Local GenAI-boosted virtual agents have human-like conversations
Cape Town-based conversational automation specialist Clevva has recently boosted its virtual agents generative AI (GenAI) technology. This allows the virtual agents to have targeted sales, support and service conversations that not only feel human, but get the job...
CCI SA scoops accolades at BPESA Awards
CCI South Africa, with partner organisation impact sourcing service provider CareerBox Africa, were recognised for their contribution to the BPO industry at the BPESA GBA Alchemy Awards 2023. CCI South Africa clinched two major wins at the prestigious awards,...
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 includes...
Innovation without disruption resonates with SA enterprises
Avaya's South African customers face the same challenges in moving to the cloud, and many of them have bought into the company's phased approach. Brett Butler, country manager of Avaya South Africa, points out that many of Avaya's largest customers in the financial...
Innovation without disruption resonates with SA enterprises
Avaya’s South African customers face the same challenges in moving to the cloud, and many of them have bought into the company’s phased approach. Brett Butler, country manager of Avaya South Africa, points out that many of Avaya’s largest customers in the financial...
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...