What is Conversational Process Automation?

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Conversational Process Automation (CPA) uses artificial intelligence to bridge the gap between the customer facing world and process automation systems. CPAs are quite special because they automate both conversations and processes.

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When facing a customer, there is always a chance things may go wrong. For example, if a customer service agent is having a bad day, they may take it out on customers and damage your brand. This risk, multiplied by thousands of calls per day can be quite nerve-racking for many organizations. Thankfully, as the pressure to exceed customer expectations grows, so do the technologies that can help businesses overcome them. 

CPAs utilize technologies such as natural language processing and speech recognition to create scalable personalized experiences in consumer-facing situations. CPAs also use advanced analytics to continuously improve conversations with users to ensure a smooth experience over every interaction. 

How do CPAs Work

In order to understand how conversational process automations work, let’s compare the flow that traditional customer service representatives must go through to the flow CPAs experience. 

Traditional Customer Service Flow

1. First off, the customer contacts a business via one of their channels to request a refund. 
2. This request is converted into a ticket by the Help Desk. An available agent will pick up this ticket, and prioritize it based on its intent and sentiment. 
3. The customer is left waiting. Wait times will depend on the priority given to them but typically range between a few hours to a few days.
4. Once attended to, an agent logs into the system’s back-end to track down the order and customer information. 
5. A response is finally typed up and sent back to the customer.
6. At last, after a brief dialogue with the customer, the order is refunded, the ticket is manually closed and the transaction is completed.

Conversational Process Automation Flows

Had this above transaction been automated, the flow would look something like this:

1. The customer contacts a business via one of their channels to request a refund. 
2. The CPA automatically identifies the intent and begins the process to resolve the query.
3. The CPA accesses the back-end system to gain all relevant information on the customer, makes sure they are eligible for a refund and continues resolving the request if they are eligible.
4. The CPA then responds to the customer and closes the ticket. 

As we can see, a process that can occur many times a day can go from taking many days to complete (because it waits for a person to intervene) to being closed instantaneously after each request without ever requiring intervention from an inside support person.