Zendesk has revealed a range of AI-driven solutions aimed at enhancing omnichannel customer support and strengthening the collaboration between human and AI agents.
The company announced the introduction of AI-powered agents for omnichannel support, an enhanced agent copilot, a new AI-powered voice solution, and an AI agent builder. These offerings are designed to deliver improved customer service that is easy to use, scalable, and impactful for businesses.
The fully-featured voice solution is intended to provide unified and enhanced customer support throughout the call journey. Customers can now interact with an AI Agent that operates round the clock, capable of resolving issues on its own and escalating to human agents only when necessary.
Tom Eggemeier, CEO of Zendesk, stated, "AI is now bridging the gap between high quality service, at a lower cost, while delivering much more personalised experiences." He emphasised the partnership between human agents and AI, noting it can result in faster issue resolution and higher customer satisfaction while providing valuable business insights.
The Zendesk CX Trends Report highlighted that 77% of business leaders are beginning to experiment with or implement AI to enhance customer service, though many feel they are not yet meeting the rapidly rising customer expectations. Kellie Hackney, Country Leader for Australia and New Zealand, remarked, "Many of the business leaders we speak to tell us their customer service teams are under more pressure than ever to meet heightened customer expectations and the growing volume of customer service interactions." She added that with a predicted five-fold increase in customer service interactions by 2027, the new AI capabilities will help organisations deliver faster, more personalised services, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
The enhanced agent copilot offers improved autonomy and proactivity, featuring an "auto assist" mode, copilot business procedures to keep agents aligned with the latest processes, and the ability to provide insights directly within the AI-powered workspace.
According to Pablo Rodriguez, Senior Product Support Manager at Catapult, the implementation of agent copilot has resulted in decreased agent handle times and improved resolution time. "It has helped us deliver faster, more consistent customer experience globally while improving overall efficiency and support quality," Rodriguez explained.
The new AI agent builder allows companies to easily set up and customise AI agents for various channels, including voice, enabling seamless and automated interactions. AI agents can now deliver instant responses, manage more complex issues, and automate a significant portion of voice interactions through a partnership with Poly.ai.
Zendesk further announced enhancements to AI-powered insights, which can now provide detailed analysis of customer conversations, extract key insights, and offer real-time business intelligence, helping organisations improve customer experience strategies.
