Leaving The Chatbot Behind?

With forecasts suggesting that by 2024, the number of digital voice assistants will reach 8.4 billion units – a number higher than the world’s population* – new technology has been launched this week that makes it easier and more cost effective for organisations to create voice-guided assistance for customers, reducing the need for a high percentage having to hold online to speak to a human customer service agent.

Voice Compass™, a purpose-built SaaS application that leverages the Conversational AI platform from tech specialists NLX, delivers voice-guided, self-paced customer journeys – known as Voice Compass Journeys – that empower customers to complete routine tasks without having to talk to a real person, through the channels that are most familiar to them. Voice Compass Journeys are delivered through web page, SMS Text, email, mobile phone, chat, voice and other popular channels that are already widely used.

The benefits for customers include immediate availability, so not having to wait in call queues or having to navigate complex menus.

IT ENABLES USERS TO CONTROL THE PACE OF THE CALL THEMSELVES WITH VOICE GUIDANCE, CREATING A PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCE THAT IS TAILORED WITH USER-CENTRIC CONTENT AND PREFERENCES.

It’s also highly interactive with every step designed to get the customer closer to the completion of their task. “When a customer wants to complete a comparatively complex task, like replacing a password or upgrading a flight, almost all of those conversations currently end up with a human agent. But we know that more than 60% of customers would rather do self-service than wait and talk to a live agent,” explains NLX CEO Andrei Papancea. “Voice Compass takes us beyond what has been possible up to now by creating a frictionless customer self-service option that gives customers a ‘live agent’ feel without the wait time.”

Voice journeys already available include enabling travellers to manage flight disruptions over the phone, without requiring live agent assistance; changing or making hotel or restaurant reservations; replacing passwords and requesting replacement credit cards. Each can be easily branded for the client organisation. The system can also be used internally within organisations for onboarding, training and to automate internal IT help desks. A library of journey templates is being created, which organisations can use as starter templates, branded or customized to meet a specific client need.

Voice Compass can also be integrated with third party applications like CRM systems or Contact Centers. Integrations are already in place to CRM systems such as Salesforce, HubSpot CRM and Zendesk Sell with more being added each quarter. It can also integrate with websites and mobile applications, as well as hardware devices such as IoT hardware. A Software Development Kit (SDK) is available free of charge, that can be used to integrate with the Voice Compass service.

“Helpful, relevant and timely information is the hallmark of great customer service. The Voice Compass Journey Assistant intelligently delivers quality information to customers wherever they are within their interactive task-oriented journey,” continues Papancea.

“Customers feel best informed and engaged when instructions are richly presented through viewing, listening, reading, writing, and doing. Voice Compass combines all four modes into a single customer journey for task completion.”

More information is available at voicecompass.ai.

This post was originally published in AI Tech Park.