Bollywood celebrities star in Indian call centers thanks to AI
Barcelona, Spain, Mar 1 (EFE-EPA).- Being put through to a call center conjures feelings of dread and a hopeless acceptance that you will spend a good chunk of your day on hold listening to elevator music but imagine, instead, you were greeted by your favorite Bollywood star or the avatar of a deity – it is not as far-fetched as it sounds.
Radisys, a global leader in telecoms solutions, is using artificial intelligence technology and pre-recorded video to revolutionize and humanize the call center experience with its tool Engage Video Assistant.
“We use human experts, celebrities or an avatar to provide customers what they are looking for,” the firm’s senior director of business development, Shankar Krishnamurthy, told Efe at the Mobile World Congress taking place in Barcelona.
“People in India worship celebrities so when the message comes in from them, they are immediately engaged,” he added.
Not only will customers no longer have to wait in long queues, but they might find themselves connected via video call to famous Bollywood faces like Aalekh Kapoor, Nimika Ratnakar and Amitabh Bachchan who solve queries through pre-recorded interactive engagements.
“What it does is elevates the experience by showing a persona of the person that you are interacting with, so it actually feels like you are speaking with a real person and not just a machine,” Krishnamurthy said.
“The experience is no longer monotonous but exciting and memorable.”
The Philippines recently surpassed India as the world’s leading offshore destination for call centers, according to Site Selection Group, a US-based location advisory service, but the Covid-19 pandemic has nonetheless boosted demand and highlighted the need for human interaction.
“Let’s forget about automation and robotics, we want to humanize again and make people feel like they are having a face to face interaction, looking at a person and their emotions,” Krishnamurthy added.
As well as large call centers, the technology also targets small businesses which are looking to connect with their customers on a deeper level.
“With family-owned businesses, the technology gives them an opportunity to show their personality and create bonds with their customers,” senior vice-president and head of media, core and applications at Radisys, Al Balasco, told Efe.
Radisys, which is owned by Reliance JIO, the largest mobile operator in India, serves over 1.5 billion subscribers and over 200 mobile network operators worldwide.
The 17th edition of the MWC opened its doors on Monday to bustling crowds after it was reigned in last year and canceled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The GSMA, which organizes the annual event, this year scrapped Russia’s participation over the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
This year the MWC brings together 1,500 businesses in the industry and is expected to draw in between 40,000 to 60,000 visitors. EFE
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