Let’s get things straight from the start: AI is not about to steal our jobs.
Point two: the hype is over. AI is now all about practical application in ways that make real processes, real easier.
And finally, point three: humans have an important part to play in ensuring the much-vaunted potential gains are realized by all concerned.
What does that all mean? Well, for enterprises of all verticals and all sizes, it means the trick is to deploy AI-powered tools that augment the human ability to capture, curate, and leverage customer knowledge in ways which empower agents to enhance service levels.
Get that mix of resources right, and any investment in AI is sure to deliver swift and significant returns – particularly when partnering with a solution provider that is on the same page.
“The best AI-powered outputs will always be the product of an augmentation of human functionality – the best strategy is to figure out where in your processes that approach will have the biggest impact,” says Keith Berg, Enterprise Software Solutions Executive at leading enterprise software provider Upland, which is helping organisations all over the world plot their AI journeys.
“I am continually surprised by the dramatic ways in which some organisations believe they should be deploying AI. I spoke to one prospect recently that had carried out a series of Proof-of-Concept experiments across its business and found that none of the proposed deployments proved anything nor delivered any added value. It shows that there has to be a strong use case for AI otherwise it can become an expensive and time-consuming exercise in solving a problem you think exists but which, in reality, may not.”
From a customer service perspective in particular, the human augmentation point is a compelling one. Any standard of service depends hugely on the quality and accessibility of information; whether that is customer-specific, product-related, or simply generally useful in the swift resolution of issues.
All customer service does benefit from a level of automation, but the best occurs when a human agent is in the loop. Natural Language Understanding, for example, enables contact centre supervisors to assess customer sentiment and intervene in a customer interaction where necessary. Also, Generative AI, can provide a human agent with a fast, accurate, and polished response to a customer enquiry.
Indeed, in Europe, the proposed AI Act may soon provide consumers with a legal right to engage with a human whenever they interact with an organisation.
“Of course, AI has the ability to reduce costs in the long run because people are an organisation’s costliest element and automation has the ability to replace them,” says Berg.
“However, if these AI Act changes become a reality, enterprises who have replaced people with AI risk having to bring humans back at some point. Trouble is, those people will not be the seasoned experts that were lost. They will be new people who do not know what makes the business tick.
“Better to leverage AI now in ways which augment the human workforce, and which enable redeployment of certain individuals who perhaps have an expertise in something a bit more technical or a bit more complex, and where they can deliver enhanced value. It’s all about the downstream impact. AI should be about creating knowledge quicker, and then refining and modernising it in ways which support service delivery in practical, tangible ways.”
In the case of Upland, it has responded to that challenge by building AI into its entire suite of knowledge management solutions. Tested first by its own customer support teams, those solutions are now proven to augment human resource in precisely the ways that add that all important ROI.
To learn more about how Upland can help your and your customers’ businesses leverage the benefits of AI, visit the website.
