After a year of what-ifs, AI applications are moving off presentation slides and onto statements of work.
That’s not surprising, considering AI’s expansion into everyday business is a priority for nearly all senior leaders right now. In a recent survey from UKG, 71% of C-suite leaders said increasing the use of AI is of high or medium priority, but a majority (62%) also said they’re concerned their organization isn’t moving fast enough when it comes to AI integration.
That’s something we hear in our conversations with clients and other industry leaders as well. While many firms we know and work with have completed proof-of-concepts and pilots, we are still early days when it comes to large-scale customer-facing initiatives. Where we are seeing amazing results is in the use of AI to improve employee work and productivity, particularly in the customer experience arena.
A recent McKinsey survey found that 54% of surveyed organizations reported cost reductions from implementing AI for service functions, and 57% reported revenue increases in their service operations. The key is knowing where to put your investments to drive the best impact and gain momentum.
Humans + tech = AI excellence
Harnessing AI's potential in the customer experience (CX) space requires innovation and a commitment to leveraging the technology in a practical and responsible way that drives tangible results. And that is starting to take hold.
AI deployed with an understanding of the entire customer journey can help enhance the customer experience. And it’s been our position since the beginning that AI (or any tech) alone doesn't build brand loyalty—humans do. TTEC’s practical and data-driven approach to integrating AI is focused on delivering efficiencies without sacrificing human empathy, quality, or critical thinking.
Our intent with AI is to create a companion for associates in their daily work, generate insight at scale about how best to craft impactful customer experiences, and deliver personalized, contextual interactions with customers that make them feel valued and understood.
AI gets put to work to help associates
For example, earlier this month TTEC was honored with a Gold Stevie® Award for the work of its AI Center of Excellence and a proprietary generative AI tool called Let Me Know.
Let Me Know helps contact center associates resolve issues they previously couldn’t by delivering answers to them much faster than usual, so they can help customers more quickly and easily.
With Let Me Know, TTEC harnessed the power of generative AI, data annotation, data analytics, and insights to ensure the knowledgebase contains only current, relevant information. This ensures that when associates search for information, they receive relevant material to deliver quick and successful resolutions for customers. And they play a part in keeping the knowledgebase updated and dynamic simply by using the knowledgebase and providing feedback on what works and where to improve.
Our tool provides a well-controlled, secure, and monitored data storage environment to ensure the greatest knowledgebase accuracy and integrity possible. And it lets associates depend less on keywords, enabling them to search for information in a more intuitive and conversational way.
When we deployed the tool among TTEC’s tech support associates, it drove quick results:
- 83% of users said it reduced stress during calls
- 86% of users used it for every call
- Lower AHT for all tiers of associates
It’s just one example of practical use of AI that’s resonating and having an impact. TTEC’s ecosystem of AI solutions includes language enhancement, generative learning, knowledge management, and conversation intelligence.
Across the organization, we are embedding AI into our business. We have over 300 discrete AI-enabled programs underway with many more in development. We also have over 31k associates using some form of AI and will continue to scale over the months and years ahead. Soon it will be so ubiquitous we won’t need to refer to AI as a distinct solution.
In the ever-changing landscape of customer experience, constant evolution is essential. We strive to continually keep innovating with AI-enhanced training, knowledge management, and conversation and business intelligence. And by working with industry leaders on practical applications of AI, TTEC is helping companies improve customer experience, grow revenue, and increase efficiency to make their mark.
