Contact centers are adopting AI-powered voice filters to reduce the stress levels of agents handling angry customers, with the technology showing promising results in improving staff retention and customer relationships.
The problem of angry customers: Dealing with irate customers is a persistent challenge for contact centers, exacerbated by issues such as short staffing and long wait times:
- In 2023, 43% of US customers admitted to yelling or raising their voices to express displeasure, up from 35% in 2015.
- Attracting staff to work in contact centers remains difficult, with AI not yet providing the expected solution to the underlying causes of customer anger.
SoftBank’s AI-powered voice filter: SoftBank Corp, a Japanese telecoms giant, is testing AI software that softens the tone of angry customers:
- The technology blends voice processing and AI-enabled emotion recognition to modify the audio of irate customers, aiming to reduce agents’ stress levels.
- SoftBank hopes the solution will help maintain good customer relationships while ensuring the psychological well-being of their workers.
- If successful, SoftBank will consider commercializing the solution within the next two to three years.
The growing trend of voice modification in contact centers: Over the past two years, many contact centers have been using AI to modify customer-agent conversations:
- 12 of the top 20 customer service BPOs are using AI to modify their agents’ accents, making them sound like they are speaking non-accented American English to avoid potential customer bias.
- Companies using accent translation technology have seen agent turnover rates cut by up to 50%, with reps receiving significantly less abuse.
Broader implications: While AI is often considered in the context of bots and automation, voice modification applications may prove to be a powerful ally for contact center agents:
- These AI-powered solutions can help reduce agent stress, improve retention rates, and maintain better customer relationships.
- As voice remains the primary channel for customer contact, the impact of such applications could be significant in the near future.
- However, it is crucial to ensure that the use of voice filters does not hinder agents’ ability to accurately assess customer emotions and deliver appropriate empathy.
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