Don’t Get Burned By: GenAI Inaction

Given the risks associated with many GenAI solutions, like CCaaS add-ons, DIY solutions and unproven point solutions, it may seem prudent for contact centers to opt for a “wait and see” strategy as the market settles.

However, this approach carries its own risks that can impact both long-term competitiveness and short-term operational efficiency.

• Falling behind: Delaying the adoption of GenAI can cause you to fall behind competitors who are already leveraging the technology to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. Companies that leverage GenAI effectively see enhanced operational efficiency and improved customer satisfaction, gaining measurable benefits in as little as 6 weeks. Those who postpone GenAI initiatives may find it increasingly difficult to catch up as competitors optimize their processes and set new standards for customer experience. 
• Exacerbating challenges: Waiting to make an investment in AI inherently prolongs your reliance on traditional strategies for service, staffing and automating. At a time when customer demand is rising along with agent attrition and labor costs, most contact centers can’t afford to let these challenges mount. For most organizations, applying AI to even a portion of a single use case or to upgrade dated IVRs is the best way to begin learning and fine-tuning a solution to prevent inefficient processes from costing more than they already have. 

Instead of biding your time, CX leaders wary of diving into AI can benefit from seeking education and building a business case to prepare for the next era of customer service. 

With AI already playing a key role in hundreds of enterprise contact centers, there is no shortage of events and learning opportunities for leaders to have specific questions answered by firsthand experiences. In addition, mapping out the benefits and savings of AI can begin well before you even begin looking for solutions, as we’ll cover in the next section. 

Proven risk-mitigating factors 

To both maximize upside and mitigate risk, CX leaders should focus their evaluation of AI solutions on their ability to launch quickly, complete calls effectively, and lower costs while providing control over every customer interaction.

To that end, these factors serve as crucial focus areas for contact centers hoping to make the largest impact with AI, regardless of the strategy they choose. Download the guide to see the full list.

1. A high resolution rate: Unlike past automation technologies, AI should always be evaluated first and foremost on its ability to resolve calls, not deflect them or perform only partial tasks before transferring customers to an agent. With a high resolution rate, AI offers a direct path for contact centers to increase customer satisfaction, reduce agent call volumes and decrease cost per contact without worrying about whether their solution is leaving value on the table. 

2. Accelerated implementation: A rapid implementation timeline is the result of many factors, including proven pre-built use cases, out of the box integrations, and experienced delivery experts. When evaluating solutions based on their speed-to-launch, it’s important to have a clear view of not just your projected go-live date, but the success rate you expect to see on day one and the potential time involved with fine-tuning your solution in the weeks following. 

3. Provable success: More than anything, CX leaders should look for solutions with a proven track record of success across performance, delivery and security. These data points should also contribute to benchmark metrics that can project the success of automation. To that end, CX leaders can use a call assessment to understand AI’s proven capabilities in your industry and specific use cases. A call assessment accurately forecasts cost savings and the impact AI will have on improving your customers’ experience, making it easy to build a business case before you make an investment.

Get the full guide

When done right, GenAI holds the potential to drastically improve both customer experiences and contact center operations. But when done wrong, there are countless ways organizations can put their callers, their brand and their bottom line at risk. Download the full guide and learn how to harness the power of AI while gaining full peace of mind by building the right strategy for your organization:

DOWNLOAD | Don’t Get Burned: How to Harness The Power of GenAI While Avoiding CX Risks

Jill Accardo

Office Depot

Vice President Customer Service and Order Managment

LinkedIn