Deloitte and Cisco have offered next-generation contact center technologies to help agencies address the surge in demand for government services due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Â
"Rethinking the customer experience and integrating automation and virtual assistants should be part of the long-term solution for every government," Marc Mancher, principal at Deloitte Consulting, said in a statement published Thursday.Â
"It is a critical tool in governments' efforts to meet the pressures of changing demographics and reduced budgets, retain and maximize satisfaction and productivity of their workforce, and ultimately build trust with the public by improving their experience with services,†added Mancher.Â
Such technologies use artificial intelligence, natural language processing and machine learning to help automate contact center operations and facilitate the delivery of services to citizens.Â
Omar Tawakol, vice president and general manager of contact center group at Cisco, said the crisis can pave way for governments to shift to digital and automated offerings from "high-touch, in-person citizen services."
Deloitte has helped call centers at government agencies adopt technologies to address over 5M inquiries for public services in the past four months, while Cisco’s contact center system has supported 3M agents worldwide.