by Nicole Speciale
Summary: Five9 revealed the enhancement of its Cloud Contact Center Platform with Artificial Intelligence (AI) as one of several moves to promote personalized Customer Journeys.
Event: Five9 announced its Spring Release 2018 and infused its Cloud Contact Center Platform with Genius, an AI layer introduced at its Customer Conference, CX Summit 18 in San Diego. Five9 also recently appointed former Cisco executive Rowan Trollope as CEO.
Five9’s omni-channel communications are a strong component for successful Customer Journeys. (image: Five9)
Analysis
Artificial Intelligence is becoming a must-have technology for Contact Center Platforms as enterprises place growing emphasis on Customer Journeys. Five9’s move to add AI to its platform is a timely one and it represents a trend in the evolution of Contact Center Platforms. AI is aiding in navigating large volumes of incoming interactions, directing them to qualified agents, and cutting out monotonous Q&A practices that gather preliminary client information.
Five9 Launches Five9 Genius for Contact Center
Five9’s Spring Release includes a new layer of AI, known as “Genius,” which will mediate between the front-end and back-end layers. This Artificial Intelligence layer will leverage Natural Language Processing (NLP), Analytics, Machine Learning, and Workflow to ensure that customers experience a quick and seamless Support interaction.
This new Genius layer serves several critical functions. Machine Learning, NLP, and Analytics make sure that customers are routed to a qualified agent with expertise to resolve the issue. Customer insights provided at the time of a call promote a personalized Customer Journey. For example, AI Analytics can sense a person’s frustration and communicate this to the support agent.
Customer Journeys Are Gaining a Boost from AI
More AI-backed technologies are making their way into Contact Center Platforms because they help resolve issues preventing successful Customer Journeys. The Customer Journey has become a strong focal point for enterprises that recognize that improving these journeys is key to a loyal consumer base.
Infusing Artificial Intelligence into Contact Center Platforms is just as beneficial for enterprises as it is for consumers. Enterprises that are able to more effectively route, address, and resolve interactions will spend less time trying to navigate these tasks and will likely be able to maintain a satisfied customer base. This is a key example of how AI offers enterprises a strong advantage.
Five9 Adds Performance Dashboards and Supervisor Plus
Five9’s Performance Dashboard now offers increased scalability, a 360-degree view of the Contact Center, and provides insights. Real-time, historical, and omni-channel data and insights, combined with AI, make sure that Contact Center representatives have everything they need to promote seamless and effective Customer Journeys.
The Supervisor Plus Desktop allows all Five9 channels to be managed from a single point and supports omni-channel communications. From this dashboard, managers can view all active calls and agent activity, observe interactions discreetly, and manage agent skills through test calls and chats.
The Market Impact
While vendors, such as Genesys, have announced and shipped AI offerings, Five9 is one of the first native Cloud Contact Center Providers to do so. This will create new competition in what Aragon refers to as the Intelligent Contact Center. The Intelligent Contact Center (ICC) integrates modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies with current Contact Center functions and workflow to improve the Customer Sales and Support Journeys.
Aragon Advisory:
- Enterprises should evaluate Five9 along with other Contact Center Providers as part of an overall Customer Journeys strategy.
- AI-infused Contact Centers are part of a solution to improved customer experiences, but do not replace the need for human agents.
- Enterprises already using Five9’s Cloud Contact Center can anticipate being able to effectively address interactions at a faster pace and leverage tools to provide a more personalized approach.
Bottom Line
Five9’s addition of Artificial Intelligence into its Contact Center Platform will help power Customer Journeys and engage the customer bases of the enterprises that use Five9. Omni-channel communications combined with AI remove a lot of the friction and frustration for Contact Center users and ensure that consumers are provided with the proper level of support.