AI Is Lifting Service-Center Performance - Bain & Company

The science of service centers has advanced with hold-time estimates, call-back options and voice-recognition technologies. Yet once the customer reaches an agent, odds are high that the agent will not be able to solve the problem in one go. Unsolved problems lead to more complaints, greater customer churn and wasted time of employees trying to calm upset customers. Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to substantially improve the experience. Early efforts are helping companies improve the overall customer experience, while reducing costs--in staff time, service escalations such as field technician visits, and defecting customers--in the bargain.