5 Signs it’s Time to Upgrade Your IVR to an IVA

If you’re still using IVR technology that was developed 30 years ago, you’re likely no longer providing the level of self-service that customers expect. You’re also missing out on opportunities to increase your automation rates and reduce service costs. Here are five signs it’s time to upgrade to intelligent virtual agents (IVAs).

1. Calls are getting lost in your IVR.

Why it’s time to upgrade

IVAs use natural language processing (NLP) to ask open-ended questions like “How can I help you?” This
eliminates the need for lengthy directed dialog menus and increases routing accuracy.

2. You rely on live agents for routine tasks such as payments and password reset.

Why it’s time to upgrade

IVAs easily integrate with your back-end systems to fulfill simple customer requests, increasing your automation rates and reducing service costs.

3. You have high agent turnover.

Why it’s time to upgrade

Offloading monotonous tasks to IVAs frees up live agents for more rewarding work. IVAs can also help calls go smoother for live agents by passing on customer information and context.

4. You need to scale customer support quickly for spikes in demand.

Why it’s time to upgrade

IVAs work around the clock for 10% of what a live agent costs, and you can build and deploy them in a matter of days or weeks. You can pay per virtual agent, per month with “bursting” features that allow you to scale on demand for unforeseen peaks.

5. Your IVR doesn’t support natural, conversational interactions with customers.

Why it’s time to upgrade

The latest cloud-based natural language services are trained by millions of conversations that Google, IBM and Amazon process for higher accuracy.

References
1. Why you and your agents need natural language IVR, Micro Automation, 2017. https://microautomation.com/why-you-and-your-agents-need-natural-language-ivr
2. Intelligent Automation Post Covid, Inference Solutions, 2020. https://www.inferencesolutions.com/covid-19-intelligent-automation-report
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. The Cost of Call Center Turnover, LOMA, 2018. https://www.loma.org/Publications/Sponsored/Whitepapers/The_Cost_of_Call_Center_Turnover.aspx
6. How to Set Up and Run a Conversational AI Initiative for Customer Service During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Gartner, 2020. https://www.gartner.com/document/3985872?ref=solrAll&refval=273773562
7. Ibid.
8. Evolving IVRs to Conversational Platforms — Critical Technology Issues, Gartner, 2019. https://www.gartner.com/document/3956527?ref=solrAll&refval=273929432