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 as...
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....
Women can thrive and grow in the BPO industry
One of South Africa's biggest challenges is creating employment opportunities for people from previously disadvantaged communities, particularly its youth and women. By Lizelle Strydom, MD of CareerBox Africa And, while our thoughts turn to the empowerment of women in...
Repetitive conversations don’t have to be expensive
In any contact centre, there are some calls (both inbound and outbound) that essentially boil down to saying the same thing over and over again. These repetitive conversations cover everything from human resources functions (such as people calling to ask how much...
Chatbots set to dominate customer service channels by 2027
A survey conducted by Gartner has found that chatbots will become the primary customer service channel for about a quarter of the world's organisations by the year 2027, having evolved over the past decade into a critical technology component of a service...
Companies turn to multi-factor authentication as fraudsters target call centres
There has been a significant increase in call centres looking to move away from knowledge-based authentication (KBA) to multi-factor authentication (MFA) to boost security without compromising customer experience. The move comes on the back of a growing incidence of...
What if you could speak to an AI you actually like?
If your mobile phone is due for an upgrade, you probably know already. Maybe you love tech and have been eagerly anticipating getting your hands on the latest offering from your favourite manufacturer. By Ryan Falkenberg, co-CEO of Clevva Maybe you've noticed your...
Call centres still a smart career choice – despite AI
An often-overlooked career option for South African school leavers is that of becoming a call centre operator. Given recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), some may now even discard this idea out of hand because of mistaken perceptions about machines taking...
Clickatell announces Chat Commerce Platform as a Service
Clickatell has launched a Chat Commerce Platform as a Service (CCPaaS) that empowers brands to capitalise on the opportunity of Chat Commerce, the emerging next wave of digital commerce. This ground-breaking platform enables businesses to seamlessly connect, interact...
Virtual agents help contact centres deal with unreachable customers
Ask the average South African how load-shedding is affecting businesses, they’ll probably mention mining and industry or small businesses (such as hairdressers and restaurants) that rely on a consistent flow of energy. But the impact of the power outages that have...
Contact centre integration key to meeting Millennial expectations
Contact centres have evolved significantly over the years because of changes in technology, business needs and customer expectations. By Navinder Singh, GM of In2IT Technologies While voice remains a critical component, many customers now prefer to interact via email,...