Accelerates the Five9 Artificial Intelligence portfolio by providing ‘digital workers’ that drive a new level of self service in the contact center
Five9, a leading provider of the intelligent cloud contact center, announced the execution of a definitive agreement to acquire Inference Solutions, the most widely deployed Intelligent Virtual Agent (IVA) platform.
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“The acquisition of @InferenceSol by @Five9 gives them a leading IVA solution, greatly expanding their self-service offerings.” – @Dfluss
“Intelligent and personalized self-service has become the preferred approach to service for customers,” said Donna Fluss, President, DMG Consulting, LLC. “IVAs, which are AI-enabled omni-channel self-service solutions, are going to play a major role in the future of customer service as they provide an outstanding service experience, while automating activities that previously required the attention of live agents. The acquisition of Inference by Five9 gives them a leading IVA solution, greatly expanding their self-service offerings.”
As a result of the global pandemic, customers are engaging with brands through contact centers more than ever. Typically, customers who call into a contact center must first get through frustrating touch tone menu trees, or deal with inefficient and limited speech recognition, leaving them frustrated by the time they talk to a live agent. Consequently, to deliver a better self-service experience and relieve stress on agents, companies are increasingly looking to Intelligent Virtual Agents.
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IVAs utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to communicate like humans, recognizing speech and text, understanding intent, deciphering different languages, and responding in a way that mimics human conversations. IVAs are rapidly becoming a requirement of the modern contact center and represent a major evolution from touch-tone or voice activated IVRs, which depend upon structured, fixed grammar interactions. By contrast, IVAs are conversational, more accurate and user-friendly. IVAs are being viewed as effective ‘digital workers’ for businesses, resulting in significant savings through increased call deflection rates, better-informed agents, or both.
“We believe adding Inference to the Five9 portfolio accelerates our leadership position in AI while also providing customers with a market leading IVA at a time when customers need efficient real-time assistance,” said Rowan Trollope, CEO, Five9. “Customer engagement is now more paramount than ever. Inference is a proven leader with a best in class IVA solution. We are excited to build upon our successful partnership with this acquisition.”
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