Intelligent Virtual Assistant

You may have heard the term ‘Intelligent Virtual Assistant’ used more frequently recently — in articles about speech technology, artificial intelligence, and a broad range of other topics.

In an age where technology is constantly improving consumers’ daily lives, companies are also ready for a tech helper. However, the personal virtual assistants that the public knows and loves – Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri – are not in line with what the business sector requires. The answer to business-to-consumer needs? Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs).

Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs) are typically used by enterprise businesses to effectively communicate with their customer base and provide highly functional self-service. With IVAs, customers receive both a personal and human experience. They can speak in their own words and be understood, regardless of accent and background noises, across all channels.

In 2016, we spent a lot of time talking about Intelligent Virtual Assistants: what they are, how they are used, what’s contributing to their increasing popularity, and the benefits they bring to customer care.

With the rise of Personal Virtual Assistant offerings from Apple, Amazon, and Google, the fact is that these brands are increasingly becoming part of your customers’ lives. With a simple voice command, these AI-powered helpers provide on-demand information and productivity. And, when it comes to your customers, you have every reason to be jealous.

I recently presented at SpeechTEK 2016 and was very encouraged by the enthusiasm and momentum surrounding our industry. It’s clear that Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have finally come of age.

Recently, I hosted a forward-thinking interactive session at Frost & Sullivan Customer Contact East titled “Automated Customer Care with a Human Touch.” Based on the findings from a recent study on consumers’ experiences with automated customer service interfaces, the session raised some interesting points about the current state of customer care.

There are countless reasons for calling customer service centers. Perhaps a phone line has static, or cable service is out, or a new customer needs help with WiFi (News – Alert) settings, or a scheduled appointment needs to be changed, or maybe Mom ordered the wrong size Halloween costume and needs to quickly exchange it.