Google’s AI technology, a threat to call-centre jobs

Google partners with Cisco and Genesys to build artificial intelligence (AI) technology that will replace some of the work in call centres.

Automation is all set to hamper the prospects of employees in call centres, if Google’s AI technology comes to life. Google is working with several partners, such as Cisco and Genesys, to build artificial intelligence (AI) technology that will take care of some of the tasks performed by employees in call centres.

Google’s software, called ‘Contact Centre AI’, can install ‘virtual agents’ capable of attending to calls made by customers to call centres.

“When customers demand something that the AI cannot fulfil or respond to, it will automatically forward the call to a human,” said Fei-Fei Li, chief scientist at Google, during the Cloud Next conference.

“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, including Dialogflow Enterprise Edition, as well as additional capabilities that are particularly useful for contact centres,” Li added.

A virtual agent can greet and answer questions, and fulfil tasks on its own. However, the moment a caller’s needs surpass the virtual agent, it transfers the case 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.

It will result in a flexible solution that automatically 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 is 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.

She stressed that AI is empowerment, and it aims to democratise that power for everyone and every business—from retail to agriculture, education and healthcare.