Contact centers are evolving from basic customer service hubs to central engines for customer engagement and retention. As businesses seek to leverage advanced technologies, Generative AI (GenAI) is at the forefront, driving transformational change. With tangible use cases already delivering results, GenAI is poised to redefine the way contact centers operate.
While some may claim there’s hype around GenAI, its evolution mirrors that of electric vehicles. In the early days, electric vehicles were limited to smaller, short-distance use cases, but as the technology advanced, it expanded to long-haul transportation. Today, electric semi-trucks can carry cargo over 1,000 miles per day. We believe the same progression holds true for GenAI in contact centers. While some use cases are immediately viable, others will follow as the technology matures.
One clear use case is GenAI-enabled contact center agent assistants. This technology is no longer futuristic; it’s ready for implementation today. It promises to transform customer interactions, empower agents, and deliver immediate and significant returns on investment (ROI).
Immediate ROI with GenAI enabled Agent Assistants
The deployment of GenAI technologies in contact centers directly correlates with substantial cost savings and efficiency improvements. For instance, GenAI-enabled agent assistants can reduce average handling time by 10-20%. This isn’t just an incremental improvement; it’s a transformative shift that significantly impacts operational costs.
Consider this: in a contact center with 1,000 agents, each paid a fully-loaded cost of $30 per hour and working 8 hours per day, GenAI can make a significant difference. If agents spend 80% of their time handling customer interactions and GenAI reduces average handle times by 20%, the financial savings could amount to $38,400 per day—totaling an impressive $14 million annually. For 24/7 operations, the savings increase to $42 million per year. These figures clearly demonstrate GenAI’s potential to deliver immediate and tangible benefits.
Beyond these direct savings, there are intangible benefits as well. Faster resolution times lead to an improved customer experience, while guided responses provide on-the-job training for agents. Empowered agents not only deliver better service but also contribute to higher customer satisfaction and lower attrition rates—especially in a workforce that is costly to train.
Additional Use Cases for GenAI in Contact Centers
Several other GenAI use cases are ready for implementation today:
- Conversational Summarization: GenAI reduces after-call work by automatically summarizing conversations, freeing up agents’ time for more critical tasks and reducing costs
- Agent Performance Evaluations: Automating evaluations for up to 100% of interactions allows supervisors to quickly identify trends, improve performance, and resolve issues faster, enhancing operational oversight
- Self-Service: GenAI-powered bots provide more natural, intuitive interactions that elevate traditional bot capabilities, delivering a better customer experience and handling automated workflows with greater efficiency
- Training Aids: Create dynamic, video-based training materials by capturing agents’ real-world experiences, making onboarding and continuous learning more engaging and effective
- Predictive Scheduling: Leverage GenAI to analyze real-time data and optimize agent scheduling, leading to improved workforce management and operational efficiency
Driving Transformation and Long-Term Success with GenAI
The future of contact centers lies in the seamless integration of GenAI technologies. By implementing these use cases today, organizations can streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve both the customer and agent experience. GenAI is not just the next technological trend—it’s the key to unlocking immediate and long-term success for contact centers.
Want to know how to operationalize GenAI in your contact center? Read our white paper on how executives can take proactive steps to maximize GenAI’s potential and drive transformative results in their organizations.
