In this blog article, Creovai’s COO, Simon Black, shares his thoughts on overcoming knowledge base limitations using real-time guidance and conversation intelligence from the perspective of an accomplished leader with over 20 years of experience in the software industry.
Contact centers are constantly under pressure to deliver flawless customer experiences, all while juggling agent performance and operational efficiency. To make this possible, many rely on their internal knowledge bases to supply agents with accurate information during customer interactions. However, even the most well-maintained knowledge base has its limitations.
If your contact center has turned to layering generative AI over your knowledge base, you’re taking a step in the right direction. But here’s the catch—if the knowledge base is outdated or incomplete, this approach could lead to inaccurate or irrelevant information being passed on to customers. That’s a recipe for customer dissatisfaction, reputational damage, and operational headaches.
There’s a better way to tackle these challenges. The combination of conversation intelligence and real-time agent guidance offers a more reliable, actionable, and efficient solution. By using tools like Creovai, you can ensure your agents are always equipped with accurate, real-world insights to handle customer interactions effectively. Here’s how.
The challenges of relying solely on knowledge bases
Layering generative AI over knowledge bases is increasingly common as contact centers look to get information to agents faster. However, as Simon Black, COO of Creovai, explains, this approach has its risks.
“Knowledge bases nearly always have skeletons lurking in them. The main risk is that the AI retrieves outdated or wrong information, gives it to the agent, and the agent passes it along to the customer. This can result in reputational loss, customer frustration, and lost business.”
Key limitations of traditional knowledge base management
- Constantly changing information: Keeping up with changes in products, services, or regulations requires significant time and resources. If updates lag, agents are left with inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Lack of ownership and process management: Many contact centers lack the processes or dedicated resources to manage their knowledge bases efficiently, leading to inconsistencies.
- Manual updating is error-prone: Teams responsible for updating the knowledge base often operate without automation, increasing the likelihood of omissions or human errors.
When agents rely on inaccurate knowledge bases, the impact is immediate and severe:
- Extended hold times: Agents struggle to find relevant information, frustrating customers.
- Lowered first contact resolution (FCR): Agents fail to resolve issues on the first attempt, driving repeat calls.
- Reduced agent morale: Incorrect information affects agent scorecards and creates significant demotivation.
What are the signs of a struggling knowledge base?
- Frequent complaints about inaccurate information from customers.
- Consistently high average handle times (AHT).
- Agents spending excessive time searching for answers.
If this sounds all too familiar, it’s time for a change.
A combination for success: Conversation intelligence & real-time agent guidance
Enter conversation intelligence and real-time agent guidance—two revolutionary solutions designed to transform how contact centers equip their agents. Together, they are the catalyst of lasting operational efficiency.
What is Conversation Intelligence?
Conversation intelligence deploys machine learning and AI to analyze every customer interaction across phone, email, and chat for insights. It identifies patterns, behaviors, and triggers that are proven to assist operational leaders in improving business outcomes. This information is typically used to reduce costs, reduce customer churn, and increase sales conversion.
Here’s how conversation intelligence works at a glance:
- Captures every conversation across all channels.
- Understands trends through advanced machine learning.
- Pinpoints actionable insights, such as high-effort areas of the customer journey that preface churn risk, or top-performing sales tactics.
What is real-time agent guidance?
Real-time agent guidance takes insights generated from conversation intelligence and delivers them to agents in the moment of a given interaction when needed most. Think of it as a coach guiding the agent through the conversation, ensuring they have all the tools they need to succeed and properly assist the customer, regardless of the scenario.
The key features of real-time agent guidance include:
- Subjective next-best actions: Guides agents on what to say or do based on a live customer interaction.
- Context-driven prompts: Automatically pulls relevant details from the CRM or knowledge base.
- Simplified workflows: Consolidates information from multiple platforms into a single, unified desktop.
Together, these tools create a continuous improvement loop—conversation intelligence uncovers what works and informs real-time guidance, which, in turn, ensures consistent execution.
Why this approach works
Contact centers using Creovai technology experience significant improvements in key metrics, including AHT, FCR, and CSAT. Here’s why this approach outshines traditional methods.
Strengthens agent performance
By surfacing insights from your best interactions, conversation intelligence like Creovai identifies the behaviors and language that lead to successful outcomes. Simon Black explains,
“Our technology understands why customers reach out and analyzes satisfaction from both agents and customers. We then use these insights to replicate success in real-time guidance.”
This means agents always have the right answers when they need them, driving better results.
Reduces agent effort
Most agents must toggle between five or more systems to find answers. Real-time guidance eliminates this hassle by centralizing information in a single view. The result? Less stress for agents and faster resolutions for customers.
Ensures accuracy in real time
Since real-time guidance is informed by recent, top-performing interactions (rather than static, outdated knowledge base articles), the information delivered is relevant, accurate and actionable.
A real-world difference
When conversation intelligence and real-time guidance work hand in hand, contact centers move from being reactive to proactive. Here are just a few examples of their combined power:
- Faster agent onboarding: Contact center turnover rates can be heightened by poor knowledge base support. With solutions like Creovai, new agents are productive and faster thanks to intuitive guidance tailored to their needs.
- Improved first call resolution: By addressing repeat issues uncovered through conversation intelligence, this approach to overcoming knowledge base limitations reduces FCR-related costs and improves CX.
- Higher agent morale: Agents equipped with the right tools and insights feel more confident, leading to better employee retention and satisfaction.
Shape the future of your contact center
Generative AI has enormous potential, but without accurate and actionable data, it’s only as good as its input. By combining conversation intelligence with real-time guidance, you harness every insight, empowering your agents to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
Don’t layer AI over an outdated knowledge base and hope for the best. Instead, choose a trusted, innovative solution that sets agents, customers, and your entire contact center up for success.
Want measurable results for your contact center? Start your transformation today with Creovai.
