Generational AI
We are undoubtedly living through a generational change. When I first heard the term GenAI, I actually thought it was some sort of slang for this being the time of the next generation of AI. It is. But that’s not what GenAI is meant to mean. Generative AI will change how we work across industries all over the world.
Is GenAI going to replace humans? In my opinion, no, at least not for a long time. GenAI is here to assist humans, and it will do so in many ways.
The hype of GenAI can make it hard to see the actual, practical value that it can bring to the broader workforce, but seeing through the weeds is a vital part of a Product Manager’s job. It’s how we can ensure that we aren’t jumping on a bandwagon for the sake of it and that we are providing genuine value to our customers by utilizing the latest technology available to us.
Contact Centre Agents Need Help
Contact center agents are representatives of your business and have demanding jobs. They need to juggle assisting customers with the pressure of working in a position with multiple KPIs that are easily measurable - think Average Handling Time (AHT), First Contact Resolution (FCR), etc. Agents are under constant pressure, and it’s beneficial to everyone if they can perform at their peak for the duration of their shift. A lot of an agent’s time is spent on repetitive and time-consuming tasks, such as combing through call transcripts to find customer numbers or order IDs, summarizing conversations and categorization. The list goes on, and on, and on, and the longer the list gets, the more apparent it becomes that Gen AI is here to help contact center agents to be more effective..
Engaging in GenAI
As a product team, we spend a lot of time reviewing feedback from our customers, which is, ironically, a job that GenAI can do very well. We find the pain points that our customers tell us about and work on the ones that we can impact the most. We do all of this while the world of tech is changing faster than ever before.
Whilst it is important that we are well-informed about the latest in tech, we don’t let it direct our decisions. The tech available to us is a tool used to solve problems. It’s imperative that we sift through the hype and keep our laser focus on our customers.
GenAI How? Why? What?
The Gen AI hype bubble is real. In the last ~6 months, I’ve heard more customers and prospects ask for a specific piece of technology than I have in the 10+ years I’ve worked in SaaS. Sometimes, the customers know what they want Gen AI to do; other times they don’t - they just want to be able to use it and want to hear our thoughts on it. They know that this is a generational shift, and they know that they don’t want to be left behind.
How? Why? What? That’s where we have to help our customers. We must be the path that they take through the hype and lead them into the promised land (of valuable, problem-solving contact center software).
Our roadmap is essentially a list of problems that we aim to solve. Some of these problems can be solved with Gen AI, and some cannot. Gen AI has certainly changed some of our plans. Challenges that would have taken considerable resources to solve can now be done far more efficiently, enabling us to bring high-value solutions to our customers earlier than we previously expected. We’ve had to be careful about following the hype cycle, which undoubtedly has already slowed down while ensuring that we continue to provide value to our customers with everything we do.
At Local Measure, we understand that navigating through the ever-changing landscape of technology can be overwhelming. That's why we strive to be the guiding light for our customers, helping them find their way to the perfect solution. The advent of Gen AI has certainly influenced our plans, allowing us to tackle challenges more efficiently and deliver high-value solutions to our customers sooner than anticipated. Throughout this journey, we have remained mindful of the hype cycle, ensuring that we stay focused on providing valuable solutions to our customers every step of the way.
