When the U.S. went into lockdown due to COVID-19, Georgia’s Department of Labor (DOL) had to manage a sudden doubling of the unemployment rate. This caused a customer service crisis. The operations and delivery manager for Digital Services Georgia (DSG) explained that the high call volumes led to frustrated individuals being left on hold for hours. However, DSG had a solution that wasn’t widely considered at the time, but has gained prominence now: chatbots.
A DSG spokesperson emphasized that their goal is to make things easier for people; and, since many people do not like phone calls or emails, it was time to explore alternate communication channels such as social media and chatbots. When COVID-19 struck, DSG had to expedite their plans. They deployed the chatbot solution to DOL within three days! Despite the unconventional approach, this implementation allowed DOL to automate the resolution of a key customer pain point: lost passwords.
DSG hopes that other state agencies will recognize the value of chatbots without experiencing a crisis firsthand. To promote this, they have deployed a chatbot on their own state website. During their preliminary research, the agency evaluated various vendors and eventually selected ivy.ai due to its ability to limit data sources for the chatbots to the customers’ own data sources, reducing the risk of generating inaccurate answers.
For Georgia, chatbots are primarily used as a convenient customer service platform. For example, individuals working night shifts can access information even when no one is available. Additionally, with chatbots handling basic inquiries, skilled employees can dedicate their expertise to more complex tasks.
The increasing adoption of AI chatbots is expected to provide organizations with the necessary infrastructure to support customers on average days as well as during a crisis.
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