Recent findings from Gartner have shown that Augmented Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are likely to be dominating enterprise environments by 2030; working in tandem to enhance learning, decision-making, new experiences and overall cognitive performance in the workplace
But whilst AI isalready a household name, Augmented Intelligence is a term that we’re a little less familiar with. So what exactly is Augmented Intelligence – and more importantly, how is it different from AI?
With number of headlines suggesting that AI will soon take over a great number of jobs, thereby leaving a large proportion of the workforce’s skills redundant, this advanced technology is often more feared than revered. However, our research shows that over half of UK workers (59%) don’t actually believe their jobs are at risk of being replaced by AI in the next decade, and instead, embrace it as a tool to help enhance the way they work. 64% of UK employees say AI as making them more efficient. This is the definition of Augmented Intelligence – a combination of human power and AI to achieve stronger results, time after time. Above all, this concept relies on a seamless collaboration between
people and AI to innovate, solve problems, and improve workplace processes with precision and ease.
London’s black cab drivers are a prime example of how Augmented Intelligence can assist workers in performing their roles better. For decades, drivers have been required to pass the gruelling knowledge test, which demands a virtually encyclopaedic mastery of London’s streets. However, GPS technology is now so advanced that it could eliminate the need for this extensive familiarity – and the tradition of acquiring it – in one fell swoop.
This is where Augmented Intelligence comes in. Rather than replacing cab drivers’ expertise, GPS can work alongside them to enhance each journey; interpreting traffic patterns and identifying delays that the drivers can’t yet see to help inform their decision making. The cab drivers can then use their own experience to assess the information provided by the GPS and act accordingly. As such, the optimum output and performance is achieved by a fusion of AI and human input; using the respective skills of each to maximise results.
Enhancing customer experience
When it comes to contact centres, Augmented Intelligence is fast becoming part and parcel of the day-to-day environment. Increasingly, Augmented Intelligence is being embedded in employees’ desktops to act as a form of digital personal assistant; providing real-time suggestions and insights as needed, enhancing the ability to offer more personalised experiences to consumers, and make the employee’s job’s easier all at the same time.
Augmented Intelligence is particularly relevant when it comes to more complex queries. As an example, a customer may query an unexplained extra payment on their water bill by initiating a digital exchange with their water supplier’s chatbot. If the bot can’t solve the question by itself, it can then transfer the query to a human customer service representative. However, rather than dealing with the query from scratch, the employee can capitalise on the information and insights that the bot has already gathered – streamlining the query and using machine learning and natural language processing technologies to solve the issue to the customer’s satisfaction. This is a perfect example of how Augmented Intelligence can be used to enhance customer experience, by using advanced technological insights in harmony with human touch and empathy to deliver truly personalised experiences and outcomes.
Similarly, augmented assistance can act as a digital personal assistant that runs in the background and provides recommendations to agents as and when needed. By providing agents with details of the latest offers and making real-time recommendations tailored to each customer’s behaviours, interaction and purchase history, employees can use these enhanced insights to inform their decision and use their judgement in each situation.
The dawn of the age of Augmented Intelligence
Augmented Intelligence can undoubtedly add value across many business functions, but there is some considerations to keep in mind. Regular governance of the knowledge behind the intelligence must first be applied to ensure relevance to customer and agent queries. Without this sort of policing, out-of-date information could easily slip through the cracks simply because it has search-term relevance to the subject matter. When it comes to genuinely enhancing the customer experience with smart recommendations, tenuous relevance alone is not enough. The information must be timely, relevant and in-date in order to truly add value, and it is only at this point that Augmented Intelligence can integrate seamlessly with day-to-day operations.
In this instance, starting small doesn’t have to mean falling behind. Even with seemingly small tasks, adding Augmented Intelligence can provide big operational gains; such as using a chatbot or a mobie app to carry out customer verification checks at the beginning of an interaction. These tasks, though minor, can be admin-heavy and repetitive for agents; and they are also at risk of human error, particularly if agents find the process labour-intensive and boring. By automating these repetitive processes, businesses can instantly improve employee job satisfaction and customer experience.
Above all, Augmented Intelligence is not about replacing workers – it’s about making them more effective and allowing them to make smarter business decisions. Using advanced technological insights to inform actions, while applying human ingenuity to the overall process. By harmoniously integrating new technologies into business models, the customer and employee experience of the future will be smoother, smarter and stronger.
About the Author
Joe Ciuffo, Product Marketing Director – Artificial Intelligence at Genesys. Every year, Genesys® delivers more than 70 billion remarkable customer experiences for organizations in over 100 countries. Through the power of the cloud and AI, our technology connects every customer moment across marketing, sales and service on any channel, while also improving employee experiences. Find out more: www.genesys.com
