What is AI Doing to Improve Service Center Customer Service?
Empathetic technology supports service center employees, so they can better support the person calling in.
How many times have you had to call a customer service line? How many times did you actually want to? Yes, we thought so—and you’re not alone. An article by NPR cited 43% of people yell or raise their voices when calling a service center. Frustration, confusion, and stress—these are often the emotions that start even before connecting with the person on the other line.
How is AI improving service centers? Two words: empathetic technology.
Press 1 for empathy…
The menu of options you typically hear when you call customer service is known as IVR, which stands for interactive voice response. Do I hear a Jeopardy question? You’ve probably interacted with different types of IVR before: your doctor’s office list of pre-recorded options or selecting from choices when calling into troubleshoot your internet.
There’s another advanced form of IVR: personalized IVR. This reduces the number of steps needed, ensuring a caller can get their needs met in a more efficient manner. Imagine calling into a support center and they already know what you are calling for based on your recent activity.
The synchronization of AI across communication methods (chat, phone, etc.) makes it easier for callers like us to get to the right place to get the we help need in less time, increasing convenience and greater member satisfaction overall.
Increasing efficiency with empathetic technology
Behind the scenes at Businessolver, AI performs a massive lift for service center agents by auto-summarizing call transcriptions. Previously, representatives would have to take additional time during and after the call to take detailed notes about the reason and the resolve for the call.
With AI, representatives can focus their full attention on the person they’re speaking with. Not worrying about notating all the details verbatim, but letting AI do that legwork, leads to a more engaging conversation. And ultimately, happier customers.
When we integrated AI into our service center technology, our members and service center representatives saw immediate benefits:
- 52% of members chose an AI-generated personalized menu option when they called in for help, getting them to the right info in less time
- 34% of all member calls were resolved by AI, so they didn’t need to wait on hold to speak to a live person
- 43% improvement in average speed to answer because AI helps reduce overall call volume and gives live representatives more time back by handling administrative tasks (like case notes)
Most notably, though, was the overall increase in positive sentiment when members did need to speak to a live representative. No one calls in for support because something is going well or because they’re happy. But when AI is supporting behind the scenes, representatives can focus their full attention on the caller, resulting in more compassion, more understanding, and more satisfactory resolutions.
There’s no algorithm for compassion
While generative AI is a powerful tool, it’s been proven that humans are still the highest qualified to handle complex problems, the best at analyzing sentiment, and the most compassionate service providers.
In a recent conversation on the Benefits Pulse Vodcast, Jefferey Becker, Sr. Member Advocate at Businessolver, shared his invaluable experience as a representative. He explains that helping with benefits questions takes both technical knowledge and putting yourself in the shoes of the person you’re communicating with. In short, empathy. It’s this understanding of empathetic technology that led to his coining of the phrase “compassionate competence.” Compassionate competence is having both pieces of the puzzle.
Empathetic technology in benefits service centers
What do service centers, AI, and employees all have in common? They’re all supported by people. Whatever their job title—member service advocates, agents, representatives—they’re people dedicated to helping people.
Empathy in technology revolves around unlocking the next level of personalization. Our latest Benefits Insights Report shows that 85% of employees opt into targeted communications that leverage their claims information. People are choosing to share their information for the sake of exceptional user experiences. People want to be understood and empathized with. Technology helps us get there. We can say with confidence that empathy is at the heart of AI’s role in customer service. This is a true example of tech with heart.
