Natural language AI will drive better telco customer experience

TLDR version: The dramatic emergence of new AI language models has triggered a race to implement new AI applications in the telco industry in customer experience management. It will also create new IT product opportunities as businesses seek to integrate AI into their operations. But the AI industry will achieve its full potential when it develops new business models for partnership with the rest of the economy.

AI supporting telco CX, security efforts

Optus last week launched its new AI-based Voice Assistant, which can bypass traditional phone menus by analysing customer voice requests and directly connecting them to the required customer service expert. This is saving time and reducing the number of abandoned calls. Voice Assistant leverages Google’s conversational AI, Dialogflow and NICE’s CX One platform.

AI in telco customer experience (CX) is nothing new, but the rapid advances in natural language AI are opening up many opportunities to improve CX. As some of the biggest service organisations, telcos have a lot to gain.

The system is also supporting verification through voice recognition. If the technology is already hitting telco pain points like verification, it is clear that natural language AI has already matured into a useful tool.

The capabilities of conversational AI are improving so fast that we expect to see telcos carrying conversational AI deeper into the omnichannel customer interactions, e.g. by addressing simple customer inquiries and requests automatically, within the next 12 months.

AI tools are also being embedded in office technologies, an obvious example being Microsoft’s inclusion of CoPilot in its online Office suite. Early reviews are mixed, but it is inevitable that AI capabilities for business will improve fast over the next few years.

Why does this matter?

The telcos’ fall to be rated as the most mistrusted industry in Australia (New Zealand may be doing better!) wasn’t a wake-up call. Telcos are well aware that they are exposed on customer experience. As huge service organisations that are uniquely embedded in their customers’ lives, it is inevitable that their service failures are also uniquely visible.

At this time, AI is one of the best opportunities to address customer experience. Apart from customer inquiries, AI is already quietly improving the telco customer experience, anticipating and addressing difficulties and needs in advance in CRM systems. Other forms of AI are being used to manage and improve network performance.

In addition, telcos will be an important channel to market for AI tools, especially in the medium and small business segments where telcos have always been an important vector of technology diffusion.

These are all opportunities for telcos to improve their relationship with their customers.

About Venture Insights

Venture Insights is an independent company providing research services to companies across the media, telco and tech sectors in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.

For more information go to www.ventureinsights.com.au or contact us at contact@ventureinsights.com.au