In February ISG (Information Services Group), a leading global technology research and advisory firm, published their ‘ISG Provider Lens™ Intelligent Automation – Solutions & Services’ report. This Quadrant Study provides business leaders and decision makers with an overview of the market and an analysis of vendors’ product capabilities, industry expertise, and strategic partnerships. The report includes a comparison of 19 conversational AI vendors against a robust set of market-driven criteria.
Implementing conversational AI is an important piece of an organisation’s digital experience strategy and partnering with the right vendor is key. Independent reviews, like this one from ISG, can help companies with their vendor selection process.
Following
from this report, I recently sat down virtually for a discussion with Mrinal
Rai, Principal Analyst at ISG and author of the Conversational AI Quadrant, and
Jan Erik Aase, Partner and Global Head – ISG Provider Lens. We explored the
findings of ISG’s conversational AI research as well as the following
questions:
What
current trends and developments in conversational AI are important when
evaluating virtual agent and chatbot management platforms?
With
conversational AI now being a key part of omnichannel support strategies, how
are the roles and responsibilities of contact centre agents and customer
service professionals evolving?
What
are the biggest barriers organisations face when it comes to building,
deploying, and maintaining successful projects?
What
impact has the pandemic had on the implementation and usage of conversational
AI tools?
When
setting project goals, what KPIs should organisations identify and what results
should they expect?
A few key
takeaways from ISG’s analysis of the conversational AI market and our discussion:
When
evaluating conversational AI, it’s not just about the solutions themselves but
also how they blend machine learning with human intelligence.
Integrating
virtual agents and chatbots with other systems and information sources is
essential for creating a positive experience and achieving long-term success.
Contact
centre agents are becoming conversational designers, helping to train the
chatbot or conversational AI system and keep self-service solutions updated and
accurate.
Organisations
attempting to take on a conversational AI project internally without the right
knowledge, skills, and toolset is a common barrier to project success.
When
it comes to designing and implementing conversational AI projects, knowing what
doesn’t work is just as important as knowing what does.
Having
a human-in-the-loop combined with machine learning gives organisations the
ability to change responses within their virtual agent quickly, safely, and
securely so they can deliver reliable, up-to-date information.
About
five years ago, there was a big focus on contact deflect when implementing
these tools, but now that has shifted more to improving the customer experience
(CX) as companies recognise this as a competitive differentiator.
