Google is Building 'Virtual Agents' To Handle Call Centers' Grunt Work (qz.com)

Google is officially building AI technology to replace some of the work in call centers, the company announced at its Cloud Next conference today, confirming earlier reports. From a report: The software is called Contact Center AI, and Google is working with at least a dozen partners, such as Cisco and Vonage, to install "virtual agents" that will be the first to pick up the phone when a customer is routed to a call center. When the customer asks something that the AI can't do, it will automatically forward the call to a human, according to a blog post by Google Cloud chief scientist Fei-Fei Li. Li writes that new AI shares some underlying technology as Google Duplex, the AI service showed off earlier this year that emulates a human voice to call restaurants and make reservations. This means that with Contact Center AI, it's unlikely a customer would know they're talking to a robot unless it was disclosed at the beginning of the call.

Comments

becase tech support

[Presto Vivace]

was not bad enough

Re:becase tech support

[pr0t0]

Could hardly be worse than:

Thank you for calling Conseco. Please listen carefully as our menu options have changed.

If you are calling regarding an existing case, please say, "I have an existing ticket."

I have an existing ticket

I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear that.

If you are calling regarding an existing case, please say, "I have an existing ticket."

I...have...an...existing...ticket.

If you do not have an existing ticket, please say, "New issue."

I HAVE AN EXISTING TICKET!

I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear that.

Let me connect you to an operator for additional help.

(connection sounds)

(different voice)We're sorry, our office is now closed. Please call back between the hours of 8am and 6pm Pacific Time.

(it's 5:50pm PST)

You're missing the point

[rsilvergun]

they're going to lose their livelihoods. Most of them will die in a gutter (seriously, 45,000 people in America die every year from preventable diseases). But the desperation will force some of them to improve enough to compete at higher tiered jobs, like the ones you occupy.

It doesn't matter if they have skills or not. They'll work 80+ hours a week to try and hang on. Their burn out. Die of heart attacks. But in the meantime wages will plummet.