The use of AI in automated chatbot communication has become commonplace in many organisations’ customer service functions. While this technology will remain popular for the foreseeable future, there are many other areas where AI’s presence will expand this year, such as in granular call analytics. This is according to TelcoSwitch.

Research by Hubspot found that 90% of customers rate an “immediate” response to a customer service question as important or very important, with 60% defining “immediate” as 10 minutes or fewer. A survey by PwC also found that 32% of customers would stop doing business with a brand they love after just one poor experience.

For Russell Lux, CEO at TelcoSwitch, figures like these underline the speed with which customer expectations are evolving, and the need for AI to be leveraged for more than just its basic functions such as automated chatbots.

Lux said: “The popularity of AI-driven chatbots has grown significantly in the last couple of years, with younger consumers particularly fond of interacting with companies in this manner. In many cases, it provides the seamless experience that today’s discerning customers require, so AI’s transformative potential in this respect is clear.

“The next step for businesses operating contact centres is to make better use of AI in communications analytics, to help raise the customer experience to the next level. The trend towards using analytics in this area is by no means new, but the past two years have urged organisations to invest more into AI-based analytics than ever before. Companies that continue embracing this trend are the ones that will prosper.

“The ability to, for example, transcribe speech into text is the bridge between call recordings and being able to analyse your data, with AI now the driving force behind those analytics. Having the capability to spot keywords, phrase patterns and even voice tonality helps build a comprehensive view of customer sentiments and the quality of their interactions.

“Capturing both sides of a conversation using voice recognition software used to be difficult, but the technology is now capable of separating caller from agent, thereby enabling more granular analysis and allowing the true potential of AI to come to the fore. By layering screen and video capture into the mix, the organisation can harness all of this data to build a full profile of interactions between different customers and audiences.”

Lux concluded: “The outlook for businesses in 2022 looks much more positive than the last two years. With this in mind, it’s the ideal time for leaders to figure out the best ways to unleash the full promise of AI, and build a more complete, rounded experience for customers.”