The challenge

In today’s on-demand world, customers expect services to be available at their fingertips. However, associates at a major auto manufacturer were manually entering information from callers while also navigating multiple screens to locate answers. Such time-consuming processes were at odds with the expectations of modern customers for fast service. The client was seeking a more efficient way to provide support and improve the customer experience.

Our solution

We implemented our Associate Assist solution, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to monitor live calls with customers and scan relevant data to serve up critical information to the associate in real time. More specifically, an intelligent virtual assistant dynamically populates a screen on the associate’s desktop with a summary of the customer's intent or issue, a next-best-action recommendation, and/or a deep link to the exact location of the relevant information in the knowledge base.

The associate can accept, reject, or modify the suggestion and the AI-enabled solution learns from each interaction, continuously improving over time to enhance both the associate and customer experience. We also built a Supervisor Console which allowed managers to track the assisted calls in real time and receive alerts for calls showing negative sentiment.

To implement Associate Assist, we collaborated with the client to map the reasons customers call and integrate the AI-enabled solution into the client’s knowledge base. Before rolling out the pilot, we conducted rigorous tests and training sessions with a group of associates who were selected to use the solution.

The results

This solution is ongoing but the pilot — where over 35,000 calls were taken by associates using Associate Assist — has already shown highly promising results. Pilot results include a 10.4% reduction in average handle time and a 4.3% increase in first contact resolution, as well as driving the Net Promoter Score up 4.4%. The next step is to continue enhancing Associate Assist’s human and AI partnership, allowing the client to cut out inefficiencies and deliver better services that exceed customer expectations.