Google to place AI-powered virtual agents in call centres

Google has announced it is working with several partners like Cisco and Genesys to build Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology that will replace some of the work in call centres.

The software is called "Contact Center AI" which will install "virtual agents" that will be the first to pick up the phone when a customer connect to a call centre.

"When the customer asks something that the AI cannot do, it will automatically forward the call to a human," said Fei-Fei Li, Chief Scientist at Google, during the Cloud Next conference here late on Tuesday.

"Our true goal is to empower a contact centre's human agents, as well as the customers that rely on them.

"To do this, we built a complete solution with our partners that includes Dialogflow Enterprise Edition, as well as additional capabilities that are particularly useful for contact centres," Li added.

In this AI technology, when a call is placed, the caller is immediately greeted by a Virtual Agent that answers questions and fulfils tasks all on its own. When a caller's needs surpass the Virtual Agent, it transitions to a human representative.

"From there, the system shifts to a supporting role whereby Contact Centre AI's Agent Assist system supports the conversation and provides the agent with relevant information," Google said.

The result is a flexible solution that adapts to the needs of each and every call, and provides a seamless experience between live and virtual agents, playing as big or as small a role as the situation demands.

"It's compliant with our data privacy and governance policies, and it does it all without infrastructure, on a platform that scales as much or as little as you need," Li noted.

"AI is empowerment, and we want to democratise that power for everyone and every business -- from retail to agriculture, education to health care," she added.