IBM launches Watson customer service smart bot

May 21, 2013

Yoking cognitive computing with customer service, IBM has launched a system that can reference large amounts of unstructured data to help companies better field customer phone calls. The IBM Watson Engagement Advisor uses IBM’s Watson, the artificial intelligence software the company developed to compete on the Jeopardy game show two years ago. According to IBM, the field of customer service is in dire need of improvement. Of the 270 billion customer service calls that are handled annually, approximately 50 percent go unresolved. “Many customers engage with a brand through the call center,” and because call centers tend to frustrate customers, the company’s brand suffers as a result, said Craig Hayman, general manager of industry solutions for IBM’s Software Group, during a teleconference announcing the package. The Engagement Advisor can help answer questions, offer suggestions to aid in the purchasing process, or to help customers troubleshoot issues. Just as it was able, in a few seconds, to scan, review and select the best answer for Jeopardy questions, so too should the Watson technology be able to quickly provide relevant information for customer inquiries, drawing from a large amount of information. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2039376/ibm-launches-watson-customer-service-smart-bot.html#tk.rss_all