The contact center industry continues to evolve and adapt to changing customer needs and expectations. In 2024, there are several trends that will shape the future of customer service, with AI playing a significant role in supporting them. Here are some AI trends in contact centers for 2024.
Addressing Issues Related to the Number of Live Agents
One of the biggest challenges faced by contact centers is the shortage of qualified and skilled agents. According to a report from ICMI, 74% of contact center managers expect their agent turnover rates to increase or remain the same in the coming year. This means that contact centers need to find ways to attract, retain, and effectively train their staff. AI can help companies tackle this challenge by automating routine tasks such as data entry, verification, routing, and scheduling. This can free up time and energy for staff to focus on more complex and meaningful interactions with customers. AI can also provide personalized guidance and feedback to staff based on their performance and customer feedback, helping them improve their skills and motivation.
AI Adds a Human Touch to Interactions
Another trend shaping the contact center industry in 2024 is the demand for more human and empathetic interactions. Customers want to feel valued, understood, and respected by contact center agents, not just treated as a problem. AI can assist in this by enhancing the emotional intelligence and personality of agents, using natural language processing, sentiment analysis, and voice synthesis. AI can also help agents understand the context, preferences, and needs of customers using data analytics and machine learning. This enables agents to provide more personalized and relevant solutions to customers.
AI Supports the Self-Service Contact Center Trend
The third trend that will impact the contact center industry in 2024 is the increasing preference for self-service options among customers. According to Zendesk’s report, 67% of customers prefer self-service over talking to company representatives. This means that contact centers need to provide more convenient and easily accessible self-service channels for customers, such as chatbots, voice assistants, mobile apps, and web portals. AI can assist with this by empowering these self-service channels with natural language understanding, AI conversations, and knowledge management. AI can also help these channels learn from customer feedback and behavior, improving over time.
These are some of the AI trends in contact centers for 2024 that will transform the customer service experience and create more value for customers and businesses. AI is not a threat or a replacement for human agents but a partner and enabler that can enhance the capabilities and performance of your business.
KPSG understands that with a collaborative approach between agents and AI, various challenges in 2024 can be effectively addressed. Through the experience and knowledge of professional staff, we can integrate AI into your business and train live agents to optimize it for the growth of your business. Consult us now!