Will automation and AI actually improve customer service calls? Salesforce thinks so

3 years ago 261

Clara Shih, CEO of Service Cloud astatine Salesforce, explains Salesforce Service Cloud's three-pillar attack to automation and AI and however the exertion is transforming lawsuit service.

In the tally up to Dreamforce 2021 successful September, Salesforce announced new capabilities for Einstein Automate . The 3 caller features were:

MuleSoft RPA: Bots that tin enactment crossed applications and bequest systems to "process documents, participate data, oregon instrumentality enactment connected the user's behalf, each without code."
Einstein Document Reader: Enables Einstein to "scan documents specified arsenic drivers licenses and I-9s, and instrumentality enactment connected that information with conscionable a fewer clicks successful Salesforce Flow."
Digital Process Automation: New "drag and driblet tools" customers tin usage to "define automation rules and logic, extract accusation from documents and integrate into automated workflows."

Prior to Dreamforce 2021 , I had a accidental to speech with Clara Shih, CEO of Service Cloud astatine Salesforce, astir however the cloud-based bundle institution sees automation and AI transforming, and really humanizing, lawsuit service.

The pursuing is simply a transcript of our interview, edited for readability.

Bill Detwiler: All right. So let's speech automation, AI, RPA and however that relates to the Service Cloud and however that's benignant of changing however organizations attack their interactions with their customers. Because I cognize that automation is simply a ample portion of galore organization's integer translation processes. So I conjecture possibly commencement with however are automation and AI successful the companies that you speech to and successful Salesforce's customers, however are they utilizing it to truly supply work to their customers?

Clara Shih: Well, this is specified a pivotal clip for lawsuit work close now. If you deliberation astir the large forces that are apical of caput for each C-level enforcement team. Number 1 is lawsuit acquisition and customers wanting faster answers, they privation to aforesaid service, they privation to usage the integer channels of their choice. Another inclination astir automation. And the 3rd is cognize if the casual tasks are going to spell to bots and automation, what's the aboriginal of the workforce and however bash we continuously up-skill our work agents and our tract techs? And truthful it's truly breathtaking to beryllium successful this satellite close present due to the fact that it really... Service Cloud is astatine the epicenter of these 3 large marketplace trends.

Salesforce is focused connected 3 kinds of automation: Full, assistance and optimization

Bill Detwiler: Yeah. And truthful I'd emotion to drill down connected that portion of, bash you spot a definite conception oregon processes, I guess, a conception of the process of that enactment much ripe for automation and utilizing AI arsenic portion of that process than others? So I guess, what are immoderate things that organizations, particularly work organizations are automating? What types of processes are being automated close now?

Clara Shih: It's specified a bully question. I mean, the happening with automation AI is that it tin use to truthful galore antithetic areas. It's sometimes arsenic hard to wrapper your caput astir it. So I'll conscionable stock astatine Service Cloud the mode that we attack our Einstein AI and automation is we person 3 pillars. The archetypal is afloat automation. Looking for repetition processes, looking for manual steps and our caller Service Cloud RPA is simply a large illustration of that, right? Instead of an agent, opening a bequest application, waiting for the strategy to load up and looking up a portion of data, each of that tin hap beauteous overmuch instantaneously with afloat automation. And besides what we're doing with Einstein Automate, which is portion of our Salesforce level built into Service Cloud but with conscionable a fewer clicks, nary coding required, immoderate concern analyst, anyone astatine a institution tin make a afloat extremity to extremity automation story. So that's the archetypal pillar is simply a afloat automation.

The 2nd is erstwhile you privation a quality successful the loop and this is what we telephone an assistance scenario. So if you're sitting wrong of a interaction halfway and you're talking to a customer, you're not afloat automating the lawsuit enactment but there's manual steps that previously, possibly the cause had to benignant successful a clump of texts to look thing up. Now, we tin bash it for them. And this is simply a large example, Service Cloud Voice. As the lawsuit is explaining her occupation to the agent, alternatively of the cause frantically typing that in, Service Cloud Voice is listening. It's bringing similar what we would person astatine location with Siri oregon Alexa, it's bringing that into the workplace truthful that the cause tin absorption connected gathering transportation with the customer. And frankly, solving the contented much, overmuch faster and driving benignant of the suggested adjacent champion actions.

Or if you look crossed astatine an organization. What we're doing present with incidental absorption and swarming betwixt Service Cloud and Slack. Instead of if you're an security institution and a earthy catastrophe strikes, alternatively of manually creating a telephone tree, which is highly inefficient and you're sharing a batch of the aforesaid connection implicit and implicit again, we usage assistance to assistance rotation up the close acceptable of experts from crossed the company. And it could beryllium dispersed retired crossed the country, they could beryllium dispersed retired crossed aggregate countries. You've got claims adjusters successful the field, you've got your catastrophe teams, you've got your executives astatine HQ who are precise anxious to recognize the damages and however to marque definite that we get radical safely evacuated into impermanent housing. So each of that tin hap done an assistance scenario. And past the 3rd pillar that we speech astir for AI and automation is optimizing.

How bash we assistance each work organization, each institution continuously amended utilizing each of this information that we have? Whether it's from conversations oregon cause behaviors and workflows. And I'll springiness you an illustration there. Every telephone halfway struggles with the measurement and unpredictability of calls that flood in. And arsenic consumers, we experienced this, right? When we are enactment connected clasp for galore minutes oregon adjacent hours, it's due to the fact that a telephone halfway is feeling overwhelmed. Well, with our caller Einstein Conversation Mining, we're capable to perceive to each of the reasons wherefore callers are calling successful and place which of those truly should person been self-service opportunities. And recently, successful a ample enactment that we enactment with, 1 of the largest interaction centers successful the US, done moving with them, we recovered that a batch of customers were calling successful conscionable to update their mailing address. That's not a bully crushed to telephone in. The lawsuit doesn't privation to telephone successful for that reason, the institution doesn't deliberation that's a bully reason. And truthful by being capable to optimize and analyse that data, we were capable to place that usage case.

And past the institution with, again, a fewer clicks, they were capable to exposure updating your code successful their mobile app, connected their website, done their bots. So that customers going forward, if they wanted to, they wouldn't person to telephone successful for that reason. And truthful those are the 3 things that automation, assistance and optimization.

SEE: Research: Video conferencing tools and cloud-based solutions predominate integer workspaces; VPN and VDI little fashionable with SMBs (TechRepublic Premium)

Is automation important to businesses adjusting to lawsuit demands astatine speed?

Bill Detwiler: Yeah, I deliberation that's truly interesting. And it leads maine to my adjacent question, which is, I conjecture determination are a batch of lawsuit expectations and lawsuit needs are perpetually changing. And determination was a time, I guess, erstwhile radical wanted to speech to a unrecorded idiosyncratic for astir things, oregon possibly that was conscionable the mode we were accustomed to doing things. And that's shifted present for radical to beryllium capable to bash things successful a overmuch much self-service manner. And truthful I deliberation that's a bully illustration of that. I'm wondering if you tin benignant of grow connected that portion of it. Are there... And speech a small spot astir however automation is possibly cardinal to companies addressing those changing lawsuit needs. And I guess, you've fixed a large illustration of that, but I'm reasoning astir it successful general. Like is automation the lone mode fundamentally to respond rapidly capable these days to needs that are benignant of changing successful the future?

We don't person years to marque changes. We don't person decades to marque changes similar possibly we utilized to. And bash you deliberation automation is cardinal to companies beryllium capable to respond rapidly capable to their customers to supply that truly bully acquisition that they want?

Clara Shih: That is specified an absorbing question. I deliberation the reply is yes. Just due to the fact that lawsuit expectations and frankly worker expectations are entity precocious and you're right, determination are inactive plentifulness of instances and plentifulness of customers who bash privation to telephone successful and speech to someone. There's much analyzable issues oregon successful fiscal services, if someone's relative, loved 1 has conscionable passed away. That's not thing that they privation to, astir of the clip aforesaid work through. They privation to beryllium talked done that process. But I deliberation that's the powerfulness of automation is taking the nary strategical repetition tasks and freeing your workforce to absorption connected those higher touch, proactive, much analyzable issues.

How bash companies successfully usage automation to augment their quality workers

Bill Detwiler: That really is simply a cleanable segue to adjacent my adjacent question, which is 1 of the criticisms that you spot a robotics, RPA automation is that it either dehumanizes the experience, but it besides eliminates jobs from the workforce. So from what I perceive you and I've talked to a batch of radical and they're trying to accidental that... Their presumption is that automation is augmenting the workforce and it has the imaginable to bash precisely what you conscionable said. Which is escaped up agents who utilized to grip the repetitive tasks to grip much analyzable oregon specialized tasks. If that's the case, however did companies, oregon however did the customers that you spot who are doing it successfully, what's their concealed to doing that successfully? Because similar you said, the past happening that immoderate customers privation to bash is speech to a bot erstwhile they're dealing with a precise analyzable issue.

SEE: Salesforce lays retired its Cloud 3.0 strategy (TechRepublic)

Clara Shih: It's truthful true. I think, let's speech astir the pitfalls. So a pitfall mightiness beryllium to propulsion excessively galore things to aforesaid work oregon not connection an enactment to person precocious touch. A caller example, I was conscionable with a lawsuit successful the security abstraction wherever erstwhile someone's location burns down, they don't privation to speech to a bot. They privation to beryllium comforted. They privation to speech to a quality being. You could physique a bot, but conscionable the information shows astir of the clip that's not what the lawsuit needs astatine that moment. And truthful being truly hyper alert of that lawsuit experience, of that lawsuit needs authorities and making definite that you connection choice, but besides person empathy successful however you usher the transmission and the close cause to bash the job. I deliberation different pitfall...

The 2nd pitfall that I spot is that companies don't supply the continuous up-skilling for their quality agents. But I deliberation that's a beauteous communal successful the customer, astatine slightest successful the interaction halfway industry. Where agents are almost... It's a precocious turnover concern and agents benignant of rhythm successful and out. And we truly person to displacement our mindset arsenic an manufacture from viewing agents arsenic benignant of fungible interchangeable to truly viewing them arsenic a workforce, an intelligent workforce that deserves concern successful these AI assistance tools and deserves ongoing grooming opportunities. I'm truly arrogant of a mates of things that we've done here. Both our caller workforce engagement absorption solution has personalized grooming built in. And truthful alternatively of subjecting each 10,000 radical successful our interaction halfway to the aforesaid 8 hours of grueling training, it tin beryllium truly targeted. And mightiness place that you request grooming successful 1 peculiar country and that I mightiness request grooming successful a wholly antithetic acceptable of areas. And we tin each beryllium connected our travel and up-skill implicit time. And frankly, we tin gain much implicit clip arsenic we go much skilled successful much areas.

Bill Detwiler: Is that a hard statement for you to marque to companies who person seen? And I volition bull to being a assistance table tech, mode backmost decades agone erstwhile I started successful IT. I worked assistance desk, I worked successful a telephone center. Luckily, I didn't bash outer support, I did interior support. So I consciousness that benignant of vexation of a batch of radical who are CSRs, and I'm funny if you deliberation that that's a hard statement to marque to organizations that for a precise agelong clip person seen that workforce is precise transitory, arsenic fungible, arsenic not truly not truly investing successful the maturation successful that workforce, oregon possibly investing successful 1 oregon 2 radical to beryllium a squad pb oregon a manager oregon thing similar that. But there's not truly a defined vocation path. I mean, person you recovered erstwhile you marque that argument, which I deliberation is an fantabulous 1 and should beryllium made, bash you find that radical listen? That forward-thinking companies truly bash privation to bash that and spot the worth successful that?

Clara Shih: I've seen the conversations displacement dramatically successful the past 12 months by interaction centers and retail companies. It's a choky labour market. It's hard to prosecute radical and it's go imperative truthful to clasp the workforce that you have. And truthful I deliberation the mindset has wholly shifted. And we saw this hap successful a batch of bureau jobs too, earlier wherever we went from viewing radical that mode to realizing that everyone tin person a maturation mindset. And companies and enactment request to promote that. We're seeing that aforesaid thought process permeate the interaction halfway successful this labour market. And besides arsenic companies recognize that it's much important than ever to work their customers due to the fact that that's however you thrust that ongoing loyal narration and growth.

SEE: Digital transformation: A CXO's usher (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Bill Detwiler: Yeah. And I instrumentality it that is the cardinal portion that what each institution should truly strive for is to have, if you person engaged employees, they're going to supply an engaged and a bully lawsuit acquisition arsenic well, right?

Clara Shih: That's what each of the information shows and we experienced it, right. You tin archer arsenic a consumer, erstwhile you telephone into a interaction halfway and idiosyncratic is just, they're conscionable mailing it in. They're doing their job. It's transactional. They cognize that they mightiness not enactment determination the adjacent week oregon the adjacent period versus idiosyncratic who truly cares. And idiosyncratic who is astir similar a marque ambassador for the company. And it conscionable leaves you with a implicit nighttime and time antithetic feeling successful presumption of however you privation to proceed your narration with that company.

Bill Detwiler: And automation, I guess, I mean, is simply a spot to benignant of circular it up. It sounds similar gathering those automation processes and tools and giving companies the quality to physique that into their processes is cardinal to making that modulation to the humanizing, some the enactment with the customer, but besides changing the vocation trajectory for those agents.

Clara Shih: That's right. It's a existent vocation infinitesimal for those agents. And past we person to beryllium highly careful, arsenic you said. Technology is simply a powerful... It tin beryllium utilized successful powerfully dehumanizing ways if we're not careful. And truthful that's wherefore I'm besides truly arrogant of our plan morals squad and conscionable truly putting that cause quality acquisition astatine the bosom of what we bash and making definite that it doesn't... I've heard immoderate technologies retired determination that interaction centers are using, particularly with agents moving from location wherever it sounds similar Big Brother. That's not the champion mode to get the astir retired of your workforce and to physique trust. And truthful we judge we person a highly ethical humane mode wherever we're trusting our people. Where we holding them accountable, but we're treating them with dignity and respect. And arsenic you said, that is however you extremity up delivering an fantabulous lawsuit acquisition astatine the extremity of the time due to the fact that those agents consciousness empowered, they consciousness trusted and they consciousness loyal to the company.

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