Contact center software firm Observe.AI, officially known as Z21 Labs Inc., is adding a new Reporting & Analytics feature to its platform that promises to provide teams with more meaningful insights on the calls they handle.

The idea is that business leaders can leverage those insights to improve business performance and outcomes, the company said today. Observe.ai is the creator of an intelligent call center platform that helps human operators with tasks such as customer service.

The company relies on artificial intelligence-based natural language processing algorithms to analyze the conversations operators have with customers. The software can also transcribe each call and perform sentiment analysis to try to gauge the caller’s level of satisfaction. Moreover, it attempts to draw correlations between the operator’s words and actions and the caller’s happiness. Observe.AI is well funded, having secured $125 million from SoftBank Vision Fund, Zoom Video Communications Inc. and other investors last April.

The new Reporting & Analytics feature is meant to provide teams with an integrated and holistic view of their contact center’s performance. Features include interactive data exploration and visualizations, with insights provided across dimensions such as positive and negative customer experience drivers, customer sentiment, agent performance, coaching and revenue opportunities, and compliance.

Observe.AI said leaders will be able to glean insights around things such as how customer sentiment is trending over time, the biggest compliance errors made, which teams are driving the most sales conversions, what factors contribute to average hold times and more. Armed with this knowledge, managers can then carry out more precise investigations of these trends, test hypotheses and incorporate the intelligence into strategic initiatives around improving sales, market execution, product development or other aspects of the business.

Observe.AI co-founder and Chief Executive Swapnil Jain said that when it comes to contact center conversation intelligence, his company now sets itself apart in two ways. “Firstly, the unparalleled accuracy and integrity of our interaction data, which represents a goldmine of customer experience insights,” he said. “Secondly, we propel contact centers to apply this intelligence faster, with powerful automation to drive positive agent behavioral change at speed and scale.”

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Liz Miller said Observe.AI has wasted little time in putting the funds it raised in April to work, focusing on expanding its analytics and reporting capabilities to boost management-level visibility into contact center operations. She explained that although Observe.AI has always offered analytics, the latest update provides greater visibility into the “why” of contact center operations.

“For instance, it can tell users why some experiences yield better scoring metrics than others, or why some agents are handling questions more efficiently or effectively,” she explained. “This is more than just coaching, it’s about applying AI to help managers understand operations better, so decisions can be made with purpose and velocity.”

More broadly speaking, Miller said, Observe.AI’s new functionality is just the latest play in an industry that’s benefiting from the increased presence of AI. She said the technology is being used both to assist call center agents with better automated actions and customer insights, and as an actual assistant in the shape of virtual agents. “We can expect to see lots more funding announcements, product innovations and especially the expansion of AI applications, with a slew of startups expected to make noise in this ecosystem,” Miller added.

Observe.AI said the Reporting & Analytics feature is available now to all customers. It should be a welcome addition, if reports from early adopters are to be believed. For instance, Accolade Inc., a personalized healthcare benefits firm, said it has made significant improvements with its frontline care team performance and service quality.

“Observe.AI Reporting & Analytics allows us to deepen our understanding of the member experience with greater precision,” said Accolade Senior Director of Technology Services Tod Kehrli. “With their timely and contextualized insights, we’re able to rapidly promote successful behaviors across our team, and ensure we’re delivering the highest-quality healthcare experience.”

Photo: Freepik