Throwback Thursday: Dentist Move from Old-Fashion Painkillers to New-Aged Virtual Realities

I recently came across an article from Yahoo! Tech (Instead of Painkillers, Dentists May Soon Just Plunge You into a Virtual Reality) and found that virtual realities have been proving to be for more than just gaming. These headsets that immerse you into another world are appearing in your neighborhood dentist office? Yes, that is right, the dentist office! According to Tara Long of Discovery News, studies are being done on using virtual realities to alleviate dental pain. Check out the video below for the whole scoop. 

Video Source: Yahoo! Tech

Before the presence of immersive technology, painkillers/ anesthesia were the only way to reduce some of the pain from dental procedures. Now, the future of this technology is looking to replace modern medicine. What is your opinion on virtual realities used inside the dentist office? Is it all just a hoax or does the distraction and immersive elements of virtual realities really make you not feel the pain?

www.nohold.com

Leveraging a Virtual Agent to Cross-Sell Within the Right Context

While shopping online,do you ever become annoyed of all the irrelevant suggestions about different products and/or services a company throws at you? I know I have, and most of the time, it can ruin my overall shopping experience. Good news is, companies don’t have to be overly pushy to up-sell new products or services. A few weeks ago, we shared how a leader in the consumer electronics industry leveraged their Virtual Agent to increase support AND service revenue. Instead of marketing irrelevant upgrades and features to consumers, the company used the Virtual Agent to suggest appropriate items, at the appropriate times. By doing so, it gives users a more personalized experience, and comes across as more of a helpful hand than a pushy sales tactic.

Industry leaders are recognizing the need to provide answers to pre-sales questions. Take for example the launch of Windows 8. Leading PC companies were getting an overwhelming number of questions regarded this new Operating System, one of the top questions being as basic as, “Where is the start button?” Making sure consumers understand the product before it is launched, is just as important as supporting it.  

Another example, imagine you are a student, looking for a new laptop for school that also meets the needs for your new internship. You take a look on Amazon, but you are not sure which laptop has the right features for you. Leveraging a Virtual Agent can streamline the process of finding the laptop that best meets your need, and also suggest relevant add-ons based on the context of the conversation. For example, you type in that a lot of memory is important for you. The Virtual Agent can give you laptop options that fits your criteria, offer upgrades to enhance your needs (extra memory), and automatically put those items in your shopping cart for you. A Virtual Agent can help with all aspects of the customer journey; pre-sale, purchasing, and support. 

Do you agree that more emphasis should be put on selling new products/ upgraded features to consumers in the right context? How does your company increase service revenue? 

www.nohold.com

35% of IT Operations Organizations Will Have 75% of IT Service Desk Contacts from the Business Resolved by Virtual Assistants

In recent news, noHold announced last Thursday our partnership with a trusted provider of user-oriented IT solutions for systems, security, mobility, and ITSM challenges. In doing so, we are working together to introduce the next-generation Help Desk to IT organizations with the help of Virtual Assistants/Virtual Agents. Here is our stance on the topic.   

Typically, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction are prioritized on two different levels, and in a customer-centric world, companies often let employee satisfaction fall by the wayside. In fact, industry experts in IT Operations have said that in general, IT Service Management is five to six years behind consumer-facing Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Knowing this, companies are taking another look internally and starting to incorporate what experts call a ‘necessity’ to running an efficient Help Desk. Top research firm, Gartner, predicts, “By 2016, 35% of IT operations organizations will have 75% of IT service desk contacts from the business resolved by virtual assistants” (Source: Gartner Predicts 2014: Automation Brings Promise to IT Operations Management, but at What Cost? 12 December 2013. Authors: Greene, J., Colville, R., et al.).

Some companies are already embracing a more interactive Help Desk. For example, Fidelity, the world’s largest provider of financial services, used Apple’s Genius Bar as inspiration for constructing their Help Desk. By doing this, the company is providing a closer, more personal relationship between the business and their employees. Multiple universities are also following suit, creating Help Desks with a similar concept to the Genius Bar.

A ‘Genius Bar’ inspired Help Desk is a move in the right direction; but as for the near future, IT organizations seem to be getting more interactive, in addition to becoming automated. In fact, industry experts agree that most IT help desk tickets can be handled through self-service. It is increasingly important for IT to implement a quality self-service solution for their employees to ensure profitability and employee satisfaction.  

A revolutionized Help Desk will include leveraging a Virtual Assistant as a first point of contact. One way of making a Virtual Assistant easily accessible, is through QR codes. Simply scan the QR code and a Virtual Assistant will pop up to help you with questions regarding BYOD, company policies, email issues, and more. When a live agent is necessary, the Virtual Assistant can carry the conversation over to the live agent so they know the root of the issue and can take action quickly. Incorporating a Virtual Assistant into your IT strategy can support employees, while allowing the Help Desk to spend less time responding to issues that can be automated, and more time focusing on the business.

I'll leave you with this slideshare demonstrates how a Virtual Assistant empowers enterprise customers.

www.nohold.com

The Internet of Everything Improves Cities

Smart phones, smart cars, smart homes, and now, smart trash cans. This video shows how Philadelphia is moving towards becoming a 'smart' city by installing solar-powered trash compactors for the public. 


Video Credit: cnn.com

As they mention in the video, "The big belly solar compactor automatically crushes down it's trash, allowing it to hold 5 times the amount of garbage as a standard waste basket. When it's full, it sends an alert to a website indicating it needs to be emptied. That little alert makes a big difference." With the capability to hold more garbage and send notifications when it is time for a trash bin to be emptied, the city becomes more efficient, while saving money.

Internet connected trash cans are just another example of how smart technology is impacting our lives. As more and more things become 'connected', people will start to interact with Virtual Agents(VA) on a daily basis as their primary source to manage all these devices.

Do you think VA's are going to play a big role in the Internet of Everything? Can you imagine a 'butler-style'  Virtual Agent that can communicate with all your devices and notify you when something needs to be done?
www.nohold.com

A Look Back at noHold's Top Stories of the Week: July 21st-25th

Happy Friday! 
Here is a snapshot of noHold's top stories of the week. 

1. Meet Jibo, the first family robot to hit the market. Katie Couric interviews the woman who created this social robot, Cynthia Breazeal. Click here to check out noHold's perspective and the full interview.

Photo Credit: wearethefrontier.com

2. This weeks Virtual Agent tip...sharing coupons, promotions, and hot offers via a Virtual Agent. Offering coupons through the Virtual Agent encourages prospective buyers to make the purchase. 

3. A recent implementation is receiving great feedback from users. This Call Center Virtual Agent is reaching ratings of 91% effectiveness.     

4. [PRESS RELEASE] noHold Joins the LANDESK One Partner Program to Create the Next Generation Help Desk.  

We are very excited to announce our involvement with the LANDESK One Partner Program. Together we are working to bring smarter self-service to the Help Desk. 

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Thanks for sharing another great week with us! I'll leave you with this photo...

Photo Credit: cloudways.com

Enjoy your weekend!

www.nohold.com

noHold Joins the LANDESK One Partner Program to Create the Next Generation Help Desk

"MILPITAS, CA, (July 24, 2014) — noHold, Inc. announced today that they have joined the LANDESK One technology partner program to provide employees with the next generation, self-service help desk solution. LANDESK One is designed to provide opportunities for ISVs to create innovative and complementary technology on the LANDESK platforms. The program advances LANDESK’s user-oriented IT vision by enabling ISV partners to amplify the complete LANDESK portfolio to create customized, user-focused solutions. noHold and LANDESK are coming together to support the need of interactive technology for internal customers (employees). 

noHold Virtual Agents are used by leading brands to revolutionize their customers’ experience. Albert is an extension of noHold’s flagship product, InstantSupport™, but instead designed for employees to find answers to their problems, on their own terms. Albert can be customized with company-specific information or pre-packaged with answers to top questions about Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), Windows and Apple Operating Systems, and more."

___________________________________________________________________

Please click here to continue reading the full press release. 

www.nohold.com

Call Center Virtual Agent is Reaching Ratings of 91% Effectiveness

Recently, a long-time, valued customer of noHold chose to broaden their self-service options and implement a Call Center Virtual Agent into another one of their Call Centers, over seas.  Within the first few weeks that it has been live, it is already receiving a 91% effectiveness rating. (Effectiveness is measured in terms of if the user voted the solution to be very helpful or not.)  They are getting great use out of their Virtual Agent and are benefiting from the advantages the Virtual Agent has to offer. 

Does your company use outsourced Call Centers? Also, how do you train your agents to be knowledgeable and efficient all at the same time?

I'll leave you with this business case about a leading security software provider surpassing their own expectations of reducing Average Handle Time (AHT), churn, and second tier escalation by adding a Virtual Agent in their Call Center. 

www.nohold.com

Virtual Agent Tips and Tricks: Sharing Coupons, Promotions, and Hot Offers for Virtual Agent Users

We’ve mentioned before how Virtual Agents can educate, provide advice and offer opportunities to purchase complimentary products and services (cross-sell). Empowering your audience with self-service via a conversational Virtual Agent has proven to increase sales in stores, online, and in the Call Center.

Other benefits include:

   

Throughout the years, we have learned best practices to get the most out of your Virtual Agent. One of those best practices is to share coupons, promotions, or ‘hot offers’ through your Virtual Agent. The Virtual Agent uses logical reasoning and determines the appropriate promotion or coupon to encourage users to buy the product. Using limited-time coupons entices people to make the purchase right then and there as opposed to waiting for a better deal. This way, the company wins by locking in the sale, and the customer is happy from their great experience.

Here is an example of the Virtual Agent encouraging the user to buy the product with a coupon:

   

If you were on the fence about a product, would offering a limited time coupon sway you to buy it? What other self-service methods encourage online shoppers to make a purchase, instead of abandoning cart?

www.nohold.com

The First Social Robot to Hit the Market, Jibo

Throughout time we have used robots to accomplish many different missions: sending them to space, using them within the military, efficiently running a manufacturing line, and more. Now, social robots are hitting the market, such as Jibo, the world's first family robot. 

Photo Credit: wearethefrontier.com

Jibo is a compact robot with a huge personality, designed by a pioneer of social robotics, Cynthia Breazeal. Similar to Virtual Personal Assistants (such as Siri and Google Now), Jibo can greet you and remind you of appointments throughout the day. More importantly, social robots (like Jibo) have been seen to have a greater impact on literacy and second language learning than standard computers. The interactive element of Jibo makes learning easier because of it companionship feel, unlike a regular application on a device (Meet Jibo: The World's First Family Robot).

Click here to watch an interview with Breazeal talking about her inspiration for Jibo and its different functions.

With robots gaining popularity, some people are concerned about robots replacing humans within jobs, and/or replacing human roles in general. As Breazeal said in her interview with Katie Couric, "It's about human empowerment." Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is being used to augment human actions, not take over.  

How do you feel about a personal, social robot for your home? Would you buy one, why or why not? 

www.nohold.com

A Look Back at noHold's Top Stories of the Week: July 14 - July 18

As another week is wrapping up, lets take a look back at some of noHold's top stories of the week...

1. Check out this video of a Virtual Agent in Action

2. noHold announces their efforts in the charitable initiative, Virtual Volunteers!

"Over the past year or so, noHold has been working on a charitable initiative called Virtual Volunteers. A Virtual Volunteer is a Virtual Agent aimed to provide nonprofit organizations with a self-service solution that will guide users to answer their own questions, quickly. Our mission is to serve as a Virtual Volunteer for your organization. This means working to help your cause provide real answers to real questions in a fast and efficient way. Our goal is to fill the overall need of getting accurate and important information to your audience."

Click here to ask Vint a question!

3. Increasing support and service revenue with the help of a Virtual Agent. 

A company in the consumer electronics industry leveraged their Virtual Agent to help get their customers the services they need, while increasing revenue for the company.

"Humans are programmed to reject typical forms of advertisement, but everybody still appreciates a helping hand when they are trying to solve a problem." 

-noHold, Inc. 

Does your company leverage self-service to generate revenue? How do you offer the right services at the right time? 

4. Throwback Thursday: Here we talked about the evolution of movie robots, and the evolution of the brains behind the robots, Artificial Intelligence. 

                                                                                                                   

To conclude this week, I want to share with you some pictures I stumbled across of this years best photos taken from a drone. I'll leave you with a couple of the top pics. Cheers!

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

www.nohold.com

Throwback Thursday: The Evolution of Movie Robots and Artificial Intelligence

Trivia Question: Does anyone remember the first movie a robot appeared in?

...Give up?

The first robot debuted on the big screen in the 1919 film, ‘The Master Mystery’, except they weren't called robots yet; they were called automatons. For today’s audience, robots are a common thing to see in movies and they have only gotten more technologically advanced…and bigger! Check out this Yahoo! Movies video that takes you through a short tour of the evolution of movie robots.

As you can see, robots, and the brains behind the robots, Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), have continued to evolve throughout time. The beginning years of A.I., the technology did not have the diagnostic, conversational ability. Before, humans would interact with A.I. but it could only pick out keywords. In essence, there was no logic behind it. For example, if you asked an A.I., “I need directions to the grocery store from noHold”, it would pick out the key words (directions, grocery store, noHold), but it wouldn't be able to decipher the connecting words. The A.I. might interpret your request incorrectly and give you directions to noHold from the grocery store instead.

Now, A.I. is more advanced, and does not only use logic to process information, but also customizes responses. 

One way to provide custom responses (that is gaining popularity in the market) is using predictive technology. Taking the example from above about directions, if you ask a Virtual Agent where the nearest movie theater is, and it can respond with the solution AND give you options of nearby restaurants or the latest reviews on a current movie as well. Predictive interactions make it easier for users to get relevant information, without having to ask.

Location-based awareness is also a trending technology for new devices. Using GPS tracking to pinpoint your location, a Virtual Agent can use that information to provide users with location-specific content.

By combining logic, predictive interactions, and location-based awareness, Artificial Intelligence has evolved to become more user-friendly and personalized.

Do you remember your earliest interaction with a robot or Artificial Intelligence (AI)? How has the experience evolved over time? In your opinion, what will AI be capable of 5 years from now? 

www.nohold.com

How to Increase Support and Service Revenue with a Virtual Agent

Has your company ever offered a new service, but it wasn't getting much attention? Service revenue generation is a common challenge that many companies face. One of noHold's clients leveraged a Virtual Agent to help get their customers the service they need, while increasing revenue for the company. Here is a short story and some 'lessons learned.'

• The company is in the consumer electronics space.
• They implemented a Virtual Agent (VA) that can answer primarily post-sales questions about their products. 
• The VA handles over 70K interactions per month, decreasing support cost significantly.
• The company decided to promote a Premium Support Service on its website.
• They used the typical approach: banners, colorful buttons, etc.
• Very little leads came from this type of advertisement.
• noHold proposed to let the VA offer the upgraded Service in the right context. No flashy buttons or gimmicks, just let the VA play the role of an expert advisor.
• When an end user describes a problem, the VA provides an answer, but if appropriate, it also suggests to sign up for the Premium Service.
• It worked! The VA is generating an average monthly stream of more than $130,00. 

Lessons learned:

The Virtual Agent was able to create leads that otherwise would have been lost, because it can propose a new service or product within the right context.

The same button that nobody was clicking on while flashing in the middle of the website, is now scoring record sales. This happens because the VA is capable of understanding the context of the conversation and presents an offer only when it makes sense.

Humans are programmed to reject typical forms of advertisement, but everybody still appreciates a helping hand when they are trying to solve a problem. 

Does your company leverage self-service to generate revenue? How do you offer the right services at the right time? 

www.nohold.com

Virtual Agent Tips and Tricks: Leveraging a Virtual Agent for Your Cause

Over the past year or so, noHold has been working on a charitable initiative called Virtual Volunteers. A Virtual Volunteer is a Virtual Agent aimed to provide nonprofit organizations with a self-service solution that will guide users to answer their own questions, quickly. Our mission is to serve as a Virtual Volunteer for your organization. This means working to help your cause provide real answers to real questions in a fast and efficient way. Our goal is to fill the overall need of getting accurate and important information to your audience.

Want to apply for your nonprofit? It’s easy. All you have to do is go to the website, download the application form, complete it, and fax it to noHold: (408) 946-9202. Or, use our Virtual Agent, Vint (a Virtual Volunteer expert), and submit your application online. Vint will gladly assist you with any questions you might have regarding the initiative, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We are receiving wonderful feedback from nonprofit organizations, and are currently in the process of completing a couple Virtual Volunteers. An official announcement will be released in the coming weeks. 

Cheers!

www.nohold.com   

http://www.nohold.com/virtual-volunteers.html 

Virtual Agent in Action: User Navigates to the Correct Solution Quickly

Happy Monday! Not too long ago, noHold created a quick demonstration video. In this example, a user encounters an issue with his account. Instead of contacting the company directly, he opted to use their self-service solution.    

As you can see, a Virtual Agent is a user-friendly way for consumers to find the answers to their questions without having to wait for an agent to become available. Additionally, if users elect to use a Virtual Agent, it reduces the volume of calls to the Call Center, in turn cutting the costs. It is a win-win situation for all parties: the customer gets the answer they need while being immersed in an interactive customer experience, and companies deliver outstanding customer service without over paying. 

Does your company's contact center get the same frequently asked questions multiple times a day? Do you think automation will help achieve that 'win-win' scenario?

For more information on self-service solutions, please check out our website: www.nohold.com   

A Look Back at noHold's Top Stories of the Week

Happy Friday all, hope you had a great work week, and have an even better weekend! But before you rush out of the office, take a look back at some of our top posts of the week. 

1. Cruise: A start-up company markets the first version of their highway autopilot system. What does this mean for Google's self-driving car? 

2.  4/5 Users Prefer Using a Virtual Agent to Traditional Support Options 

This week, after completing multiple A/B test sessions, we have found that 4 out of 5 people who tried both, the current support options of 'Brand X' and a Virtual Agent of 'Brand X', preferred using the VA to guide them to what they were looking for. For a description of the A/B testing done, check out the blog, Majority of Users Preferred Interacting with a Virtual Agent as a First Line of Support. 

3. Throwback Thursday: Evolving from computer bots to humanoids

What is your opinion on robots that look exactly like humans? If you have used a Virtual Agent for Customer Support, Care, or sales questions, do you prefer to know that it is an automated solution before interacting?    
                                                                                                                   
Cheers!
www.nohold.com

Throwback Thursday: Traditional Robots vs. Human-Like Robots

Photo credit: ucsddigitaljournalism.blogspot.com

Do you remember the times when a person would mention a robot and the image in your head would resemble the picture to the left? Big, bulky, square body parts, with antennas and computer features on the exterior completely validated the "I am a robot" phrase. 

Photo credit: dunckelnews.com

Today, when we see pictures or movies of what robots of the future will look like, they typically have more human features (see example on right), but are still recognizable as machines. 



     

Photo credit: news.yahoo.com

Now, robots are becoming more human-like than ever. To the left is an image of what appears to be a woman, but in reality, it is a robot. In Japan, one company is experimenting with robots, designing them to look, move, and talk like a human.  Japanese robotics expert, Hiroshi Ishiguro says "Making androids is about exploring what it means to be human," he told reporters Tuesday, "examining the question of what is emotion, what is awareness, what is thinking." (Woman or Machine? New Robots Look Creepily Human) 

Imagine adding Virtual Agent technology to a humanoid robot to provide it with the proper knowledge to answer questions. For example, the humanoid robot could be a store clerk, knowledgeable about your favorite product, customer service, etc. Or imagine an employee Help Desk with a human-like robot to answer your questions about BYOD, corporate policies, and more. How would you react? 

What is your opinion on robots that look exactly like humans? If you have used a Virtual Agent for Customer Support, Care, or sales questions, do you prefer to know that it is an automated solution before interacting?   

www.nohold.com

Four out of Five Users Prefer Using a Virtual Agent to Traditional Support Options

Last month, we mentioned that noHold is conducting A/B testing to measure user preference when it comes to support site options. [Click here to read the full blog describing the testing.] After analyzing the data collected thus far, we found that four out of five users prefer using a Virtual Agent (VA) as a first line of support, compared to a brand's current (non-interactive) support options (e.g. FAQ's, phone numbers, email, etc).

Photo Credit: mcbeestrategic.com

Sometimes clients come to us for a Call Center Virtual Agent only (employee-facing). There are great advantages to implementing a VA in the Call Center. It can reduce Average Handle Time (AHT) by up to 15%, and improve training and consistency within the Call Center, but knowing the majority of users chose the Virtual Agent as their preferred first line of defense for support, validates to our clients the need to make Virtual Agents available to their customers as well. Here's an example; a leader in the security software industry is broadening the reach of their Virtual Agent from being used by Call Center agents only to implementing a customer-facing VA. This way, customers have the option to find the answers to their own questions, reducing the volume of calls to the Call Center and thus decreasing costs. 

Let us know what your experience with a Virtual Agent was like? Did you prefer the interactive approach the Virtual Agent offered? How did it compare to 'old-school' (traditional) support options?

www.nohold.com

Cruise: Highway Autopilot System Mounts on Existing Cars

Recently, a small start up company, called Cruise, announced their first version of a highway autopilot system. This product is more advanced than cruise control, but not an entirely self-driving car on its own. Take a look at the video from TechCrunch's YouTube  demonstrating Cruise in action.      

It may seem similar to Google's current self-driving car project, but Cruise beat Google to the market. Google's efforts are not for nothing though, "because of Google, people are ready. Ten years ago, people would've said that this is science fiction. But now, they're not asking if, but when. There's a perception that self-driving cars are coming and people are expecting them" (A Little Startup Called Cruise From The Socialcam, Twitch Founders is Tackleing Self-Driving Cars Too). With continued research and new products on the market, you can tell that large name brands are embracing the consumer's demand for automation.

www.nohold.com

Throwback Thursday: Happy Independence Day!

With the Fourth of July right around the corner, people are getting in the holiday spirit: Grills are heating up, swimming pools are crystal clear, and fireworks are in place (with safety precautions taken, of course!). 

But before we start leaving the office for this three day weekend, I wanted to share a quick blog about how technology/computers are being used this Fourth of July to keep the public a little bit more safe. For example, an audio monitoring network will be used to regulate celebratory gunfire. What shooters think to be an innocent act of honor/celebration can turn to be very dangerous and law enforcement is preparing for the high volume of shots this year for Fourth of July. "To help deter this gunfire, several police departments across the U.S. will be using a high-tech gunshot detection system to pinpoint the location and moment a firearm is discharged" (US Police Go High Tech to Tackle Fourth of July Celebratory Gunfire). By utilizing this technology, police are able to differentiate between gunfire and fireworks more accurately, and respond to the scene quicker than if a bystander called it in. 

Some other notable moments in tech history this month

1. MIT's Whirlwind allows keyboard input to the machine. "MIT's Whirlwind which has been completed five years earlier, becomes the first computer in the world to allow its users to enter commands through a keyboard. Previously, all input was accomplished through dials, switches, and/or punch cards" (Keyboards and Computers, Together at Last).
2. IBM introduces their first desktop computer to the world, Datamaster. Intended for small business use, and for end-users to be able to set it up without the need for a computer specialist. Soon after, they released the IBM PC recycling much of the knowledge they used to create the Datamaster (IBM's First Desktop Computer).

All-in-all, there have been some major milestones in tech history this month, but more importantly, major moments in US history. We hope you all have a fun and safe holiday weekend. Happy Fourth of July!

Photo Credit: www.smartertravel.com

5 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Virtual Agent

I recently read an article titled, "11 Tips to Get the Most Out of Siri." In this article, Dan Graziano from CNET demonstrates some lesser known features of Apple's Virtual Assistant Siri. For example, you can let Siri know that 'Stacy' is your mom, so when you ask Siri to 'text my mom', Siri recognizes who you are talking about. 

Inspired by this article, I wanted to let you in on a few of our tips/best practices to get the most out of your Virtual Agent...

1. Use social media to market your Virtual Agent to your audience as a great way to stay connected. With more than half the population on social media (Social Networking Statistics), quick tweets and updates can promote self-service. Companies across multiple industries have discovered that sending quick messages to a connected audience is a great way to spread awareness and remind clients that self-service is available 24x7. For more info on this topic, read "Virtual Agent Tips and Tricks: Now Trending....#VirtualAgents"  

2. Another tip is to turn your partner program into a revenue generator.  Extending the Virtual Agent to them will build a stronger relationship with them all while seeing an increasing ROI. 

3. Start embedding 'how-to' videos into Virtual Agent solutions. It is good to have multiple media options within the Virtual Agent to best accommodate the needs of all individuals. In addition, the Virtual Agent makes finding videos much easier than traditional search. By positioning the video as part of a solution, end users can play a short clip and visualize how to fix their problem.    

4. Utilize a Virtual Agent to enhance your product's user manual. User manuals tend to be cumbersome, but creating a more interactive and diagnostic manual (with a Virtual Agent) will make it more user-friendly and quicker to find the information you need. 

5. Implement a 'Care Virtual Agent' in addition to the traditional support VA. Excellent customer care is a key factor in satisfying your audience and encouraging them to remain loyal. When they have a question about shipping information, it is important to be able to find a solution as quickly as possible, on their own terms. 

These are just a few tips/best practices that we have learned over the many years of being a leader in the industry. How do you get the most out of your Virtual Agent? Do you have any other 'tips' about Virtual Agents or self-service to add to this list? 

Cheers!

www.nohold.com