Philippines call centres using AI to improve CX

Artificial Intelligence – or AI – has brought about a sea change in improving business efficiency, employee productivity, and the overall customer experience.
Ralf Ellspermann, CEO of PITON-GlobalRalf Ellspermann, CEO of PITON-Global
Ralf Ellspermann, CEO of PITON-Global

As a business tool AI has been one of the more impactful tech developments in recent memory.And the Philippines currently ranks as the world’s leading contact centre outsourcing destination.

“AI-powered advancements in customer service have naturally caught the attention of the massive contact centre outsourcing industry in the Philippines, as they offer powerful new capabilities that dramatically improve customer experiences,” says Ralf Ellspermann, CEO of PITON-Global, an award-winning call centre in the Philippines.

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“This development is essential for a country whose business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is integral to its economy. Business process and call centre outsourcing generate more than GBP 24 billion in annual revenues, which accounts for 8% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).”

According to Ellspermann: “Capitalising on worldwide trends toward AI-enablement, call centres in the Philippines are adopting AI technology for many reasons. These include improving customer satisfaction, enhancing agent performance, delivering more personalised customer experiences, and decreasing overall customer service costs.

“Ultimately, AI can automate simple tasks and help agents achieve faster response times, better first-call resolution, and deeper job satisfaction. In fact, call centre agents who work with AI experience a 69% improvement in job satisfaction.”

He explained some of the ways call centres in the Philippines are leveraging the multi-faceted power of AI to improve business efficiency, agent performance, and the overall customer experience.

AI-powered chatbots (or intelligent virtual agents) have become a ubiquitous feature of nearly every business or e-commerce website. 69% of consumers use chatbots to address their basic queries simply because they are faster.

“Chatbots allow customers to get answers immediately, significantly improving the customer experience,” says Ellspermann.

"Call centres in the Philippines are increasingly turning to chatbots to increase efficiency and guarantee 24/7 customer support. Additionally, leveraging AI-powered chatbots to handle low-level customer issues gives agents time to focus on more pressing or complex customer concerns.”

Predictive call routing

Predictive behavioural call routing relies on AI and analytics to pair a customer with the most appropriate agent. It evaluates each customer interaction based on variables such as past behaviour, product or service preferences, and personality type.

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This information gives agents the insight needed to serve customers in the most optimal and personalised way possible.

“By matching customers with an agent who can empathise with them, predictive behavioural routing can also ensure a high probability of first contact resolution,” says Ellspermann.

To deliver excellent customer service, call centres need to know exactly what transpires between customers and agents.

AI-driven real-time monitoring lets supervisors review calls as they happen, giving them a better idea of how agents work on a daily basis, as opposed to reviewing a small sample of randomly collected calls.

Reviews can be particularly beneficial when training new call centre agents, making it easier to correct wrong actions or habits before they become bigger problems over time. By improving agent performance through real-time monitoring, Philippine BPO providers can ensure customers come away from a call centre experience feeling happy and satisfied.

“Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology allows a person to interact with a computer application with their voice, eliminating the need to input information using a keypad. ASR streamlines the communication process so that questions can be answered faster, and routing customers to the correct department or agent can be accomplished quickly,” said Ellspermann.

Callers can perform self-service tasks through ASR technology, such as checking account balances or authenticating their identity before speaking with an agent. Call centres in the country are increasingly improving the customer experience by making the most of intelligent ASR tools.

All of the above benefits make AI an increasingly important tool for call centres in the Philippines. Despite concerns that AI threatens the jobs of many of the million people employed by Philippine BPOs, the reality is AI is enhancing contact centre efficiency, not replacing agents.

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“If anything, advanced tech tools like AI makes agents’ jobs more productive, efficient, and ultimately more satisfying. Statistics show that call centres that incorporate AI with human agents see a 61% improvement in customer satisfaction. For call centres in the Philippines, coupling AI-powered technology with human interactions makes for a powerful one-two customer service combination,” concludes Ellspermann.

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