Enterprises today are increasingly migrating from an in-house CX strategy to one that leverages third-party CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) solutions. And it’s easy to see why: CCaaS solutions cut overhead costs and require fewer, if any, in-house experts to develop, deploy and maintain. With CCaaS demand on the rise, it should come as no surprise that more and more CCaaS vendors are entering the market—including some linked to today’s leading tech giants. At the same time, more and more businesses are seeing the benefits of adding conversational artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to their CX platforms. Inspired by this trend, some CCaaS vendors have even begun marketing their offerings as conversational AI-enabled. But what exactly does that mean? And can a CCaaS provider truly offer a best-in-breed AI and automation solution? Only if it can meet the following criteria.
Here are the top five business considerations for enterprises looking to optimize their CCaaS with conversational AI and automation:
Integrate with CCaaS
Conversational AI and automation are opening new possibilities for CCaaS platforms. Conversationally intelligent systems can capture and analyze spoken or written information and automate multiple tasks based on that data. For CCaaS platform users, this translates to faster processes (including real-time response rates), more accurate data collection and analysis and fewer manual errors. However, not all AI and automation solutions are created equal. Many offered as CCaaS “add-ons” fail to integrate fully with the solutions they’re designed to support. By contrast, a purpose-built conversational automation solution, like that offered by Uniphore, ensures end-to-end integration with the leading CCaaS platforms, including those by Genesys, Cisco, Five9, Tech Mahindra and more.
Deliver intent, sentiment and emotion analysis
Artificial intelligence can capture and analyze a lot; but can it identify a customer’s emotional state? With today’s emotional intelligence (EQ) technology, the answer is yes—and with a surprising degree of accuracy. EQ-enabled systems can detect subtle emotional cues in a customer’s speech and even facial expressions. They can then use this data to create a more emotionally positive experience. However, this technology is still largely foreign to CCaaS providers. Not so to Uniphore. Combining emotion AI, knowledge AI and computer vision within a comprehensive AI platform, our EQ-powered solutions enable customer service and even sales teams to engage with customers on a deeper level and respond to sentiment, intent and emotional cues with greater understanding and empathy.
Simplicity in Design and Build
Much of the appeal of CCaaS comes from its simplicity. CCaaS solutions largely eliminate the need for in-house CX design and maintenance teams, replacing them with easy-to-use designer tools. While ideal for creating workflows and scripts, the tools themselves aren’t designed for conversational automation. The solution? Low-code / no-code AI that layers on top of existing CCaaS software and augments its capabilities. As the name implies, this technology requires little to no coding or complex programming on behalf of the user. With Uniphore’s no-code / low-code software, any CX user can easily design and build an AI-enabled customer journey that fully integrates with their existing CCaaS platform.
Automate the entire customer-agent journey
The purpose of conversational AI and automation is to make complex customer journeys simpler. However, unless a solution can automate the entire journey—from the first point of contact to final resolution—it still leaves time-consuming work for CX team members who could otherwise be assisting customers. This is especially true for CCaaS programs with “built-in” conversational AI and automation. While built-in solutions can automate certain segments of the customer journey (with varying degrees of effectiveness), they often fail to streamline the entire process. This piecemeal approach not only puts undue pressure on CX workers tasked with “connecting the dots”; it also creates unnecessary customer frustration. Uniphore offers a better approach. Our focused solution automates the whole journey—from start to finish—simplifying every customer step across multiple channels.
Plan for the future
Conversational AI and automation are major investments. While this technology offers immediate—and often significant—benefits, enterprises looking to leverage conversational automation should also consider the long-term viability of the solutions they’re considering. “One and done” solutions, like those included in some CCaaS packages, may offer some short-term incremental gains, most can’t keep pace with the speed of change of technology and lose functionality (or become outright obsolete) in subsequent years. How can enterprises ensure their conversational automation solution is futureproof? By using a platform that employs knowledge AI to continuously make improvements and integrates seamlessly with successive CCaaS updates. Uniphore’s forward-thinking conversation AI and automation platform not only helps enterprises optimize their operations and maximize outcomes from the start; it also helps businesses plan for future growth, shifting CX strategies and next-generation CCaaS technology.