10 Ways AI Reduces Average Handle Time (AHT) in 2024

AI is transforming customer service by cutting Average Handle Time (AHT). Here's how:

1. Smart Call Routing
2. AI-Powered Information Databases
3. Predicting Customer Needs
4. Natural Language Processing
5. Automating Post-Call Tasks
6. AI Assistants for Agents
7. Sentiment Analysis
8. Smarter IVR Systems
9. Chatbots for Basic Questions
10. Ongoing Learning and Improvement

Quick Comparison:

These AI tools help companies serve customers faster, boost satisfaction, and save money. For instance, a business handling 4,400 monthly calls could save $17,424 yearly by using AI to reduce call times.

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What is AHT and Why It Matters

Average Handle Time (AHT) is a key measure used by call centers to track how long it takes to handle customer interactions. It includes three main parts:

1. Talk Time: How long the agent speaks with the customer
2. Hold Time: How long the customer waits on hold
3. After-Call Work: Tasks the agent does after the call ends

How to Calculate AHT

The formula for AHT is:

[ \text{AHT} = \frac{\text{Total Talk Time} + \text{Total Hold Time} + \text{Total After-Call Work}}{\text{Total Number of Calls Processed}} ]

Impact on Customer Satisfaction

AHT directly affects how happy customers are. Long wait times can make customers unhappy and less likely to use a service again. Quick and helpful service leads to happier customers who are more likely to stay loyal.

AHT Benchmarks by Industry

Different industries have different AHT goals. Here's a look at some average AHTs:

These numbers help companies see how they're doing compared to others in their field.

Real-World Examples

1. Pendragon's AHT Improvement

Pendragon, a car dealer group, used an AI tool called Conversation Analytics. This led to:

• 63% lower costs for new customers
• 30% fewer missed calls
• 66% fewer common problems at their branches

2. Flight Center's Booking Boost

Flight Center used AI to set custom goals. This resulted in:

• 46% more online phone bookings for custom holidays in one year

3. Florida Power & Light's Customer Service Upgrade

Florida Power & Light (FPL) started using Bidgely's UtilityAI for high bill calls. This new system:

• Cut several minutes off each call
• Made customers happier
• Gave agents quick access to helpful info

4. Planet Fitness Improves with AI

In 2020, Planet Fitness teamed up with Sprinklr to use AI in customer service. They used Sprinklr AI+ to:

• Answer customers faster
• Understand customer feedback better
• Help staff give better, more consistent answers

Kara Seymour from Planet Fitness said: "AI+ acts like a personal assistant, allowing our social media care reps to have meaningful conversations, while ensuring we're being consistent in messaging, tone, character count for certain channels, etc."

These examples show how using AI can help lower AHT and make customers happier at the same time.

How AI Changes Customer Service

AI is changing how companies help customers. It makes things faster and more personal while cutting down on the time it takes to solve problems.

AI Tools That Cut Down Handle Time

AI helps customer service in many ways:

1. Chatbots

These AI helpers can:

• Answer many questions at once
• Give quick replies without needing a person
• Work all day and night

This means customers don't have to wait as long for help.

2. Smart Routing

AI can:

• Figure out what a customer needs
• Send them to the right helper
• Look at things like what language they speak

This helps solve problems faster.

3. Helper for Service Agents

AI gives agents useful info while they're talking to customers. This means they can help better and faster.

Real Examples of AI in Action

What This Means for Customers

• Faster help when they need it
• More personal service
• Problems solved quicker

What Companies Think

Tom Eggemeier from Zendesk says: "AI built for customer service can solve more issues on its own, help workers do better, and make service more accurate and caring for every person."

As AI keeps getting better, it will play a bigger part in making customer service faster and better for everyone.

10 Ways AI Helps Lower AHT

AI is changing how companies handle customer service calls. Here are ten ways AI cuts down on Average Handle Time (AHT):

1. Smart Call Routing

AI figures out what customers need and sends them to the right agent quickly. This means less waiting and faster help.

Example: Genesys Cloud CX uses AI to route calls. In 2023, they helped a large telecom company cut wait times by 40% and improve customer ratings by 15%.

2. AI-Powered Information Databases

Agents can find answers fast with AI-powered databases. This helps them solve problems quicker.

Example: Salesforce Einstein used by Dell reduced time spent searching for info by 35%, cutting average call times by 2 minutes.

3. Predicting Customer Needs

AI looks at past data to guess what customers might ask. This helps companies solve issues before they become big problems.

Example: Amazon's customer service AI predicts 35% of customer queries before they're asked, reducing AHT by 20 seconds per call.

4. Better Understanding with NLP

Natural Language Processing (NLP) helps AI understand customers better. This means agents don't have to ask as many questions.

Example: IBM Watson Assistant improved understanding of customer queries by 25%, reducing clarification time by 40 seconds per call for a major airline in 2023.

5. Automating Post-Call Tasks

AI can write call summaries and sort issues automatically. This frees up agents to talk to more customers.

Example: Dialpad's AI summarization tool cut post-call work time by 45%, saving agents 2 minutes per call for a retail company.

6. AI Assistants for Agents

AI gives agents tips during calls. This helps them answer questions faster and better.

Example: Zendesk's AI assistant provided real-time suggestions, improving first-call resolution rates by 18% for an e-commerce platform.

7. Tailoring Responses with Sentiment Analysis

AI can tell how customers feel. This helps agents respond in the right way, solving issues faster.

Example: Cogito's emotion AI reduced negative customer interactions by 28%, leading to a 15% decrease in AHT for a financial services firm.

8. Smarter IVR Systems

Better phone menus (IVR) help customers solve simple problems on their own. This means fewer calls for agents to handle.

Example: Nuance's conversational IVR reduced call volume by 25% for a healthcare provider, lowering overall AHT by 45 seconds.

9. Chatbots for Basic Questions

AI chatbots can answer easy questions. This lets human agents focus on harder problems.

Example: LivePerson's chatbots handled 40% of customer inquiries for an online retailer, reducing AHT for human agents by 90 seconds.

10. Ongoing Learning and Improvement

AI keeps learning from every call. This helps make customer service better over time.

Example: Google's Contact Center AI improved its accuracy by 5% month-over-month, leading to a continuous decrease in AHT for a telecommunications company.

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How to Use AI to Reduce AHT

To cut down Average Handle Time (AHT) in customer service, you can use AI tools. Here's how to do it:

Check Your Current AHT

Before using AI, know where you stand:

1. Look at your call data
2. Find out how long calls usually take
3. See how you compare to others in your field

For example, most companies have an AHT of about 6 minutes and 3 seconds.

Choose the Right AI Tools

Pick AI tools that:

• Fix your specific problems
• Work with your current systems
• Can grow as your business grows

Some good AI tools are chatbots for simple questions and AI systems that watch how agents work.

Add AI to Your Work

Here's how to start using AI:

Real-World Examples

1. Zendesk's AI Assistant
   • Used by: An e-commerce company
   • Result: 18% more issues solved on the first call
2. Cogito's Emotion AI
   • Used by: A financial services firm
   • Result: 28% fewer unhappy customers, 15% lower AHT
3. Nuance's Smart Phone Menu
   • Used by: A healthcare provider
   • Result: 25% fewer calls to agents, AHT down by 45 seconds
4. LivePerson's Chatbots
   • Used by: An online store
   • Result: Handled 40% of customer questions, human agents' AHT down by 90 seconds

Tracking AI's Impact on AHT

Key Metrics to Watch

To see how AI affects Average Handle Time (AHT), companies should track these numbers:

By checking these numbers often, companies can see where AI is helping and where it needs work.

Figuring Out AI's Return on Investment (ROI)

To know if AI is worth the money, follow these steps:

1. Add up all AI costs (software, training, upkeep)
2. Calculate time saved by AI
3. Turn time saved into money saved
4. Look at other improvements (like happier customers)
5. Subtract costs from savings to get ROI

Real-World Example

In 2023, a big telecom company used Genesys Cloud CX for call routing. Here's what happened:

• Wait times went down by 40%
• Customer ratings went up by 15%
• They saved $500,000 in the first year
• AI cost them $200,000 to set up
• ROI: $300,000 ($500,000 saved - $200,000 spent)

This clear money picture helps bosses decide if AI is a good investment.

More Success Stories

These examples show how AI can make a big difference in customer service speed and quality.

Potential Issues and Things to Consider

When using AI in customer service, companies need to think about some problems that might come up. Here are the main things to watch out for:

Speed vs. Quality in Customer Service

Customers want fast help, but they also want good help. A study by Microsoft found that 54% of customers expect better service than before. Also, 88% of customers want an answer within 60 minutes.

Companies need to make sure AI doesn't make service worse. For example:

Ethical Use of AI in Customer Service

Using AI in customer service can cause some problems:

1. Data Privacy: Companies must keep customer information safe.
2. Fairness: AI shouldn't treat some customers differently because of things like race or gender.
3. Job Changes: As AI does more work, people's jobs might change.

To fix these issues:

• Check AI systems often to make sure they're fair
• Follow rules about keeping data safe
• Help workers learn new skills

Training Agents to Work with AI

As AI does more in customer service, workers need to learn new things:

• How to use AI tools
• When to step in if AI can't help
• How to give the human touch that AI can't

Companies should keep training their workers as AI changes. This helps make sure customers get the best help possible.

Real-World Example: Talkdesk's Approach

Talkdesk, a company that makes customer service software, says:

• Let people check and change what AI does
• Be clear about how decisions are made
• Have plans to help workers whose jobs change because of AI

What's Next for AI and AHT

As AI keeps getting better, it's changing how companies handle customer service calls. Let's look at what's coming up and how it might affect Average Handle Time (AHT).

New AI Tools on the Way

New AI tools are coming that could make customer service even faster:

These tools are expected to cut down on how long calls take and make customers happier.

Future Goals for AHT

As AI gets smarter, companies will likely set new goals for how quickly they can help customers. Here's what we might see:

To reach these goals, companies will need to:

1. Train staff to work with AI

2. Keep checking how well AI is working

3. Make sure AI helps, not replaces, human workers

Real-World Examples

Some companies are already using new AI to improve their customer service:

What This Means for Customers

With these new AI tools, customers can expect:

• Faster answers to their questions
• More personal service
• Help available any time, day or night

Looking Ahead

As AI keeps getting better at helping customers, companies that use it well will likely do better than those that don't. Customers are starting to expect faster, more personal service, and AI can help provide that.

Conclusion

AI is changing customer service by making it faster and better. Here's how AI helps cut down on Average Handle Time (AHT) in 2024:

1. Smart Call Routing: AI sends calls to the right agents quickly.
2. Quick Info Access: AI helps agents find answers fast.
3. Guessing Customer Needs: AI figures out what customers might ask before they do.
4. Understanding Customers Better: AI gets what customers mean, so agents don't have to ask as many questions.
5. Doing Paperwork Automatically: AI writes up call notes, so agents can talk to more people.
6. Helping Agents During Calls: AI gives agents tips while they're talking to customers.
7. Reading Customer Feelings: AI can tell how customers feel, so agents can respond the right way.
8. Better Phone Menus: AI makes it easier for customers to solve simple problems on their own.
9. Chatbots for Easy Questions: AI chatbots answer simple questions, so human agents can focus on harder issues.
10. Always Getting Better: AI learns from every call to keep improving.

Real Results from Using AI

What This Means for Businesses

By using AI, companies can:

• Help customers faster
• Make customers happier
• Save money on customer service

For example, a company that handles 4,400 calls a month could save about $17,424 a year by using AI to cut down call times.

Looking Ahead

As AI keeps getting better, it will change how companies talk to customers. By 2025, AI might handle 95% of customer chats. But it's important to remember that AI is here to help human workers, not replace them. The best customer service will use both AI and people to give customers the help they need.

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