Human vs bot – who’s YOUR money on?
No, not the outcome of some kind of post-apocalyptic prize fight. This question is all about the here and now.
In the differentiating world of enterprise customer service, what approach is best?
Human agents can empathise but are costly and inefficient. Bots save money but lack warmth and cognition.
Obviously, a blend of the two makes sense but getting that right can be a challenge.
In today’s hi-tech, super-competitive world, consumers demand wholly satisfying and immediate resolutions to whatever it is that has required them to contact the organisations with which they interact.
Many seek answers to basic, frequently asked questions that are meat and drink to even the most unsophisticated of bots.
Others will have a complex issue to resolve and be utterly frustrated by their inability to spring themselves from an infuriating loop of virtual Q&A that is taking them everywhere and yet nowhere.
So, as they look to get that aforementioned blend right, what are the questions enterprises should ask themselves?
And, when the answers are provided, how should they respond?
“All of us have experienced getting stuck in those loops, whether it's a chatbot or an Interactive Voice Response system – organizations need to consider that ‘ejector seat’ customer mentality when they design their contact centres,” says Mike Winslow, Product Marketing Manager at global cloud communications provider Plivo, whose clever contact center solution ‘Contacto’ has the power to help.
“Not that getting to a human rep is the ideal ultimate outcome of any call. A high percentage of customers enjoy low-friction, self-service contact center interactions. It’s the more-complex, higher-cognitive issues requiring human intervention and empathy which enterprises must be able to recognise and manage effectively.
“Enterprise and mid or growth market organizations are understandably very keen to optimize and scale via the automation of contact centers. Some talk about Artificial Intelligence to the enth degree.
“But smaller organizations that don’t have the capital to invest heavily, must figure out how to make use of the technology to help them scale.”
There are other factors at play in the human vs bot debate too.
Some large organizations adhere to strict duration times for customer interactions that are to do with maximising agent efficiencies and keeping costs to a minimum.