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The future of agent-assisted interactions in banking

The future of agent-assisted interactions in banking | EasySend blog
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5 minutes

Banks are turning to digital channels to provide their customers with a more convenient, personalized experience.

Personal touchpoints are being replaced by self-service interactions at a rapid pace. At the same time, agent-assisted interactions are becoming more complex as banks strive to meet the needs of their customers.

In the past, agent-assisted interactions were primarily focused on providing customer support in the call center. However, they are now evolving to include a wider range of services such as account management, financial advice, and product recommendations, as well as expanding into new channels to interact with customers.

Today, agent-assisted interactions are live, interactive sessions between a customer and an agent that use multiple channels such as call centers, chat, video, or voice messaging to provide support, sales, or service.

This shift is being driven by two key trends: the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in agent-assisted interactions, and the growing popularity of digital channels.

Trends transforming agent-assisted interactions

Agent-assisted interactions are being transformed by a number of factors, including the following:

  • The rise of digital channels: Customers are increasingly using digital channels such as chatbots and digital assistants to interact with businesses. As a result, agent-assisted interactions are becoming more complex, with agents needing to provide support across multiple channels.
  • The need for speed: Customers expect agent-assisted interactions to be faster and more efficient. As a result, banks are investing in new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to help agents resolve queries more quickly.
  • The demand for personalization: Customers want agent-assisted interactions to be personalized to their needs. This is driving banks to invest in customer relationship management (CRM) systems that help agents gather data about customers and provide tailored recommendations.
  • The growth of mobile: Customers are using mobile devices more frequently to interact with businesses. This is leading banks to invest in mobile-friendly agent-assisted interactions such as chatbots and voice messaging.
  • The rise of AI and chatbots: Banks are using AI-powered chatbots to automate customer support. This is helping them to improve agent productivity and resolve queries more quickly.

The role of artificial intelligence in agent-assisted interactions

AI is playing a major role in agent-assisted interactions, with chatbots becoming more sophisticated and capable of handling a wider range of tasks. In the future, AI will enable agent-assisted interactions to become even more personalized and efficient.

However, personal touch points are still important to customers, particularly when it comes to complex tasks such as financial advice. As a result, banks will need to strike a balance between AI-driven and human agent-assisted interactions.

The importance of digital customer data collection for agent-assisted interactions

A lot of customer interactions revolve around collecting customer data, documents and signatures. The process is often manual, time-consuming and error-prone.

Imagine a customer wants to open a new bank account. They would need to provide their name, address, date of birth, phone number, email address and other personal information. The agent would then have to input this data into the bank's systems manually.

Customers also must provide documentation such as a government-issued ID, proof of address and proof of income. This process can be even more time-consuming, as the agent must verify that the documents are valid and match the customer's information.

Today, customers often have to be physically present in the bank to open an account. In the future, banks will be able to use digital channels such as video conferencing to collect customer data and documents.

Problems with the lack of unified customer data collection tools

Currently, each bank has its own systems for collecting customer data. Data is often collected via paper, PDF, and web forms or over the phone, and is then manually entered into the bank's systems. This can lead to errors, as well as duplicate data entry.

The lack of a centralized data collection process can lead to agent frustration, customer attrition, and ultimately decreased revenues.

It often creates a frustrating experience for the customer as they have to repeat themselves or go through multiple channels to resolve their issue.

Digital data collection also reduces the risk of human error, as all data is stored centrally and securely and is accessible to all teams, creating a 360 view of the customer.

In the future, banks will need to invest in unified customer data collection tools. This will help agents input customer information into the correct system quickly and accurately.

Agent assisted interactions in the call center | EasySend blog

What are digital data intake journeys?

A digital data intake journey is a guided process that takes the customer through a series of steps, such as inputting their data, uploading documents, and signing paperwork.

Because digital data intake journeys collect customer data through a series of interactive steps, rather than a complex form or over a phone call, they are more user-friendly and efficient. Digital journeys can also dynamically adapt to customer input, which further improves the customer experience.

Data intake journeys can be used for a wide range of agent-assisted interactions in banking, such as account openings, loan applications, and financial advice.

In the future, digital data intake journeys will become the norm for agent-assisted interactions in banking. They will help banks reduce errors, improve customer satisfaction, and increase agent productivity.

What are the benefits of digital data intake journeys?

  • User friendly UI: digital data intake journeys have a user-friendly interface that is easy for customers to navigate.
  • Interactive: digital data intake journeys are interactive, so customers can input their information step-by-step.
  • Adaptive: digital data intake journeys can dynamically adapt to customer input, which further improves the customer experience.
  • Centralized: digital data intake journeys store all customer information in a centralized location, so it is accessible to all teams.

Some features that distinguish data intake journeys from other data collection methods include:

  • Co-browsing: digital data intake journeys allow agents to co-browse with customers, so they can help them through the process
  • Two-way integrations with internal systems: digital data intake journeys have two-way integrations with internal systems, so customer information is inputted into the correct system quickly and accurately.
  • Pre-fill and auto-fill capabilities: digital data intake journeys have pre-fill and auto-fill capabilities, so customer information is inputted automatically.
  • Personalization and conditional workflows: digital data intake journeys are personalized and have conditional workflows, so customers only see the information that is relevant to them.

Future-proof tech stack for agent-assisted interactions

The agent-assisted interaction landscape is changing rapidly, with new technologies emerging all the time. As a result, banks need to ensure that their call center tech stack is future-proof.

To do this, banks should consider investing in a variety of technologies, including:

  • Cloud call center software: A cloud-based call center platform gives banks the flexibility to scale up or down quickly, as well as access the latest features and integrations.
  • AI-powered chatbots: Chatbots can handle a wide range of customer queries, freeing up agent time for more complex tasks.
  • Unified customer data collection tools: Banks need to invest in unified, omnichannel customer data collection tools integrated directly with their CRM and internal systems.
  • CRM integration: A CRM system gives agents a 360-degree view of the customer, including all interactions, history, and data.
  • Reporting and analytics: reporting and analytics tools provide valuable insights into call center performance, helping banks to identify areas for improvement.

Banks should also consider investing in training for their agents. This will help them to keep up with the latest trends and technologies and provide the best possible service to customers.

The future of agent-assisted interactions

The agent-assisted interaction landscape is changing rapidly, as new technologies emerge and digital transformation takes hold in the banking sector.

Banks need to ensure that their call center tech stack is future-proof, by investing in a variety of technologies to support their service agents. Agent-assisted interactions will need to move beyond the traditional phone call. In the future, agent-assisted interactions will be powered by digital data collection and artificial intelligence.

In order for agent-assisted interactions to be more efficient, it is important for banks to have a digital customer data collection infrastructure in place. This will enable agent-assisted interactions to be more targeted and personalized, as well as helping to reduce the time it takes to resolve queries.

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About EasySend

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Vera Smirnoff
Vera Smirnoff

Vera Smirnoff is the demand generation manager at EasySend. She covers digital transformation in insurance and banking and the latest trends in InsurTech and digital customer experience.