Finding the Synergy Between AI Capabilities and Human Agents to Enhance Customer Experience

Enterprises are strategically aligning their priorities to emphasize customer experience while concurrently optimizing costs. This approach has fueled the surge in nearshore outsourcing, underpinned by considerations such as data security, cultural alignment, and the imperative for swifter response times. The increased usage of digital channels, coupled with the integration of generative AI and cloud-based solutions, signifies a paradigm shift in the contact center outsourcing landscape. This technology integration is poised to drive the growth of contact center services as organizations increasingly seek tailored solutions by leveraging data-driven insights to navigate the intricate dynamics of the contemporary business environment.

These emerging trends are covered in our Contact Center Business Process Transformation 2023–2024 Market Insights™ and Contact Center Business Process Transformation 2023–2024 RadarView™.

The report gives organizations a view into the changing landscape of contact center services. It highlights key enterprise and outsourcing trends and identifies service providers that can help clients reshape their customer service function.

Avasant evaluated 50 providers using three dimensions: practice maturity, domain ecosystem, and investments and innovation. Of those 50 providers, we recognized 27 who brought the most value to the market over the past 12 months.

The report recognizes service providers in four categories:

• • Leaders: Alorica, Concentrix, Foundever, Teleperformance, TELUS International, TTEC, and Sutherland
  • Innovators: Atento, Cognizant, Genpact, HCLTech, TCS, and Tech Mahindra
  • Disruptors: Conduent, EXL, Firstsource, HGS, Infosys, Movate, ResultsCX, Transcom, VXI Global Solutions, and Wipro
  • Challengers: ibex, Mphasis, Startek, and WNS

Figure 1 from the full report illustrates these categories:

“The integration of generative AI provides newer opportunities to meet the evolving customer expectations,” said Matthew Barlow, Avasant managing partner. “To achieve this, it is imperative to leverage secure AI solutions with technology-enabled services, prioritize continuous agent training, and use flexible ways to engage with customers.”

The report provides several findings, including the following:

• • Enterprises are increasingly leveraging generative AI to amplify NLP capabilities in customer service. This is evident from about 34% of service provider revenue coming from channels other than phone calls.
  • Companies are adopting omnichannel communication with an emphasis on a unified, personalized customer experience across various channels to align with evolving customer preferences to ensure consistency in brand interaction.
  • Service providers are enabling enterprises in their multichannel communication strategy through outcome- and transaction-based commercial engagements, which rose by nearly 18% YOY and contributed to about 28% of client engagements.
  • Service providers are increasingly expanding nearshore locations as enterprises demand cultural alignment and geographical proximity.
  • The trend of leveraging data collection mechanisms across all channels continues with a focus on customer behaviour, preferences, emerging trends, and pain points.

“Enterprises are harnessing the synergies between AI and human agents to facilitate faster and smoother customer interactions,” said Avasant Research Leader Aditya Jain. “They favor partners that can help them enhance their contact center through improved agent productivity and quality of interaction for a consistent experience across channels.”

The RadarView also features detailed profiles of 27 service providers, along with their solutions, offerings, and experience in assisting organizations in their customer service transformation.

This Research Byte is a brief overview of the Contact Center Business Process Transformation 2023–2024 Market Insights™ and Contact Center Business Process Transformation 2023–2024 RadarView™ (click for pricing).