A study by Odigo, in collaboration with 1035 executives, looks at the role of artificial intelligence in the customer experience, particularly for contact centres.
Many companies are using artificial intelligence to improve the customer experience. In 2022, 75% of companies have invested in AI, of which 9 out of 10 say that this investment has been successful in improving their customer experience. Odigo's survey was conducted by independent research firm Davies Hickman, in collaboration with 1,035 business leaders, across several European countries in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and the UK. It highlights how contact centres are leveraging AI to improve their offerings and customer experience strategies. However, only 20% of executives believe that their own contact centre delivers a quality customer experience. However, business leaders see investment in the cloud and AI as critical to their customer experience management strategy. An offer that clearly does not seem to be insignificant in the construction of projects within a company.
Strengthening AI support
The figures show that companies want to strengthen their support. 79% of companies are interested in strengthening artificial intelligence in the customer experience, compared to 70% in 2021. In addition, 75% said that efficiency is optimised when AI supports agents, compared to 69% in 2021. 68% of companies consider investments in the cloud and AI to be key to their customer experience strategy. This is also an increase from last year when 62% of companies felt the same way. In 2021, 41% of executives observed that AI was critical to the success of their business, while 48% considered it important. These figures illustrate the appetite of businesses to move towards a CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) solution to fortify their support of AI.
Where are the biggest adopters of AI?
French companies that have already invested in artificial intelligence to improve customer and agent experience are not the biggest consumers of this service. Spain tops the list with 81% of executives surveyed having used this practice. The UK follows with 76%, while the number of French executives is only 72%. Of those who have invested, 96% plan to invest more in the next two years, with the aim of strengthening their support. Six out of ten executives are convinced that artificial intelligence will have a positive impact on the company and up to 42% consider it to be a technology that is "essential and crucial to the success of (their) company". A market that still presents opportunities in France.
The objective of artificial intelligence is twofold, to improve the experience of customers, but also of agents by putting the human back at the centre.
Methodology:
In 2022, 1,035 European business executives responded to an online survey in Belgium and the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain and the UK. By April 2021, 1,007 business leaders had responded. The business areas covered were sales and marketing, operations, logistics, IT, human resources, finance and leadership. Three types of positions were studied, C-level, director and manager.