Balancing Human & AI Contact Center Agents: Lessons from JetBlue

Customer Contact Week offers an fantabulous opportunity to study from manufacture peers pushing nan boundaries of CX innovation.

The customer support squad astatine JetBlue is an fantabulous example, augmenting Amelia – its virtual supplier – pinch generative AI (GenAI) and achieving affirmative results.

After 3 months, it secured a 12 percent containment boost, pinch a much humble – albeit affirmative – uplift successful customer restitution (CSAT) and first interaction solution (FCR).

However, possibly astir critically, JetBlue’s quality agents – aliases “crew members” – are onboard. That’s mostly acknowledgment to a observant strategy of empowerment and prepping agents for nan early of AI, which started agelong earlier nan preamble of Amelia.

“Empowerment isn’t conscionable a buzzword; you person to show agents what empowerment looks for illustration successful practice,” said Shelly Griessel, VP of Customer Support astatine JetBlue.

We judge nan domiciled of a customer support personification is evolving, and we request to guarantee they’re equipped for it.

In this vein, Griessel shares respective champion practices for supporting agents successful handling much analyzable tasks earlier offering proposal for augmenting a high-performing squad pinch AI.

Prepare Human Agents for Their Future Jobs

First, JetBlue ensures that unit members are group up to thrive successful their jobs. There are respective ways successful which nan institution does so.

For instance, it caps occupancy rates astatine 85 percent and targets part-timers successful recruitment, moving a maximum of 30 hours a week to debar burnout.

Additionally, each squad leader sets speech 2 hours a week for unit members to prosecute pinch them astir anything.

According to Griessel, these two-hour periods are ever busy, giving agents an opportunity to talk improvement opportunities, stock concerns, and propose ways to amended experiences.

There are besides monthly “Direct Meetings” to reappraisal nan bully and nan bad from crossed nan institution and beforehand that civilization of unfastened communication.

Griessel shared really this has helped facilitate an optimal squad ambiance that drives a affirmative culture. She noted:

We attraction heavy connected culture, keeping adjacent connection pinch unit members and making judge they understand nan “why” down everything, from AI to outsourcing.

Yet, erstwhile it comes to Amelia, JetBlue has gone acold beyond communicating pinch unit members to guarantee success; it’s besides collaborating pinch them.

Cautiously & Collaboratively Introduce AI Agents

When JetBlue introduced nan conception of AI Agents, unit members voiced their occupation information anxieties.

Griessel shared a beardown connection to flooded these: “We beryllium it to you to support you applicable arsenic nan manufacture evolves.”

She past shared a imagination for focusing connected meaningful interactions alternatively than regular calls and of really AI will complement their existent roles.

While nan connection of: “Amelia 2.0 will activity nan shifts nary 1 other wants,” besides helped, that imagination of complementary AI struck a chord.

Soon, unit members started supporting nan improvement of Amelia, truthful their virtual workfellow took much of nan customer contacts they didn’t want to handle.

In doing so, JetBlue’s squad reviews automated interactions, guides improvements, minimizes nan chances of hallucinations, and fast-tracks Amelia’s learning.

However, that’s skipping up a fewer steps, arsenic Griessel offered much proposal for successfully deploying a interaction halfway AI Agent.

Action nan Optimal Opportunities for GenAI

Before implementing an AI Agent, interaction centers must summation a granular knowing of their request drivers. JetBlue’s conversational AI supplier – ASAPP – offered a helping manus here.

Griessel noted: “ASAPP has helped america greatly successful knowing nan intent down customer calls, which allowed america to place areas wherever we tin improve, for illustration policies connected baggage.”

Indeed, JetBlue could prioritize its superior interaction reasons, guarantee nan AI supplier has nan basal knowledge to grip applicable queries, and orchestrate effective experiences.

Of course, not each interaction logic is imaginable to automate, for illustration refund decisions. These are retired of Amelia’s scope owed to regulatory scrutiny, truthful JetBlue and ASAPP person added guardrails to guarantee specified queries escalate instantly to a unit member.

Nevertheless, Griessel claimed: “With guidance from our apical unit members, Amelia is learning incredibly quickly.”

Don’t Wait Around for nan Perfect Moment to Introduce AI Agents

There are respective reasons why a marque whitethorn postpone an AI Agent deployment, from method indebtedness to knowledge guidelines limitations.

Yet, Griessel warned that nary situation is ever “perfectly ready”. She said: “We plan, but things ever change, and we don’t execute everything we group retired to.”

I judge you person to jump in, moreover if nan timing isn’t perfect, aliases you’ll beryllium near down – particularly successful position of costs efficiency, but besides customer satisfaction.

In making this point, Griessel stressed that nan astir valuable commodity for customers coming is time, truthful speedy and accordant answers are crucial.

Without that consistency, they’ll support calling back, and leaders will everlastingly enactment firefighting and not readying ahead.

“There’s nary luxury successful waiting until you’re “ready”,” concluded Griessel. “By putting boundaries astir what nan AI tin handle, you limit nan risks. So my proposal is to commencement now and accommodate arsenic you go.”

For those looking for a conversational AI partner, ASAPP is 1 option. But location are besides plentifulness of others. So, alongside ASAPP, cheque retired nan vendors successful CX Today’s Marketplace.