Talking to chatbots sucks – but it doesn’t have to

Most chatbots suck. For years, industry mavens promised that they would fundamentally transform customer service, writes By Ryan Falkenberg, co-CEO of Clevva. Unlike human agents, the thinking went, chatbots are available 24/7 and, because companies pre-populate their...

CCI SA opens a new contact centre in Umlazi

CCI South Africa has opened its new Umlazi contact centre at Umlazi Mega City, marking the first contact centre opened in a township for the company. Umlazi is the biggest township in KwaZulu-Natal, with nearly half a million residents. Because of the high costs of...

These things should be standard in your VoIP system

Very little is certain in the world of business. That quickly becomes apparent to anyone who’s ever started a business or even reached the executive level in a company. There are, however, things that all businesses should be able to take for granted. That...

Why business should care about how virtual agents are used

Businesses everywhere are under pressure to deliver better service at less cost. Most have looked at some form of digital solution, but do they really work? Ryan Falkenberg, co-CEO of Clevva, comments: “Virtual agents are constantly evolving and becoming more...

Virtual agents could free BPOs to cash in on local EQ

Advanced intelligent automation (IA) virtual agents shift the burden of repetitive, rules-based queries and work away from human agents. This should not be seen as a threat to South Africa’s call centres and business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, but rather...

How to design voice assistants for South Africans

South African languages pose quite a challenge to voice assistants. The country recognises 12 official dialects, but these subdivide into many regional, cultural and colloquial accents. Most South Africans speak more than one language, further colouring their speech....