The effects of AI and computer automation for contact centers. How will Artificial Intelligence, chatbots and virtual reality change the customer service industry and the jobs of over 15 million contact center agents? A presentation by Vit Horky, Founder and CEO of Brand Embassy and author of the book "Customer Service in the Transhuman Age".

1. Is There a Future for Humans
in Customer Service?
T H E E F F E C T S O F A I A N D C O M P U T E R A U T O M AT I O N F O R
C O N TA C T C E N T E R S
B Y V I T H O R K Y

2. I’m Co-founder and CEO of Brand Embassy,
a top-rated customer service technology
company with customers in 30+ countries.
Previously, I founded a leading European
digital marketing agency (successfully
exited) and a software distribution company
(failed with style). I have been a frequent
speaker at conferences worldwide.
I live with my wife and three sons
in Prague, Czech Republic.
Hi, I’m Vit.
Recently, I published a book
about the future of customer
service.
Image: Archive of Vit Horky and Brand Embassy

3. I have been wondering about my future, of my colleagues and partners
in the customer service industry for a long time...
So I decided to dedicate more than sever years to exploring the
irreplaceable human potential in contact centers. This is what I found...
Image: Brand Embassy

4. Lately, the media has reported that computers will take
over human jobs...
Image: © Alamy Stock Photo | INTERFOTO / History

5. Lately, media have reported on computers taking over
human jobs...
Most of these stories are far from reality, however the
trend is clear.

6. 60%
of customer service
worker activity can be
automated by currently
existing technologies.

7. Chatbots can handle most
digital interactions with
customers.
Image: Brand Embassy

8. And by as soon as 2040, computers may reach the
level of general human intelligence.

9. Image: Reuters
We are seeing the exponential growth of AI capabilities.
It took nearly a decade for a computer to beat the best
best human chess player for the first time.
That was 1997.

10. Image: news.tvbs.com.tw
In 2017, it took only 4 hours for the new AI-powered
computer to learn the game of chess and beat the best
human and computer players.

11. Image: New York Times
In late 2018, a Chinese TV
station replaced news
anchors with AI-powered 3D
models. Many experts
considered this impossible,
until it happened.

12. Soon, there may be no rational reason to keep
employing people in contact centers.
Image: Kris Wood, Rex Features

13. There is a strong economic reason to cut costs by
replacing nearly 15M outsourced agents with computers.
Image: Kris Wood, Rex Features

14. • Poor productivity: 70%+ of agents leave their jobs every year
Image: Kris Wood, Rex Features
There is a strong economic reason to cut costs by
replacing nearly 15M outsourced agents with computers.

15. • Poor productivity: 70%+ of agents leave their jobs every year
• Poor service quality: many agents haven’t ever used the
products they provide service for
Image: Kris Wood, Rex Features
There is a strong economic reason to cut costs by
replacing nearly 15M outsourced agents with computers.

16. • Poor productivity: 70%+ of agents leave their jobs every year
• Poor service quality: many agents haven’t ever used products
they provide service for
• Increasing costs of employment in both near-shore and off-shore
contact centers.
Image: Kris Wood, Rex Features
There is a strong economic reason to cut costs by
replacing nearly 15M outsourced agents with computers.

17. Successful companies cut costs and drive
new revenue by moving customer service to
digital channels.

18. Mid-sized companies
can save up to
$150M annually.
Telecommunications companies can generate an additional €74 million ($86.4 million) by leveraging the potential of Service to Sales through digital channels.
McKinsey, 2017 Legend: Assumptions: 20 months of contract lifetime assumed, operator with 10 million call center calls/year, ARPU €20/month, 1% conversion rate for
digital, 4% for call center, SOURCE: McKinsey iService/eCare tool, team analysis

19. Mid-sized companies
can save up to
$150M annually.
Telecommunications companies can generate an additional €74 million ($86.4 million) by leveraging the potential of Service to Sales through digital channels.
McKinsey, 2017 Legend: Assumptions: 20 months of contract lifetime assumed, operator with 10 million call center calls/year, ARPU €20/month, 1% conversion rate for
digital, 4% for call center, SOURCE: McKinsey iService/eCare tool, team analysis
...and generate an
additional $80M
in revenues.

20. ...and that’s a lot of cuteness
delivered.
The extra generated $230M
could buy over 1 million of
these cute robotic puppies.
Images: WowWee, © iStock.com | CarlosAndreSantos

21. However, 8 out of 10 customers still prefer to
interact with human customer service agents.
Source: Accenture, 2016, Video: istock.com

22. However, 8 out of 10 customers still prefer to
interact with human customer service agents.
Humans deal better with
emotions and complex
situations.
Video: istock.com

23. Humans deal better with
emotions and complex
situations.
Humans orient better in
new and unpredictable
environments.
Video: istock.com
However, 8 out of 10 customers still prefer to
interact with human customer service agents.

24. Humans deal better with
emotions and complex
situations.
Humans orient better in
new and unpredictable
environments.
This is not likely to change anytime soon...
Video: istock.com
However, 8 out of 10 customers still prefer to
interact with human customer service agents.

25. Therefore, the future of customer service lies in
leveraging human potential through technology.
Video: istock.com

26. Telephatical communication, brain implants and
virtual reality could drastically change the contact
center industry in the near future.

27. Telepathy
• Telepathically sharing a technical difficulty on your PC with an
expert customer service rep
• No need for lengthy explanatory emails, several escalations and
call transfers, thanks to brain implants or removable headbands
Images: PASIEKA/Science Photo Library/Corbis

28. Rewind & Share
• Mind-reading that enables customer service agents to rewind a
past experience through the eyes of the customer
• Using recordings from smart contact lenses connected to the
Internet.
Images: Dreamstime

29. Brain Uploading
• The customer service agent
uploads new knowledge at
the end of every shift
• Instant access to the
collected knowledge of every
customer service issue ever
recorded by the company
• Every detail of every product
offering, and absolute
knowledge about the needs
of the customers UPLOAD DAILY KNOWLEDGE
Images: istock.com, Abidal

30. Emotion Recognition
• AI-powered emotion recognition decides the most
appropriate agent for each customer.
• The appropriate language tonality of chatbots applies to
different customer emotions.
Image: Kairos

31. Typing With 100 Fingers
• We spend our office lives typing on computers. Although
we process hundreds of thoughts each minute, we can
only type 60 words per minute
• Brain chip implants connected to Helpdesk software will
be able to transfer a 300-word response to a customer
within 10s.
Image: News Media Canada

32. Virtual Reality Rooms
• Meet a customer service advisor anytime
and anywhere in a virtual 3D environment
• Use basic consumer VR goggles and
a gaming console or PC
Image: Virtual Human Technologies

33. Human customer service agents need to re-skill,
otherwise they risk losing their jobs.

34. Customer service agents will increasingly deal with more
complex issues as their customers become more informed.
Image: Brand Embassy

35. From:
Image: Brand Embassy
Customer service agents will increasingly deal with more
complex issues as their customers become more informed.

36. From: To:
Customer service agents will increasingly deal with more
complex issues as their customers become more informed.

37. Therefore, companies need to hire and re-skill a new
type of customer service agent:
R E S O U R C E F U L
C O S M O P O L I TA N
A U T H E N T I C
C R E AT I V E
C O U R A G E O U S
PAT I E N T
E M PAT H E T I C
R E S P E C T F U L
Image: Brand Embassy

38. ...the probability of your job being replaced by computer
automation is significantly reduced.
If you apply at least 7 of the 10 following attributes...
Image: Brand Embassy, Pixabay

39. Are you in frequent contact
with customers?
Are you empowered to use your
emotions?
Are you ever praised for using
your intuition at work?
1. You leverage social skills and
emotional intelligence

40. Are you empowered to use
your judgement and expertise?
Do you use your own creativity
to find new solutions?
Are you part of decision-
making and planning
activities?
2. You apply industry expertise

41. Do you learn something new
every week that you put into
practice at work?
Do you attend trainings of
new techniques, expertise and
processes at least once a
month?
3. You are continuously learning

42. Do you use internal company
chat and social media groups?
Do you interact with your work
peers on a daily basis?
4. You are engaged and connected
with peers

43. Do you know the strengths
you have that are relevant to
your job?
Do you use your strengths in
your daily job?
5. You utilize your strengths

44. Do you join new initiatives and
participate in new company
projects?
Do you expand or change your role
within the company occasionally?
Do you work in an unpredictable
physical work environment (many
movements, logistical changes,
etc.)?
6. You are continuously seeking new
problems to solve

45. Do you maximize your
productivity by using task
management tools?
Do you meet your realistically set
individual goals and targets to
avoid overworking?
Are you part of an agile team
working frequently to solve new
problems?
7. You have optimized task management
and you are not overworked

46. Do you work with as few
software interfaces as possible?
Do you use only data
necessary for completing tasks
in a meaningful and efficient
way?
8. You use minimal data and technologies
with maximum relevancy

47. Do you improve your
productivity by leveraging
knowledge, expertise and inter-
personal relationship gained
over time?
Are you an active contributor to
company culture?
9. You are a long-term employee

48. Are you a team leader,
manager or senior expert with
coaching or mentoring
responsibilities?
10. You manage others

49. As consumers increasingly become blind to
traditional advertising and buy less from physical
shops, revenues will be increasingly generated
through customer service.
Image: OSSN

50. That’s an amazing opportunity for customer service
workers to prove their huge value in the business.
Image: Brand Embassy

51. Successful businesses need to leverage chatbots,
new messaging channels and intelligent advisors in
order to digitally transform in an agile manner.

52. Here are 7 proven strategies you can implement now.
Successful businesses need to leverage chatbots,
new messaging channels and intelligent advisors in
order to digitally transform in an agile manner.

53. 1. Move old-fashioned email to chat and messengers
• Provide an omnichannel
experience on channels
preferred by customers
• Email is a costly service channel
and is not easily used for
service to sales. Web chat or
social messengers are better.
Customer Service Marketing IT Finance
Benefits
Operational
Efficiency
Lead Generation
Leveraging Existing
Technologies
Improved Cost
Management
Success Measures
➡ Average Handling
Time
Online Sales
Conversions
➡ Maintenance Costs
➡ Opex
Revenues

54. Allow the customer to easily switch from an incoming
email to a chat conversation.
T I P
Image: Brand Embassy, I stock.com CarlosAndreSantos

55. 2. Replace contact forms with integrated in-app
messaging
• Don’t let customers get frustrated by asking them to fill out endless contact forms...
• In-app messaging enables consumers to interact with a human agent or a chatbot
from within the mobile app while having the same user experience across the entire
app.
Customer Service Marketing IT Finance
Benefits
Operational
Efficiency
Improved Customer
Experience
Easy Implementation
And Maintenance
Cost Efficiency
Success Measures
➡ Average Handing
Time
Cust. Satisfaction
Sales Conversions
➡ Maintenance Costs
➡ Churn
Revenues

56. Tips for seamless implementation:
1. Ask your Helpdesk provider to
implement in-app messaging
2. Form an agile full-stack team to
cooperate with the partner
3. Set-up routing and prioritization
4. Dedicate a small agent team
5. Set-up a chatbot to handle basic
queries
6. Initiate a 3-month pilot, then expand
and promote the new channel
Image: Brand Embassy

57. 3. Implement smart contact forms with video chat
and co-browsing
• Achieve up to 3x more conversions
and dramatically improve customer
experience
Customer Service Marketing IT Finance
Benefits Agent Utilization
Improved Customer
Experience
Improved Web
Functionality
Cost Efficiency And
Revenues
Success Measures
Cases Resolved
➡ Resolution Times
Contact Submission
Rates
➡ Long-Term
Maintenance Costs
➡ Churn
Revenues, Profit

58. 4. Implement a multichannel chatbot
Customer Service Marketing IT Finance
Benefits
Agent Utilization
Job Satisfaction
Improved CX
Brand Equity
Business Efficiency Cost Efficiency
Success Measures
➡ AHT
Cases Resolved
Generated Leads
Sales Conversions
➡ Maintenance Costs
➡ Operational
Expenses
• Automate up to 50% of customer
interactions with intelligent
chatbot across chat and
messaging.

59. WARNING: Poorly designed chatbots can damage brand equity. Pay
close attention to authentic language tonality, useful functionality and
managing customer expectations.

60. • Customer service agents may feel that their future is threatened
by chatbots!
• Explain to them that, on the contrary, chatbots will improve their
work quality and job satisfaction.
Image: Independent

61. 5. Leverage new messaging channels
• WhatsApp & Messenger
(The Americas, Europe) and WeChat
beat SMS and emails in popularity.
Customer Service Marketing IT Finance
Benefits
Omnichannel
Experience
Improved Customer
Experience
Business Efficiency Improved Revenues
Success Measures
➡ AHT
Cases Resolved
Generated Leads
Sales Conversions
➡ Maintenance Costs
➡ Churn
Financial Collection

62. Apple Business Chat will become popular in 2019.
It enables customers to schedule appointments, buy
products or communicate with brands via iPhone, iPad,
Apple Watch or Mac.

63. 6. Boost agent productivity through Intelligent Advisor
• Super-powered customer service
agents save time by having their
responses suggested by a computer.
Customer Service Marketing IT Finance
Benefits
Agent Utilization
Job Satisfaction
-
Modernization
Business intelligence
Cost Efficiency
Success Measures
➡ AHT
Cases Resolved
- ➡ Maintenance Costs
➡ Operational
Expenses

64. 7. Improve customer satisfaction and insights through
integrations
• Contact centers of all sizes and
volumes should have their
customer data integrated across
all channels
Customer Service Marketing IT Finance
Benefits
Operational
Efficiency
Lead Generation
Leveraging Existing
Technologies
Improved Cost
Management
Success Measures
➡ Average Handing
Time
Online Sales
Conversions
➡ Maintenance Costs
➡ Opex
Revenues

65. Apply agile methodology to avoid costly mistakes and
time loss. Integrate channels and systems step-by-step.
Image: Capterra

66. What to remember
Successful companies cut costs and drive new revenue by moving
customer service to digital channels.
Telepathic communication, brain implants and virtual reality may
drastically change the contact center industry in the near future.
Human customer service agents need to re-skill; otherwise they risk
losing their jobs. They need to act NOW.
Successful businesses need to leverage chatbots, new messaging
channels and intelligent advisors in order to digitally transform in an
agile manner.

67. It’s so complex and confusing!
Where should I start?

68. Buy my book to learn much more.
S E E 3 0 - PA G E S A M P L E

69. D O W N L O A D P D F
Download and install the Guide for Making Your
Job Irreplaceable at your office or at home

70. Request DEMO and free consultation by Brand Embassy
G E T A F R E E D E M O

71. THANK YOU.
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