1、TALKDESK RESEARCH REPORTThe future of AI 2022:Progressing AI maturity in the contact centerForewordWe invite you to explore this years report to learn how to overcome common challenges in order to leverage the full advantage that AI offers,paving the way to higher customer satisfaction and more prod

2、uctive agents.Sincerely,In this years Future of AI report,we found that the majority of contact center leaders believe that investing in AI is integral to customer satisfaction and agent productivity.With customer experience on the line and an increasingly tight job market for agents,AI solutions ar

3、e a clear answerand most contact centers have begun adopting them accordingly.Despite recognizing the potential for AI,many organizations are slow to progress to more mature levels of AI technology.Contact center leaders and CX professionals report feeling less confident about their understanding of

4、 AI and the business results they expect.This comes both from a quickly evolving AI marketplace and a lack of peers that have experience dealing with AI in their contact centerspresenting an opportunity for AI vendors to lend their expertise to help leaders leverage the benefits of AI solutions now,

5、while laying the foundation for the future.In this report,we also look at how cloud systems can help overcome challenges of AI security and legacy infrastructure.Additionally,we see the potential for filling gaps in AI expertise by involving agents in the training and maintenance of AI solutions.Nea

6、rly all contact center leaders agree that AI will continue to shape and elevate the contact center experience for customers and agentsbut getting there fast enough,without risking falling behind,is key.ForewordANTONIO GONZALEZSenior Manager,Industries and AI Research,Talkdesk2About this report:Metho

7、dologyThis report is based primarily on a quantitative online survey fielded in April 2022:The survey was conducted with 500 CX professionals across 5 different markets in North America and Europe including:U.S.and Canada(North America);France,Germany,and the U.K.(Europe).Survey results were complem

8、ented by qualitative interviews with customer service and CX leaders.3Table of contentsExecutive summary 05I.The need for AI is clear to contact center leaders 07II.Leaders are curbing AI ambitions to address implementation barriers 09III.Leaders could use support in navigating AI decision-making an

9、d outcomes 13IV.Cloud systems can help overcome AI security and IT challenges 16V.Involving agents in AI management can fill talent gaps 18Survey demographics 20In this years Future of AI report,we asked contact center and CX professionals about their current and predicted usage of AI,and in particu

10、lar advanced AI in the contact center.The results were surprising:while the majority recognize the importance of investing in AI for the contact center,its maturity in implementation has decreased across the board.Leaders report barriers to implementing advanced AI in their contact centers,including

11、 limitations in their current contact center architecture.The value of AI is uncontested;however,being able to deepen AI deployments to realize its full value seems to be a stumbling block for many companies.In this report,we explore five main themes:Executive summaryThe need for AI is clear to cont

12、act center leaders A strong majority understand the value of AI and automation to accelerate self-service options,improve customer satisfaction,improve productivity,and help drive revenue for the organization.Both the value and the risks of not deploying advanced AI are recognized among leaders.85%o

13、f CX professionals believe it is important now to leverage AI and automation.52%of CX professionals consider lower customer satisfaction and 48%see loss of productivity as the top risks of not implementing AI.Leaders are curbing AI ambitions to address implementation barriers Despite consensus aroun

14、d the value of AI,companies are hedging in their approach to it,with continued growth in investment but scaled-back deployments and maturity.CX professionals cite concerns related to security and IT,organizational alignment and vision,and talent gaps as their primary barriers to further deployment.7

15、9%of companies plan to increase total spending on AI and automation this year.60%of companies are using AI self-service for customers,compared to 69%a year ago.5Leaders could use support in navigating AI decision-making CX professionals confidence in understanding the AI marketplace and the evolutio

16、n of technology has decreased and they are looking at vendors expertise to help them make informed decisions.87%of CX professionals feel moderately to extremely familiar with AI in the contact center compared to 93%a year ago.35%of CX professionals say their organizations are advanced in their appli

17、cation of AI,compared to 41%a year ago.Cloud systems can help overcome AI security and IT challenges Half of CX professionals feel their current contact center infrastructure is inhibiting their ability to deploy advanced AI solutionsan indicator that more contact centers need to move to modern clou

18、d infrastructures to leverage all that AI offers.75%of CX professionals agree that AI technology will allow customer data to be more secure than with a live agent.50%also agree their company is limited to less effective native AI solutions in their current content center architecture.Involving agent

19、s in AI management can fill talent gaps A third significant barrier is the lack of AI professionals who can build,train,and maintain AI solutions.Agents are increasingly seen as having the skills needed to leverage AI presenting opportunity to involve them in its training and maintenance.44%of CX pr

20、ofessionals agreed that their agents had the skills needed to leverage AI technology,compared to 37%who felt the same a year ago.15%of companies are using agents and their supervisors in the training and maintenance of AI.6I.The need for AI is clear to contact center leadersIts clear that AI is here

21、 to stay.The benefits of AI in improving speed,accuracy,and efficiency of service give it a clear place in the contact center.The advancing AI field continues to hold promise that additional benefits will emerge.CX and contact center leaders are familiar with common AI applications and recognize the

22、 value AI can provide.They agree that AI and the automation it supports are important and will only become more important in the future.85%of CX professionals believe it is important to leverage AI now.89%believe it will still be important four years from now.7Top perceived risks of not using AI:Top

23、 5 measures used in evaluating contact center performance:CX professionals see the biggest risks of not using AI to be reduced customer satisfaction and productivity.AI is recognized for its ability to reduce repetitive work for agents while helping them prioritize opportunities that leverage their

24、unique strengths,such as empathy and advanced problem-solving skills.At the same time,capabilities like conversational AI can be used to engage directly with customers,delivering relational,satisfaction-building experiences without the need for agent involvement.These risks have clear implications o

25、n contact center performance.Customer satisfaction is the top KPI used to evaluate contact center performance,followed by first call resolution.Additional top metrics include average hold and handle time,as well as time in queuemeasures that are clearly impacted by productivity and efficiency.As con

26、tact centers continue to evolve from cost to growth centers,falling short on these metrics will have broader business impacts on things like revenue and lifetime customer value(LCV).Lower customer satisfactionCustomer satisfaction(CSAT)52%39%Inability to prevent/capture fraudulent behaviorAverage ha

27、ndle time(AHT)39%20%Loss of productivityFirst call resolution(FCR)48%26%Loss of business to a competitorAverage time in queue35%19%Increased cost of goods/servicesAverage hold time43%22%Reduced sales33%Suboptimal staffing levels30%8II.Leaders are curbing AI ambitions to address implementation barrie

28、rsCompanies recognize the broader business risks of missing out on the potential gains of AI in the contact center and continue to invest in it.Overall,79%of companies plan to increase total spending on AI automation this year:9%Major increase(greater than 25%)36%Moderate increase(11-25%)34%Minor in

29、crease (1-10%)18%No change1%Minor decrease(-1-10%)0%Major decrease(greater than-25%)Expected change in AI investment in the coming year:9Appointment scheduling capabilities7%67%60%Speech analytics technology4%59%55%Intelligent routing/IVR5%63%58%Voice-to-text capabilities7%63%56%Agent training and p

30、erformance management4%62%58%AI model training for contact center employees6%62%56%Analyzing data for actionable discoveries/insights8%66%58%These investments aim to enhance the customer experience through improved self-service options and more empowered agents.By adding automation and improving eff

31、iciency,contact centers are able to manage with fewer headcount and fill any knowledge gaps that emerge in the course of staff turnover.Despite consensus on AIs strategic importance and plans for increased investment in AI initiatives,contact centers appear to be curbing near-term ambitions with the

32、 technology.Compared to 2021,contact centers have scaled back on their usage of AI across the board,with advanced applications for AI being set aside for the time being.“AI alleviates the need for extra staff.So if in the past I needed three supervisors,now I only need two because weve got this soft

33、ware in place.AI is able to find the calls and serve them up for our supervisors to listen to.And theyre not spending all that extra effort trying to find the calls”DIRECTOR OF CALL CENTER OPERATIONS,HOME EXTERIOR COMPANYSelf-service features for customers9%20212022Share of companies using or active

34、ly investing in AI capabilities:69%60%Tools to enhance agent performance3%64%61%Real-time error detection/alerts2%64%62%Automatic data entry3%67%64%Workforce management1%63%62%10Implementing new technology always comes with challengesfor AI,there is not only lack of familiarity with it,but concerns

35、over its broader implications on strategic priorities and risks relating to security,IT architecture,and personnel.Contact center leaders are dealing with a limited understanding of the burgeoning AI marketplace and uncertainty about AI solutions and their potential business impact.The rush to embra

36、ce AI initiatives has likely met the reality of the challenges enterprises face in changing core infrastructure,mindsets,processes,and policies.This is reflected in the top barriers CX professionals cite in AI implementation.Security and confidentiality risksInsufficient availability of talent to ma

37、intain itIT infrastructure issuesInsufficient availability of talent to use itResistance to changeLack of strategic visionLack of quality dataInsufficient availability of talent to build itLack of understanding of the business potential of AIUncertain of return on investment1.6.2.7.3.8.4.9.5.10.Top

38、barriers encountered implementing AI:11The challenges companies currently face in implementing AI for customer service can largely be grouped into three categories:2.Security and IT risks and issues1.Gaps in the talent needed to build,use,and maintain AI3.In implementing AI today,leaders should be p

39、ragmatic with regards to how it fits into their current IT architecture,strategic priorities,and workforces while being bold in envisioning the role it can ultimately play in transforming consumer experiences.Misalignment and resistance among leaders to forming a vision around business goals for AI1

40、2III.Leaders could use support in navigating AI decision-making and outcomesChallenges in forming a strategic vision for AI and committing to it coincide with declining confidence among leaders in their familiarity with AI.Contact center leaders and CX professionals report feeling less familiar with

41、 AI tools than they did a year ago.What accounts for this change?It may be that rising turnover has brought in talent that is not as familiar with AI tools.It may be that AI technology has advanced so rapidly that confidence in understanding it is waning.It may also be that leaders have been distrac

42、ted by more pressing priorities over the last year and simply feel they have not kept pace with AI developments.of CX professionals say they are familiar with how AI fits into their organizations contact center,compared to 93%a year ago.87%13Organizations reported experience level in applying AI in

43、the contact center:Concurrently,confidence in advanced AI utilization in companies has gone down and the perception of being a novice has increased.“You need to have all of the right components within your company;you need rudimentary stuff that will work for everybody.Its a very simple process to a

44、ctually make your company much more efficient and utilize the capabilities of AI and machine learning.But it has to be an organizational thing.It cant just be a department thing.”VP GLOBAL SUPPORT,TECHNOLOGY COMPANYAs AI capabilities advance,the traditional sources of information that leaders turn t

45、owards to learn about the technology may prove inadequate.When asked where they typically learn about AI solutions,the majority of respondents reported relying on professional networks and peers for recommendations or online research.However,AI technology companies are likely to have a strong grasp

46、of how their systems will fit into a companys architecture and business aims.AI providers that proactively support and guide CX professionals are likely to build their confidence in maturing their AI deployments.“To learn more about AI I just scheduled time to speak with companies because thats real

47、ly ultimately where youre going to get your knowledge is speaking to the experts themselves.”HEAD OF OPERATIONS,FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANYNoviceAdvanced31%41%2021202133%35%2022202214Sources of information used by CX professionals to learn about AI in contact center software:Given the declining con

48、fidence among leaders,AI vendors have an opportunity to partner more closely with prospects and customers and become trusted advisors and educators in the changing AI landscape.69%Professional networks and colleagues15%Influencers14%TV or radio36%Social media posts33%Vendors at trade shows65%Online/

49、internet15IV.Cloud systems can help overcome AI security and IT challengesAI security presents a catch-22 for leaders.It is seen as a way to improve security while it is itself perceived to pose security risks.Companies expect that AI can ultimately help to improve identity and authentication securi

50、ty and better handle customer data.At the same time,security risks and IT infrastructure limitations are viewed as the two most significant barriers to successful AI implementation.agree that AI technology will allow customer data to be more secure than a live agent.agree that AI will significantly

51、help companies improve identity and authentication security in the next two years.80%75%Among CX professionals:16Among CX professionals:agree their company is limited to less effective native AI solutions in their current contact center architecture.50%agree their company is unable to capitalize on

52、advanced AI by third-party vendors due to constraints of their current contact center architecture.47%The belief that AI will improve security seems to contradict findings that security is a top barrier to implementing AI.However,for many organizations,the limitations of existing contact center arch

53、itecture undermine the recognition of the security benefits of advanced AI.Half of companies are struggling with contact center architecture that does not fully support AI implementationdisplaying a significant need to move to the cloud or to upgrade to a modern cloud contact center platform.Modern

54、cloud contact center vendors build strong security features,but unless the current architecture can integrate it well,companies may be exposed to risk.Contact centers using modern cloud-based platforms typically satisfy the many legal,ethical,and compliance concerns over data securityand experience

55、the enhanced security features of advanced AI.Moving to a modern cloud-based contact center is key to leveraging advanced AI benefits in a secure way.17V.Involving agents in AI management can fill talent gapsAI systems that do not adapt to changing circumstances and consumer needs will quickly lose

56、their value.Today,organizations rely heavily on machine learning and IT professionals to maintain their AI systems.However,they are often challenged with identifying and recruiting necessary talent to use and maintain AI systems.At the same time,agents are increasingly comfortable using AI tools in

57、their own work.Confidence in frontline staffs ability to adapt and use AI tools has increased,as a growing share of leaders believe in agents skills.Although few agents today are involved in AI maintenance,this dynamic presents an opportunity to use the growing expertise of agents to fill knowledge

58、gaps in AI management.In response,AI vendors are developing human in the loop machine learning capabilities that allow agents to train and maintain AI models without advanced AI or programming skills.Democratizing AI accessibility,training,and maintenance lowers the cost of AI investment and reduces

59、 dependency on specialized,difficult to find AI professionals.of CX professionals in 2022 agreed that their agents had skills needed to leverage AI technology,compared to 37%who felt the same in 2021.44%18A lack of advanced AI skills should not stop contact centers from adopting AI technology today.

60、Given the ability AI has to reduce repetitive tasks and transactional work for agents while delivering self-service options that increase customer satisfaction,companies need to harness the power of AI to support them through various staffing challenges.The benefits of AI in the contact center are a

61、vailable now to companies willing to work with trusted partners that deliver modern AI that is easy-to-use and maintain.These solutions are foundational and will enable contact centers to lay the groundwork for exceptional customer experiences that elevate customer service now,while the challenges o

62、f implementing advanced AI solutions are addressed.How organizations train and maintain their AI systems:Contact center supervisor/agentOther internal employee 15%Other/dont know1%External firm/consultantInternal conversational designer2%5%15%Internal AI/machine learning professional32%Internal IT p

63、rofessional30%19Survey demographicsNote:Some of these figures may not total 100%due to rounding North America:58%Contact center agent:13%CX/Client service/Contact center leadership:87%Europe:42%Professional role:Healthcare:7%Information technology:25%Retail:12%Manufacturing:10%Building and construct

64、ion:5%Other:34%Financial services:7%Industry:Region:Under$10 million:14%$10 million to$100 million:33%$100 million to$500 million:20%$500 million to$1 billion:15%More than$1 billion:13%Not sure:4%Annual business revenue:20Automation-first customer experience solutions+1(888)743-3044 Talkdesk is a gl

65、obal cloud contact center leader for customer-obsessed companies.Our automation-first customer experience solutions optimize our customers most critical customer service processes.Our speed of innovation,vertical expertise,and global footprint reflect our commitment to ensuring that businesses can d

66、eliver better experiences across any industry and through any channel,resulting in higher customer satisfaction and accelerated business outcomes.2022 Talkdesk,Inc.All Rights Reserved Worldwide.Unauthorized use,duplication,or modification of this document in whole or in part without the written consent of Talkdesk,Inc.is strictly prohibited.