New Pega Voice AI and Messaging AI Solutions Give Service Agents an Intelligent Copilot for Better, Faster Service

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – February 8, 2022 – Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ: PEGA), the software company that crushes business complexity, today announced Pega Voice AI and Messaging AI, two new solutions that analyze live customer service conversations in real time to help agents quickly resolve service requests with reduced manual effort. These artificial intelligence (AI) solutions operate as copilots for agents, listening to live voice and chat conversations, recommending steps to resolution, off-loading tedious manual processes such as error-prone data entry or searches, and analyzing intent to guide them to provide the most efficient, empathetic service possible.

As consumers increasingly turn to self-service, agents’ roles are shifting toward knowledge work – requiring them to navigate more complex, sensitive issues with thoughtful and personal responses. However, most contact center solutions require agents to perform administrative tasks that take their focus away from higher-value work, impeding speed and quality of resolution. A new survey revealed only half of agents believe they can accurately capture customer information when manually entering it. About the same percentage say their customers are frustrated by service delays caused by toggling between apps to get the right information to solve their issue.

To ease this burden, Pega’s Voice AI and Messaging AI solutions act as copilots, supporting agents during customer conversations, including phone and messaging interactions (such as web chat and social media), to help service agents get work done quickly and accurately, improving both employee and customer experiences. While other voice and messaging analytics solutions focus on customer conversations after they’ve happened (such as call or chat transcripts), or sample some agents’ work for quality assurance, Pega’s Voice AI and Messaging AI solutions allow these capabilities to be applied in real time to entire service agent populations for increased efficiency.

These solutions provide new hands-free experiences for agents. For example, when a new parent calls their insurer to add a newborn to their plan, Pega Voice AI detects why the customer is calling and provides real-time guidance to the agent, often without the need for manual data entry. The software automatically recommends actions and fills out the required forms just by listening to the conversation. This transitions the role of the agent away from time-consuming data entry and repetitive manual tasks, enabling them to focus on high-value work and deliver highly personalized service. It will also proactively recommend specific knowledge content, such as an overview of pediatric coverage. And if the conversation shifts to a new topic, Pega pivots in real time to help solve the new request.

Using real-time intelligence, natural language processing (NLP), speech-to-text analytics, and intelligent automation, Pega Voice AI and Messaging AI offer the following benefits:

• Hands-free data entry – Pega’s solution listens to live conversations and automatically enters data into the system. Agents don’t have to lift a finger and can validate the data once it’s been entered.
• Automatically recommend service actions – Without agent intervention, Pega auto-launches workflows as soon as customer inquiries come through. By reducing time spent on manual tasks, agents increase productivity and improve customer engagement.
• Surface contextual knowledge – Agents no longer have to manually search for information during live calls and chats. Instead, the solution listens to the customer and automatically prompts next steps for the agent based on contextual knowledge, up-leveling service and helping improve resolution time.  
• Ensure script compliance – With Pega Voice AI, agents see real-time script guidance during live phone calls to ensure consistent and optimal interactions across every customer conversation. This also helps agents achieve peak performance from day one, reducing agent training time.
• Integration with existing softphones – Unlike other offerings that require purchasing entirely new solutions, Pega Voice AI works with existing softphones, allowing agents access to the same benefits.

Pega Voice AI and Messaging AI are new options for clients using Pega Customer ServiceTM, Pega’s solution for simplifying service by automating processes and unifying data and systems across the enterprise. It helps ensure contact centers and digital touchpoints like web, mobile, and chat self-service channels are best positioned to deliver personal, proactive, and preemptive service experiences. To learn more, visit: https://www.pega.com/products/customer-service/voice-ai.

Quotes & Commentary:

“As demands on customer service teams become increasingly complex and agents feel more burnout, organizations need to empower agents with high-productivity tools to ease some of the burden and enable them to effectively respond to customer needs,” said Sabrina Atienza, director of product management, speech, Pegasystems. “Pega Voice AI and Messaging AI help agents by removing some of the biggest frustrations from their jobs and guiding them through live conversations every step of the way. This reduces tedious, error-prone work for faster service resolution while also empowering agents to focus on responding to customers effectively and with empathy. This helps create better employee engagement and ultimately, happier customers.”

Supporting Resources: 

• Survey: Half of Service Agents Admit to Botching Customer Service Calls, Research Finds
• E-book: Conversational AI: A co-pilot for today’s customer service agents  
• Website: Pega Voice AI and Messaging AI
• Analyst report: Pega named Leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant for the CRM Customer Engagement Center