Customer service challenges are not new, but they have become more pressing in the digital age. One of the most significant challenges is managing a limited number of service agents who can only handle a specific number of customers at a given time. Additionally, some user requests take longer to resolve than others, which can cause delays and bottlenecks.
The Solution
To address these challenges, businesses need to find ways to scale their customer service operations to manage peaks in demand. One approach is to use digital assistants to deflect high-volume, low-value requests, such as simple information queries like “What are the store opening times?” or “Where can I find the user manual for my device?”
This frees up human agents to focus on more complex customer issues and requests, while the digital assistant handles routine inquiries.
The system can automatically scale to meet demand, preventing long wait times and reducing the need for additional staff.
What can ODA offer?
Oracle Digital Assistant offers two distinct approaches for seamless integration with both Oracle B2C and third-party platforms.
- Live Agent Transfer
- DA as an Agent
Live Agent Transfer
The first is live agent transfer, where the conversation is seamlessly handed off to a B2C/3rd Party live agent when the user requires human intervention. This approach enhances the skills of the digital assistant, enabling it to handle user tasks more efficiently.
This approach is only available for Oracle B2C and 3rd party agents.
The agent integration channel holds the B2C access configuration. The channel is referenced by its name from the two system components in the dialog flow.
In the visual flow designer, the state template Agent Communication has two states which will implement the handover to the live agent.
The state Agent Initiation initiates contact and establishes connectivity
The state Agent Conversation requests and manages the conversation
What about a Live Agent Transfer to a 3rd Party?
Oracle Digital Assistant can be easily configured to work with a variety of third-party agent service systems. This is achieved through the use of the webhook channel, which provides a seamless connection to third-party systems. The system supports live agent transfer, leveraging the Agent Initiation and Agent Conversation components to seamlessly transfer the chat session to a live agent.
To simplify the implementation process, Oracle has made the implementation code for this functionality available on GitHub. Interested parties can access this resource at https://github.com/oracle/cloud-asset-oda-agent-handover.
DA as an Agent
Oracle B2C employs a pre-request form to efficiently connect service agents with customers. By qualifying the type of request, the system can accurately route high-value requests directly to an agent, while lower-value requests such as FAQs or order status checks can be handled by the digital assistant. Routing rules are defined to ensure requests are directed to the appropriate channel.
Oracle Digital Assistant is deployed as an agent within the B2C system, and user requests are assigned to the bot through a B2C queue. If the digital assistant is unable to provide adequate support, it can request live agent support to assist with the customer’s needs. This integration between the digital assistant and live agents ensures a seamless customer experience and optimized service delivery.
Which one to choose?
Live Agent:
- Subject to agent availability
- There may be a waiting time
- Ideal for cases where the user gets stuck, or for high-value use cases important for the organization
- The only option for 3rd party agent integration
- The feedback form requires a custom integration back to B2C
DA as an Agent:
- Waiting time depends on the rules
- Full Insights for Customer Service
- Web Chat for Service (WCFS) replaces Chat Inlay (from 23.02)
- The feedback form is out of the box
For new implementations we recommend DA as an agent! It is more flexibility, better integrated,provides insights and makes use of B2C/Fusion features!
Important to note:
Very soon, Oracle Fusion will also have support for DA as an Agent