dealership that accidentally offered a Chevy Tahoe for a dollar. And who could forget the Air Canada lawsuit over misstated bereavement benefits?

If you’re considering integrating AI into your call center operations, you’d better do it right. Here are the essential steps to take before rolling out an AI solution in your call center.

1. Map Out Existing Processes

Clearly document your customer service workflows from end to end. This ensures that the AI understands the existing processes it will be integrated into. A lack of clarity here can lead to incorrect or incomplete responses.

2. Provide Direct Access to Updated Company Data

AI is only as effective as the information it has access to. Connect your AI system to real-time data pipelines to ensure responses are accurate and reflect the latest inventory, product updates, or policy changes.

3. Establish Human Handoff Processes

Outline a clear protocol for when and how the AI should transfer inquiries to a human agent. This could include criteria like customer frustration, escalations, or specific query types that require nuanced understanding.

4. Set Guardrails and Permissions

AI has the potential to “hallucinate” or generate incorrect responses (see above). To prevent this, implement strong safeguards. Limit the AI’s ability to return answers from unauthorized sources. AI systems should also have the authority to admit when they lack the information to fulfill a request and seamlessly escalate the issue to a human representative.

5. Implement a Monitoring and Optimization Role

To ensure ongoing success, consider hiring a “Voice AI Manager” who will oversee AI deployment, conduct regular evaluations, and optimize the system as needed. This role plays a crucial part in identifying any issues early and keeping the AI aligned with the business’s goals.

The Final Call

We’re finding that AI works best in arenas where most tasks are repetitive and outcomes are mostly predictable.  As Gartner suggests, upwards of 80% of customer service requests are easily solved, making call centers a perfect candidate for AI implementation.

When combined with well-trained human agents, AI completes a hybrid model that plays to the strengths of both. That’s what we’re working on. As more and more companies adopt this model, we should be hearing less and less hold music. Few people will shed a tear over that.