“Thanks to modern, conversational AI, agent interactions can be monitored and real-time support provided. Reeve points out that having an AI co-worker ensures that help is always at hand for human agents who would otherwise be pretty much on their own as they trawl through multiple knowledge bases in search of answers while an increasingly frustrated customer sits waiting. “This will help to build stronger, more valuable customer relationships and deliver significant competitive advantage.” “Having AI and human agents work together as one team has never been more important now that customer service agents are mostly working from home, yet are still expected to deal with complex customer queries,” he says. For example, this involves combining AI-powered digital customer experiences with effective human-assisted service when necessary. Many consumers – slightly more than half of those quizzed in OnePoll’s survey of 10 000 people – still prefer to deal with a human when they have a problem or a complex question.Īccording to Reeve, the key to giving consumers the superior experience they expect is to utilise technology – particularly artificial intelligence – judiciously. “Consumers' expectations have risen – they demand faster, simpler service that prioritises their needs, time and, importantly, their safety,” he adds. While companies have responded by innovating and launching a broad range of intelligent, digital-first offerings, Sebastian Reeve, Director of International Go-To-Market, Intelligent Engagement at Nuance Communications, warns that despite the unprecedented level of convenience delivered by digital channels, there are also vulnerabilities in the digital realm that need to be addressed. This finding was echoed in an October 2020 McKinsey analysis, which found that the pandemic had accelerated digital transformation by several years with consumers having have moved dramatically towards online channels. There has even been an increased uptake in online medical consultations.Īnd while most aspects of our lives are slowly starting to return to “pre-pandemic normal”, international research has found that this increased level of digital interaction is likely to continue. In the past 18 months since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, even technophobic consumers have turned to digital channels for almost every aspect of their lives, from banking to shopping and ordering take-away meals. Sebastian Reeve, Director of International Go-To-Market, Intelligent Engagement, Nuance Communications.

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