Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has already changed traditional communications systems by delivering phone service over the internet rather than with phone lines through a local phone company.
This modern technology changes analog audio (i.e., your voice) and turns it into digital audio RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) transported over the internet, and played to the recipient on the other end of the call, all in real-time. The next generation of VoIP technology is powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Here’s a look at how AI will supercharge VoIP in the near future.
VoIP can be prone to latency or lag. While latency doesn’t affect the voice quality of the call, it causes a delay in audio transmission, which can be annoying during a phone conversation.
AI can detect the quality of the call from the earliest point of the call and fix the issue early on. There is no need for additional software, hardware, or maintenance crews to help improve the problem; AI can resolve these issues faster than any other solution.
Along with solving issues regarding latency, AI can also help with low-bandwidth and incorrect network configurations quickly. Like with latency issues, AI works to identify any problems with low-bandwidth or incorrect network configurations as early as possible and solve them faster than any other maintenance solution.
In a study by Gartner, it was predicted that around 85% of the relationship between customers and enterprise would be managed without any human contact over the next year. This will take the form of a number of self-service channels, including the web, social media, and, most importantly, online chat.
For large contact centers or other businesses that receive hundreds of calls per day, AI and VoIP can work together to alleviate the workload, organize tasks better, increase productivity, increase efficiency and automatically create valuable data for future calls.
AI can manage call traffic by first using bots and speech-enabled auto attendants to assist customers and directing them to the appropriate representative. This can provide more streamlined communication between customers and representatives to make sure all needs are met, and they are getting the help they specifically need.
By implementing self-service solutions like Robotic Process Automation (RPA) bots and voice-prompted call direction, fewer agents are busy at a particular time, so when a customer is in dire need of assistance, there will be someone there to assist with little to no wait time in the call queue--increasing productivity for employees and satisfaction for the customers.
Call transcription can be particularly beneficial for employees who are actively dealing with a customer who has worked with many other team members in the past; for company training purposes; or just to have on record for similar situations that may occur in the future; this is all helpful to better capture the desires of a business’s customer base.
AI can take transcription one step further with sentiment analysis, which is sometimes called “voice of the customer.” Voice of the customer technology focuses on a specific set of procedures and techniques that are actively used to pick up on customer sentiments, feedback, likes, and dislikes.
The information that is captured using this technology is used to provide prompts to agents and offer customers even better products and services. Businesses can directly analyze customer feedback and monitor company interactions with them as well. Companies can then view chat conversations between customers and customer care team members to know what industry customers are most interested in and what problems come up the most.
Chatbots are a form of AI that can help individuals complete tedious, time-consuming, or repetitive tasks. Chatbots are available 24/7 and can handle any number of requests clients make and respond to them correctly. Many companies and government agencies are taking advantage of AI services (like chatbots) to streamline customer service and complete many tasks easier. AI helps businesses with the overall development and allows users (both team members and clients) to have better access to services and enhances interactions with applications. Better service delivery is associated with other benefits such as improved user satisfaction, customer acquisition, and customer retention.
Some of the functions these bots can deliver include paying bills, getting information about various benefits your company offers in a detailed manner, raising and tracking the status of requests 24/7 at their convenience, getting online public medical services from the chatbot, which based on the symptoms can suggest the medicine for people, and raise any complaints regarding the lapses in a variety of services or departments. AI-powered chatbots are able to study and learn the behavior patterns of people’s interactions within them and deliver the correct content based on these interests. By doing so, chatbots optimize costs in delivering services while also increasing the service delivery speed as reduced costs and minimizing errors.
In a recent study found that 33% of customers said they would be further satisfied if they could personalize experiences offered with AI. Companies that invested in AI are three times more likely to acquire new customers when customer acquisition, retention, and AI and were at the forefront of their business model. Companies that actively utilize AI are 2.5 times more likely to improve customer retention than companies that have not adopted AI.
Many new AI technologies prioritize security. Businesses from large to small scale are investing in various AI cybersecurity platforms to ensure data is safe and secure. Many tools have been developed over the past few years as AI popularity was on the rise. A few examples of these types of tools would include the first Cyber Genome program designed by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2010 to uncover the ‘DNA’ of malware and other cyber threats, which led to the creation of an algorithm present in the Intercept X. Intercept X can extract millions of features from a file, conduct deep analysis, and determine if a file is benign or malicious in 20 milliseconds.
Another tool, TAA, is a technology developed by Symantec. It unveils suspicious activity in individual endpoints and collates that information to determine whether each action indicates hidden malicious activity. These are just two examples of cybersecurity programs that implement AI to protect clients, employees, and essential data. These tools are used autonomously by constantly leveraging AI to identify and stop cyber threats with less human intervention than traditional security approaches are typically expected or needed. AI security tools can compare the behaviors of information entering a company’s online environment.
These AI tools act proactively to stop cyberattacks before they can even happen. They are constantly working, learning, and flagging changes or suspicious outside activity. More complex or advanced AI applications can even analyze vast amounts of data and help piece together related activities that could predict suspicious activity for future reference. AI security can behave similarly to the best human analysts. According to a survey by Capgemini Research Institute, 69% of enterprises believe AI is necessary to respond to cyberattacks.
While VoIP offers many modern features that can benefit businesses and contact centers alike, implementing AI coupled with the transition to VoIP can further improve overall capabilities. For further information check out our guide about VoIP and its beneficial counterparts and how it can improve your contact center.