During its annual I/O conference, Google hit the headlines with a new tool called Duplex. In case you missed it, Duplex is a virtual assistant that uses artificial intelligence to call people up and interact with them. The human-sounding demonstrations at I/O were so convincing that it now seems possible you can use AI to phone someone and they would not know they were talking to a robot. There’s little doubt that people are getting used to increasingly natural conversations with thinking machines; but is tech like Duplex ready to change the face of customer service?
How does Google Duplex work?
Google says that Duplex relies on advanced machine learning capabilities that use anonymised phone conversation data. Combining automatic speech recognition, conversation history and other contextual data, the technology is then able to conduct real world tasks over the phone on your behalf.
The two scenarios Google showcased at I/O involved the assistant booking appointments; one for a hair salon, and one restaurant reservation. At this point, the assistant has been purposefully trained for these specific scenarios. However, could Duplex respond to complex customer queries and improve the customer contact centre experience?
A landmark moment in the acceptance and use of AI?
Google has gone to great lengths to make Duplex sound human. During interactions, the technology mimics a natural cadence that reflects a conversational tone, introducing brief delays as well as the odd “uh” and “hmm” as it formulates a response. The lifelike results are being heralded by many as a landmark moment in the acceptance of AI.
For others, though, Duplex is not only creepy but possibly unethical.
The most common cause for concern is that Duplex could be used to deceive people by not making it clear that they are talking to a robot. In the wrong hands, for example, the feature might be used to make unwelcome robocalls from marketers. And that’s before you consider the ramifications of a robot making an error when calling a customer and who would be liable.
Is Duplex ready for customer service complexity?
Using the I/O conference as evidence, Duplex works brilliantly performing simple tasks like scheduling an appointment but is less suited to more open-ended tasks. Although the AI driving Duplex could be programmed to think and speak more freely, right now, it would likely struggle with the emotional subtlety customer service sometimes requires and answering follow-up questions about a broader range of services.
From a customer service perspective, improving your contact centre’s interactive voice response (IVR) system could provide a more immediate use for Duplex-like technology. Usually a combination of automated menus and prompts, IVRs front-end most service calls; however, due to confusing options and poor voice recognition, many customers hate them. Now imagine this scenario carried out by the human-sounding AI behind Duplex.
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