Various CCaaS providers have already added generative artificial intelligence capabilities to their platforms. That typically means that agents have a simpler time doing their jobs. For instance, cloud contact center provider Five9 recently added to its generative AI functionality, adding AI summaries
This means that agents no longer have to spend time on calls taking notes because AI does it for them. And because of this, it can save agents valuable time - and increase their overall productivity. Of course, Five9 and Dialpad are not the first, nor will they be the last to add these seemingly key functionalities: but there are some principal differences between what Dialpad recently announced and what others are attempting to do.
Dialpad is already known as one of the industry's leading AI-powered CCaaS/CX (customer experience) platforms, thanks to its proprietary AI technology. It says it will partner with Google Cloud to develop a fresh set of generative AI features for users over the next year but has already launched a few - to date.
Dialpad is presently reaping the benefits of the partnership, having launched new AI Recaps for a subset of its users. It leverages Google Cloud LLMs (large language models) to generate conversation summaries. The technology can, furthermore, underscore critical information and recommend the next-best actions for agents - similar to what Five9 is doing.
Dialpad Ai Recap - Google Cloud Partnership
What is Vortex AI?
Additionally, the team at Dialpad will leverage Google Cloud’s models through Vertex AI - "looking to create new AI-powered playbooks that will provide real-time, context-sensitive suggestions and prompts to sales reps and support agents," according to Google Cloud.
They also want to create AI-driven scorecards to help automate the call review process for sales managers and contact center supervisors. Vertex AI is Google Cloud's machine learning (ML) platform that lets users train and deploy (ML) models and AI applications with relative ease by combining data engineering, data science, and ML engineering workflows.
Dialpad says that it is all about enabling AI in a practical way in a hybrid work environment, remarking that speed and ease of use are paramount - meaning users need real-time insights that keep them contemporary.
"When it comes to leveraging AI, it must be frictionless, fast, and simple for every user, regardless of role or business function."
The duo believes that the Dialpad and Google Cloud partnership will help solve what it calls: "the biggest pain points facing businesses seeking to deploy AI solutions holistically." As it stands, Dialpad brings together calls, messages, and meetings into a single unified platform.
That comes with various AI insights without the need to toggle back and forth between apps or browsers.
What Does this Mean for Dialpad Customers?
The AI partnership will only add to the platform's value (as it) will support business leadership by extending pre-built models "that further democratize AI usage throughout any size organization," Dialpad writes. And it will also mean a faster time to market for various AI-infused offerings, thanks to Google Cloud's generative AI.
Saving time thanks to new meeting summaries and highlighting essential/relevant information - all possible. And making decisions could become simpler for cross-department teams as calls will be automatically categorized. Now the purpose of a call purpose, along with the outcome, will be clear from the start of an interaction.
Customer service and sales agents will be the largest beneficiaries, likely becoming more efficient and overall better at their jobs. Features like Ai Playbook, which got a revamp earlier this summer: gives agents access to real-time, context-sensitive suggestions and prompts, which seeks to solve issues like churn prediction.
There is also the addition of Ai Scorecards, which according to Dialpad "evaluates call interactions and generates real-time, personalized, data-driven insights to drive agent performance and motivation and improve the customer experience."
Dialpad Ai Scorecard Google Cloud Partnership
Five years ago, Dialpad set out to transform its platform from a standard CCaaS offering to one dripping wet with AI. Today: that seems to have manifested via a partnership with Google Cloud.
You may recall that in December of 2022, Dialpad said it would $50 million into the continued research and development (R&D) of Ai-related technologies. At the same time, it also launched Dialpad Ai Labs, hoping to accelerate the development of AI features set to automate formerly manual business processes and more.
Dialpad's Obligation to Ethical AI
Responsible AI is something Dialpad has always talked about - from one of my first interviews with the CEO and Founder, Craig Walker, when he and I sat down to talk about its efforts with minority-owned businesses during the Pandemic. Today: that appears to be no different.
Its sense of ethical obligation, even with AI, has not altered. If anything, it seems to have gotten stronger: with Walker writing in a statement: "We infused Ai into our platform five years ago — and building it out responsibly is a facet we have always taken seriously."
And Google Cloud/Vertex AI will only help further that notion of creating ethical AI tools: all the while adding another layer of contextual depth to Dialpad’s platform. Walker continued; adding: "This will bubble up customer insights in real-time to make it easier for salespeople and customer service agents to do their job — which has been the core of our mission since day one.”
And this is not something we should take lightly, especially as AI becomes more ubiquitous in society. Folks are sounding the alarm about its potential dangers. Google's godfather of AI (Geoffrey Hinton) - or AI Chief, recently stepped down - citing "dangers ahead."
And that speaks volumes, especially coming from a man who, for half a century, trained these advanced AI models. And others, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, signed a public letter calling for a freeze on the development of AI for a few years.
Simply put, for as much good as it has the potential to do - we still do not know all the potential harm it could cause, and production is moving at lightning speed. So, these folks appear to be rightly warning, as to say: "I told you so." As for now, it seems that AI is harmless, but proceeding with a sense of ethics and caution is warranted in most cases.
That is (exactly) what Dialpad appears to be doing and seems to have always done - since it took on this AI mission a half-decade ago.
