Generative and conversational artificial intelligence have already begun revolutionizing various aspects of our daily lives. That’s particularly true for customer service agents in call and contact centers. By 2026, Gartner expects conversational AI deployments in contact centers to lower agent labor costs by $80 billion, and 10 percent of agent interactions will likely be automated.
With AI facilitating self-service, assisting agents, and taking over mundane tasks like post-call note-taking, businesses can address call center labor shortages and decrease high turnover rates by making the job less tedious. Dialpad has found that 50 percent of customer service representatives say AI makes their jobs easier, and contact centers leveraging AI can handle more than twice as many calls as centers that don’t.
If you’re wondering whether to deploy AI in your contact center, these statistics should make it clear that you have plenty to gain from it. However, you might find yourself wondering about the best plan of action. Should you rely on native AI capabilities offered by your Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) platform? Or is it better to opt for an overlay from a supplier focused exclusively on AI?
While it might seem convenient to stick with native CCaaS features, overlay options provide numerous potential advantages. If you’re evaluating contact center AI solutions, here are a few key factors to consider based on our industry experience and exclusive AI marketplace insights.
- An overlay solution can potentially integrate with all your existing systems. Some of our solutions also offer the choice of deploying on-premises or in the cloud, giving you additional flexibility.
- With an overlay, you can bolt omnichannel self-service bots onto on-prem systems for fast next-gen service implementation.
- If you switch CCaaS platforms at any point, you can keep the overlay solution and transfer it to the new software.
- Overlay platforms often offer more advanced conversational AI capabilities (e.g., extensive language abilities) and access to high-level artificial intelligence expertise compared to features added to a cloud contact center offering.
It’s important to note that this isn’t an exhaustive list, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to AI. It’s imperative to consider your unique requirements, pain points, and goals when weighing your options.
If you want to learn more about contact center AI solutions for your business, our technology consultants can leverage our 20+ years of IT industry experience, detailed comparison matrices, and exclusive research to rapidly identify ideal offerings based on your needs and goals. Why spend dozens of hours navigating a complex and constantly changing marketplace on your own when we can do the homework for you?
Get started now by calling 877-599-3999 or emailing sales@stratospherenetworks.com.
