Enjoy New Updates to Albert PRO

Hope everyone had a great holiday break! Now, lets get right into it.  The latest version of Albert is live, and PRO users are now able to enjoy a handful of new features described!  Albert's Advice New updates include: 1. Voting mechanisms can be put in place allowing users to vote on the effectiveness of a solution. You can enable this feature in the "Edit Dialog" page.  To view the rating of effectiveness, go to "view usage." As you can see in the photo below, within the widget on the right, the different color dots symbolize whether a solution was voted effective, needs improvement, or somewhere in between.  2.  Some other updates to the usage page include: The ability to view more metrics. Now, the date filter has many ranges to choose from, or you can specify a customer date range for which you would like metrics.  An extra widget titled Top Countries. This shows you where in the world users are coming from. An option to export data has been added.  3. Even personal accounts have included a new feature. Within the dialog settings page, you are now able to create a "help" button at the top of your bot. This button is an easy way for users to escalate to an alternate support resource in the case that they can not find the answer they need with Albert. This button can be labeled whatever you like, and be linked to wherever you want. If you need any help, or have any questions on the new updates, please feel free to contact us. Albert of the Month Congratulations to Centro39 on being named June's Albert of the Month. Centro 39 is the online destination fashion boutique for luxury Italian style. As a small business, they are using Albert as a 24/7 customer service sidekick. Check out their story below. We would love to hear from you, too. Feel free to send us how you are using Albert for a chance to be featured here.

Click here to upgrade to Albert PRO.

Catch noHold's CEO speaking at Conversational Interaction Conference

Greetings!

Wanted to give you guys the heads up that noHold's CEO, Diego Ventura, will be speaking at the Conversational Interaction Conference in San Jose, California. On Monday, January 30th, Diego will be presenting "Connecting Humans and the Internet of Things." In his talk he will be discussing the significant impact Virtual Assistants are having on our lives. He will answer questions such as how Virtual Assistants can be leveraged at every stage of the product life cycle, not just support, and how Virtual Assistants will improve the way humans connect to the Internet of Things. 

After 17 years of being of major contributor in the Virtual Assistant space, Diego is excited to give an insiders perspective on where the market is, and where it is heading. "The CI Conference will discuss how companies and application developers can take advantage of this trend - including resources for creating bots and digital assistants, delivering customer service in natural language, best practices, examples of deployed solutions, and other commercial opportunities generated by the trend."

If you are interested in hearing Diego, and other acknowledged leaders in this space, visit www.conversationalinteraction.com to register and reserve your spot for this 2-Day conference. 
We hope to see you there! Cheers!
#CIcon2017
www.nohold.com

Chatbots Are Not Just For Enterprises Anymore...

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Remember the blog, The Industry Recognizes Need to Democratize Virtual Assistants?

To refresh your memory really quick, Esteban Kolsky, someone who has been following the chatbot space since before they were known as chatbots, wrote a piece describing some key points on how the industry can move toward democratizing AI/chatbots. "In that post, I claim that simplicity and democratization of the resources inherent to chatbot’s world can be used by small business easily to fulfill their needs.  I also make the statement that if this works for small businesses then anyone and anything can leverage chatbots.  My hope is that we can all, for professional or personal reasons, create and manage an army of chatbots that, easily and with limited or no maintenance, will allow us to focus on the real needs we have and simplify the easy interactions with others." 

Just last month, Esteban wrote another blog titled Democratizing Large Enterprise Chatbots for Small Businesses. Here he recognized our efforts put forth in making the creation of a chatbot simpler, cheaper and easier to deploy with the launch of our new product Albert.  Albert is also being acknowledged by major publications such as Forbes, TheNextWeb, PCWorld and more. 

Lots of people have signed up for the Beta program of Albert, and it is receiving tons of positive feedback from small businesses to individuals using it for personal projects. As for the future, we are looking to make more features available such as UI customization and creating multiple chatbots on one account.

We are just glad that people like Esteban are recognizing this movement and embracing it! Cheers!
www.albertai.com

noHold Launches SICURA™ QuickStart

Empowering non-programmers to create their own Virtual Assistant (bot)

December 6, 2016, MILPITAS, CA – noHold announces SICURA™ QuickStart, a platform designed to make creating a Virtual Assistant (Albert) easy for anyone with a basic understanding of Microsoft® Word or Google® Docs.

Now, if you are a small business owner you can create a Virtual Assistant out of the manual for your product(s). If you are a large enterprise you can create a Virtual Assistant out of an Employee Handbook. Personal use is possible, too. For example, students can create a Virtual Assistant out of their last research paper.

According to Business Insider, in April of 2015 the number of messaging application users surpassed the number of social application users.  Given that the interaction paradigm of a messaging application is very similar to the paradigm of a Virtual Assistant (bot), the popularity of Virtual Assistants has increased exponentially. Recognizing this growing trend, noHold engineered SICURA QuickStart as a way to make creating and managing AI simple for anyone.

To make your own Albert, go to www.albertai.com, and click sign up in the top right navigation bar. Follow a few simple instructions to get a free personal account, and once you have access you will be ready to start teaching Albert anything you want. Upon completion of training Albert (a process that takes seconds), a mobile-friendly URL is provided. This URL can be placed anywhere you like, making integrating with websites, social media, and collaboration platforms easy. Metrics are also available to monitor weekly usage and identify exactly what users are asking your Albert.

CEO of noHold, Diego Ventura, goes on to say, “I don’t believe the next generation AI will be built by one single big company, instead, it will be the result of the collaboration of millions of people who have created their own Virtual Assistants and are able to connect them together. Who knows, maybe a lot of them will be called Albert.”

Dreamforce 2016 Announces Einstein, But noHold Introduced Albert Years Ago

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Dreamforce 2016, one of the largest tech conferences in the world came to a close last week. It was exciting to see industry professionals come together in San Francisco to connect, learn and grow. There has been many interesting things that came about from Dreamforce, but one of the biggest announcements from last week has to be the introduction of Einstein. 

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Salesforce has jumped on the Artificial Intelligence train, acquiring numerous machine learning companies over the past couple of years to create what is being considered the 'smartest CRM system' out there. In short, it is a product that helps sales people narrow in on the most promising leads with the use of Artificial Intelligence.

While Salesforce is starting to revolutionize the way CRM systems operate with Artificial Intelligence, noHold has been using Artificial Intelligence to change the way customers engage with customers for over 15 years. We always believe imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Back in 2012, noHold started using the name Albert for one of our Virtual Assistants aimed at helping the Help Desk. Albert after Albert Einstein, that is. Now, we are moving forward with the name Albert as a product that will make it easier for anyone to create their own Virtual Assistant. Come back around Thanksgiving 2016 to learn more about Albert.

Cheers! 
www.nohold.com

Setting Up a Virtual Assistant for Success: Prioritizing Positioning and Placement

The key to successfully deploying and maintaining an Enterprise Virtual Assistant is positioning. We have found Virtual Assistants that are easily accessible on websites compatible on any device and strategically promoted increase interactions, customer engagement and adoption, while reducing calls to the contact center.  

A top PC manufacturer was recently recognized for excellent web and social support, with a special kudos to their Virtual Assistant. The company has made positioning and placement of the Virtual Assistant a priority. The strategically placed Virtual Assistant has become a first line of support for customers seeking help through the web. 

Here is a compact list of some actions a top PC manufacturer takes to make the Virtual Assistant known by user:

1. Frequently Shares a Link via Twitter 

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Utilizing social media outlets to advertise the Virtual Assistant helps customers find support resources quickly and easily, while increasing visibility and adoption of the self-service tool. 


2. Includes a Link in Email Signatures

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When a customer does reach out to the contact center, the contact center agent email signature includes a link the the Virtual Assistant to encourage self-service adoption. 


3. Highlights a Link on the Technical Support Page

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Because the Virtual Assistant is geared toward technical support, a small description of the tool and a link are added to the support page. This helps customers better understand self-service, so they can make the choice to use it prior to other resources. Ultimately reducing the traffic to the Contact Center. 

Bottom line, if people don't know it exists; they wont use it. Making sure people learn about the self-service option is the best way to get consumers to use it as a resource. Positioning and placement play a huge role in making a Virtual Assistant seen. It is critical to prioritize positioning for success.
  

The Search Paradigm is Shifting, Are You Ready?

For the past two decades, the Search paradigm has dominated the person-computer interaction. Companies such as Google have led the way with their minimalistic UI we all know, but we have noticed that this traditional Search paradigm leaves the responsibility of sorting through a long list of possible answers in the hands of end users, often resulting in a cumbersome experience.

This year, the person-computer interaction will shift from the traditional Search paradigm to a next-generation Search experience. There are 4 key ingredients to improving the end user Search experience: N.I.C.K.

1. Natural Language Processor (NLP)

2. Interactive

3. Context sensitive  

4. Knowledgeable

We call this new paradigm the Concierge. Check out this week’s video to learn more about N.I.C.K. 

To find out if N.I.C.K. (the concierge approach) works for your company, contact us to organize an A/B testing between your existing search paradigm and N.I.C.K. 

Best wishes in the coming year, 

Diego

noHold’s A.I. Helps Companies Break through Language Barriers

Successfully Deploying Virtual Assistants in 13 Languages

December, 17, 2015, MILPITAS, CA– noHold's Virtual Assistant technology officially supports 13 different languages. As the acknowledged leader in web based self-service solutions, noHold is proud to announce that we are now live with Virtual Assistants in Chinese (Traditional & Simplified), Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish. Although we are live with 13 languages, noHold's technology has the capability to support any language (single- or double-byte).

“Research shows that 83% of consumers require some degree of customer support while making an online purchase.” (eConsultancy) Couple that with the fact that self-service is quickly becoming the preferred method for customer engagement (Forrester), validates the need for customer-centric brands to have multilingual support options.

The benefits of using a Virtual Assistant as part of your multilingual strategy include:

• Increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty
• The ability to understand cultural differences
• Quick and easy implementation process
• Global recognition as a leader in the industry

"Providing support in one’s native language is more important than one may think,” said Diego Ventura, CEO of noHold. “It creates affinity with the brand, and decreases customer effort to get where they need to go. Using pattern-recognition-like algorithms in our Natural Language Processor allows us to localize a Virtual Assistant in only a few days."

About noHold, Inc.

noHold is a privately held company established in 1999 and is headquartered in Milpitas, CA, USA (Silicon Valley). noHold is the acknowledged leader in Web based Self-service solutions with a mission to deliver real answers to real questions – real fast. Simple to use, easy to implement and as close to human as you can get, noHold turns automated customer support into cognitive customer interactions. noHold customers include Toshiba, Cisco and a host of industry leaders. More information can be found at http://www.nohold.com or subscribe to noHold’s vlog to hear more from CEO, Diego Ventura.

Press Contact

Veronica Cech

Marketing Associate

vcech@nohold.com   

408.946.9200 ext. 356

All other product and service names are the property of their respective owners.

You Don't Have to Boil the Ocean!

When considering implementing a Virtual Assistant (VA), it is important to remember...you don't have to boil the ocean. What this means is, a VA does not have to start by covering every piece of knowledge in your company. There is no set rule on the amount of content that needs to be added to a good VA  because it can work on incomplete and empirical knowledge. 

We are biased towards starting with less content and letting the metrics tell us what is most important to your audience. In essence, smaller implementations will cost less and bring in results faster. Check out this video to learn more. 

So, how do you know what content you should be focusing on? We have found that EZIntel is an effective strategy for zeroing in on what your audience is looking for. Click here to schedule a call to learn more about it.

Cheers, 

Diego

Guidelines to Driving Self-Service Adoption

Photo Credit: hyperoffice.com

Did you know, "70 percent of all software adoption efforts fail" (liquidplanner.com)? Getting customers and/or employees to adopt new technology tools can be like pulling teeth. It is human nature to resist change, but there are ways to combat this resistance and get people to see the benefits of adopting new technology. 

With 15+ years of experience under our belt, we have learned some helpful tips and tricks to increasing adoption of new, or already existing technology. For this instance, we created an infographic specific with tips to increasing adoption of self-service tools, but most of the tips can be overlapped to increasing any sort of software adoption. Take a ride through some of the methods that we have seen drive self-service adoption.

One tip I want to emphasize the importance of is the positioning of the self-service tool is key. As mentioned in the infographic, 40% of customers that contact the call center tried to find a self-service tool first. We have witnessed consumer usage increase significantly for companies using our Virtual Assistant (VA) technology when they simply position the VA one of the forefront options of their support sites, making it easier to find and more likely to use. Accessibility is crucial for positive adoption of self-service tools; being mobile-friendly, sharing links via social media, etc. are all great ways to help accomplish this. 

Has your company come up with other ways that have worked in increasing software adoption? We would love to hear about them, or if you would like more information about self-service adoption, please contact us via the web.

www.nohold.com

Black Friday: 4 Tips to Avoiding a Customer Service Nightmare this Holiday Season

Ready or not, the 2015 holiday season is among us! While it may be the happiest time of the year for some, it can quickly turn into a nightmare for customer service professionals if the right measures aren't taken to ensure smooth sailing through the season. 

Some companies have been preparing for this rush since the end of summer, and rightfully so. 2015 is expected to be the "most connected holiday shopping season - ever. Almost half of holiday shopping occured online" (thinkwithgoogle.com). "In 2014, Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday set new (online) sales records with 1.33 billion and $2.4 billion spent. This number is only expected to rise for 2015" (shortstack.com) We can't forget about the growing trend of Cyber Monday either. Check out the infogrpahic below sharing 2014 Cyber Monday results.

Photo Credit: pfsweb.com

These couple months are the biggest time of year for businesses to see growth in every aspect of their company. "Ad impressions get a 50 percent boost, [Click-through rates] CTRs skyrocket 100 percent, direct traffic grows 150 percent, average order values rise 30 percent and conversion rates increase 60 percent" (Entrepreneur).

With the expected spike in traffic during this season, consumers already anticipate long wait times and rude people; and companies witness customer satisfaction scores drop. But what if there was a way to keep up with the increase in demand AND maintain customer satisfaction, though? World-class brands have accomplished it, and with the right recipe so can you. Here are some tips to help your company continue to hit top sales all season, while (doing the most important thing) keeping customers happy. 

Tip #1 Planning ahead- As mentioned earlier, it is always helpful to get a head start so you aren't frantically trying to get everything set up in a short amount of time.

Photo Credit: capitolmediasolutions.com

Tip #2 Hiring enough help- Making sure you are not under staff during the rush season has a few positive affects. (a) customers don't have to wait for busy agents, and (b) agents don't feel rushed and can help customers completely through their issues. It's a win-win situation. Happy employees = happy customers. 

Tip #3 Providing helpful resources-  With the influx in contact volume coupled with the increase in seasonal agents, proper tools and resources should be made available to agents. One resource many call centers are equipping their agents with is a Virtual Assistant, promoting efficiency and consistency to new and seasoned agents. 

Tip #4 Self-Service- As a common theme throughout this blog, mobile and eCommerce are playing a huge role in the way people are interacting with your company. Online support holds true as well. Intuitive/ diagnostic self-service options should be readily available and easily accessible to consumers via the web.

Example of Interactive self-service solution (Virtual Assistant)

How is your company preparing for the holidays? Are you taking a different approach this year to account for the web? 

For more information on how Virtual Assistants help to alleviate some of the stress during peak seasons, please read "How Stand Out Brands Weather the Storm During Critical Spikes in Traffic." 
www.nohold.com

noHold A.I. Helps Security Software Industry Combat Microsoft Impersonation Scam

Photo Credit: tryjasonbond.com

October 27, 2015, MILPITAS, CA – The wide spread adoption of mobile, social, and E-commerce has businesses and consumers more worried than ever about cybersecurity and privacy. Major security breaches have caused distrust (Sony, Target, JP Morgan Chase), and Internet scams remain an easy way to steal account data and personal information (IRS impostors, social media scams, email viruses). Every year, cyber-attacks are increasing in volume, financial loss, and sophistication. Gartner sees an upward trend, estimating that the “global cybersecurity market will grow from $67 billion in 2013 to $93 billion in 2017” (TechCrunch).

One scam that has affected millions of people around the world is the Microsoft Impersonation scam. Since circa 2008, con artists have been reaching out to computer owners via telephone pretending to be part of Microsoft’s tech support team calling in regards to an infected computer. While offering fake security software protection for a fee, the hackers also take remote access of the computer to steal personal data.

According to Microsoft, in 2015 alone, over 3 million people will become victims and scammed out of $1.5 billion (ConsumerAffairs). Top security software companies are being proactive in leveraging Virtual Assistants to help educate PC owners about this issue. Metrics collected by noHold Virtual Assistants have (a) confirmed that people are asking about this issue (b) helped Security companies better understand the nature of the problem. More specifically, the Virtual Assistant helped noHold clients in the security software industry:

• Divert thousands of calls away from the call center.
• Provide effective solutions to consumers through their preferred channel.
• Protect thousands of customers from this scam.

“Cyber-attacks are the plague of the Information Age and it is important to band together to resolve this problem.  Our role is to understand how people who are affected by these issues perceive the problem and give them simple instructions to resolve it,” said Diego Ventura, CEO of noHold, Inc.

About noHold, Inc.

noHold is a privately held company established in 1999 and is headquartered in Milpitas, CA, USA (Silicon Valley). noHold is the acknowledged leader in Web based Self-service solutions with a mission to deliver real answers to real questions – real fast. Simple to use, easy to implement and as close to human as you can get, noHold turns automated customer support into cognitive customer interactions. noHold customers include Toshiba, Cisco and a host of industry leaders. More information can be found at http://www.nohold.com.

Press Contact

Veronica Cech

Marketing Associate

vcech@nohold.com     

408.946.9200 ext. 356

All other product and service names are the property of their respective owners.

Insider Metrics: Self-Service Traffic Spikes

View the infographic showing real metrics on the impact of customer contacts during outages, major holidays, and peaks in volume. See how Virtual Assistants help trusted brands across various industries increase First Contact Resolution (FCR), 24x7,  when humans are not available. 

In our last edition, we shared How Stand-out Brands Weather the Storm During Critical Spikes in Customer Traffic. You can still view this quick read here.

Stay tuned next week for advice from industry experts Bill Rose from Bill Rose, Inc. and David Hare, SVP of Customer Success, as both offer their own take on the biggest support related challenges, and recalling how each weathered the storm during critical events. 

noHold Releases Flexible Procedure Guidance

Evolving the Way AI Understands Humans

August 18, 2015, MILPITAS, CA – noHold, the leader in Web based self-service solutions, announced the release of a new feature that will transform the way humans interact with AI, it is called Flexible Procedure Guidance. This cutting-edge technology expands on the Virtual Assistants ability to simply guide users through a set of static procedures. It takes self-service a step further by intelligently understanding what information is given by end users, providing flexibility to where the conversation begins.  

Take Tim for example; he is using a Virtual Agent to make a flight reservation. If Tim simply stated that he needed to book a flight, the Virtual Agent would come back with a series of fixed questions that go along with booking a flight. (I.e. where are you traveling to/from, what day, etc.) Flexible Procedure Guidance comes into play when Tim says, “I would like to book a flight to San Jose for tomorrow.” With Flexible Procedure Guidance the Virtual Agent analyzes the information given, recognizes that Tim has already answered two of the information fields needed to book a flight, and can start the conversation with only asking for the remaining information needed.

Flexible Procedure Guidance is designed for more than just booking flights. It has the possibility to enrich any Virtual Assistant interaction, including users searching for support. “Technology has become an unavoidable component in helping to deliver quality customer service, yet companies still must maintain a humanistic approach in order to preserve the personalized experiences that cultivate satisfaction and loyalty” (1to1Media). When it comes to creating an exceptional customer experience, understanding the customer is key. Flexible Procedure Guidance empowers companies to provide a sophisticated self-service tool that better understands humans and makes AI as close to human interaction as possible.

“Human interactions are complex and very difficult to simulate, but features like Flexible Procedure Guidance takes us closer to a world where the human spirit is celebrated while conveniently supported by friendly computers.” -Diego Ventura, Founder and CEO of noHold, Inc.

About noHold, Inc.

noHold is a privately held company established in 1999 and is headquartered in Milpitas, CA, USA (Silicon Valley). noHold is the acknowledged leader in Web based Self-service solutions with a mission to deliver real answers to real questions - real fast. Simple to use, easy to implement and as close to human as you can get, noHold turns automated customer support into cognitive customer interaction. noHold customers include Toshiba, Lenovo, Cisco and a host of industry leaders. More information can be found at www.nohold.com.

Click here to hear more of what Diego has to say about Artificial Intelligence on the Peggy Smedley Show.   

6 Tips to Help Reimagine the Customer Support Experience for Your Audience

A couple weeks ago we mentioned the ongoing trend multiple companies are following of 'reimagining' products and services. While the product is an important component to the customer experience, it is not the only component that needs attention. Think about brand names such as Disney, Apple, Sony, and Amazon. When you hear these names you don't just think about their products...you typically associate them with exceptional customer service. To achieve global success, your customer service and customer support need to match this product evolution. 

Here are 6 tips to help 'reimagine' the customer support experience:     

Photo Source: wearesocial.sg

• Embrace Social Media - Social media is not a new concept, but the necessity for companies to connect with their audience through these channels (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc.) is now a must. In a survey, "42% of consumers complaining in social media expect 60 minute response times," and "24% expect a reply within 30 minutes, regardless of when the contact was made." (Convince & Convert) Support vendors are making this transition easier with interactive technology that can be deployed directly on their social channels. 

• Leverage the Internet of Everything (IoE) - As we've heard previously, the number of connected devices is expected to reach 50 billion by the year 2020. Thanks to the IoE "companies are starting to use support automation to preemptively diagnose and fix issues with minimal human intervention." (Forrester) "The real value in IoT [IoE] is not just connecting devices to their users, but to deliver an integrated management platform, driven by big data to centralize customer service." (CSMWire)
• Clear Website Design - People typically visit a company website first when looking for support. It is crucial to have a clear, flowing website layout for customers to easily find the information they need.  
• Understand Customer Wants/Needs - The Voice of the Customer (VOC) is powerful data to incorporate into the development of any company. Leading brands have implemented self-service marketing tools that collect metrics/qualitative insight directly from the customers themselves. In one particular case, using an empty Virtual Agent (EZIntel), a leader in computer hardware manufacturing was able to use the knowledge they gained from their customers to make adjustments to their web design to better fit their audience. Learn more about collecting actionable customer intelligence here: http://www.nohold.com/assets/ezintel_brochure-(1).pdf

Photo Credit: ideastogo.com

• Improve Self-Service Technology - "In a survey Forrester recently found that web self service was the most widely used communication channel for customer service, surpassing use of the voice channel for the first time." (Forbes) It is not just enough to have sub par self-service options though. Customers are demanding a more interactive, personalized way for self-service interactions to flow.  
• Single Point of Search - Providing customers with the convenience of having one place to search and find answers to their problems. For example, users can ask a question in the text field, and solutions will come up from multiple knowledge sources. (i.e. internal knowledge base, Google, CRM systems, etc.) Click the infographic below for an enlarged visual representation of this concept.                                            

Please share in the comments below some of the ways your company is 'reimagining' the support ecosystem. For more information on any of the tips mentioned above, please contact noHold.

How to Reimagine the Customer Experience

2015 has been a big year for service/product evolution in customer-centric companies. With technology dominating the market, and consumers demanding the latest and greatest, big brand players are definitely delivering. 

Photo Credit: news.mattel.com

For example, Mattel, the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of toys and family products, announced at the beginning of the year their latest collaboration with Google to revamp one of their most iconic toys, the View-Master. With the help of Google, Mattel was able to transform a classic toy and turn it into an 'immersive digital experience for kids.' Experts are referring to this sort of evolution as "reimagining the customer experience." Alongside Mattel, Cablevision is also working towards adapting to modern customer needs. When announcing the addition of a free digital antenna and digital Wi-Fi phone service to their broadband package, the Chief Operating Officer, Kristin Dolan, went on to say, "As a connectivity company, Cablevision is reimagining its relationship with its customers. Our new 'cord-cutter' packages take a modern approach to traditional triple-product bundles and provide real alternatives that fit new consumer lifestyles."

With technology at the forefront of almost everything, this is a critical time for companies to stay relevant and up to date so they don't get pushed out by the competition, and 'reimagining' the customer experience is a great way to accomplish that. What some companies turn a blind eye to is as your products and services progress, so should your customer support initiatives. It is import to recognize the need to reimagine all aspects of the customer experiences, including pre- and post- sale interactions. Traditional FAQs are not going to be enough anymore, and live agents can get costly. Experience shows that providing consumers with a dynamic and interactive self-service tool, such as a Virtual Assistant (VA), increases customer satisfaction because it gives users the freedom to find their own answers, on their own time.

Just as goods have been evolving with the times, VAs are progressing with the age of technology as well. At the beginning, VAs simply automated FAQs leveraging content from its own knowledgebase to answer questions. Now, VAs are more dynamic and interactive than ever before, integrating to back-office systems (CRM, existing Knowledge Management solutions, etc.) and connecting to various software platforms (live chat, social media, communities, etc.).

How is your company reimagining the customer experience? 
For more information on how VAs can help your company revolutionize the way you connect with your customer, please visit our website: www.nohold.com

Photo Credit: loyalty360.org

Cortana on Windows Phones, PCs, and now...Apple and Android Devices

Photo Credit: Yahoo! Tech

With the summer release date for Windows 10 to come out, Microsoft is making some big moves this year. In addition to Windows 10, Microsoft also announced that later in the year Cortana (Microsoft's Personal Virtual Assistant) will be available on Android and iOS devices via a mobile application (Yahoo! Tech). While Cortana might not have all the capabilities it does on a Windows Phone, Microsoft plans to continually improve its functions across all devices.  

What does this mean for the Virtual Assistant space?

1. It is further validation that Virtual Assistants are becoming the new norm. Big brands and industry experts agree that self-service and Artificial Intelligence is the way of the future and companies need to jump on board or risk getting left behind.

2. The competition between Siri, GoogleNow, and Cortana will stiffen, and in the coming months we will see how the public takes to Cortana's availability.

3. More companies (even outside the mobile market) will continue to invest in advancing their Virtual Assistant technology to better serve the consumers. 

What is your opinion on Microsoft's expansion to Apple and Android devices? What other implications does this have for Artificial Intelligence and the Virtual Assistant market?  

www.nohold.com       

BPOs Begin Leveraging noHold AI to Improve Efficiency in the Call Center

May 27, 2015, MILPITAS, CA – After the soft launch of noHold’s Call Center Virtual Assistant (CCVA) product for Business Process Outsourcers (BPOs), call centers around the globe are experiencing a streamlined method of delivering excellent customer support. noHold has recently received recognition from Gartner, one of the most reputable analyst firms in the industry, as a 2015 ‘Cool Vendor’ in Business Process Services for innovative customer management. This recognition, coupled with the recommendation that BPOs must automate in order to achieve non-linear growth and profitability validate the need for Artificial Intelligence in the call center.

Compared to noHold’s flag ship product, the CCVA is a Virtual Assistant used by call center agents to reduce average handle time, manage traffic spikes, and decrease training time and churn. Currently, over 5,000 agents are utilizing noHold’s CCVA within multiple call centers around the world. This technology is able to support products across a broad range of complexities from security software applications to highly sophisticated networking equipment.

Benefits for adopting a Virtual Assistant for BPOs include:

• Procedure Guidance - using noHold’s Natural Language Processor and Inference Engine to guide users through complex solutions without the need of creating scripts.
• Crowd sourcing - agents have the ability to contribute content and fill knowledge gaps quickly, on their own.
•  Provides a safety net - during peak call times (i.e. crisis, holiday, new product launch, etc.) a CCVA is always available, so Average Hold Time and customer satisfaction are not negatively impacted during critical spikes.
•  Consistent and approved content- analysts agree that lack of consistency and quality of content is one of the most common issues among BPOs. Virtual Assistants offer a single point of search while empowering brands to offer approved solutions

In speaking with industry experts from various BPOs, one executive said, “At my company, existing and potential clients are demanding value additions and innovations in the Customer & Technical Support solutions we provide. We see Artificial Intelligence that Agents & Technical Support Engineers can use to diagnose problems in real time while serving a customer a must have solution. This type of solution combined with a strong well trained support representative can assure that the customers’ needs are covered quickly, and accurately the first time.”

“It has been comforting to see such a quick market adoption for CCVA.  In only a few months thousands of call center agents have experienced the benefits of Single Point of Search and Procedure Guidance by leveraging content and resources already available to their company.  Analysts are asking for more automation at the Call Center, now BPOs have a way to get it without a risky investment.” -Diego Ventura, CEO and founder of noHold.

About noHold, Inc.

noHold is a privately held company established in 1999 and is headquartered in Milpitas, CA, USA (Silicon Valley). noHold is the acknowledged leader in Web based Self-service solutions with a mission to deliver real answers to real questions – real fast. Simple to use, easy to implement and as close to human as you can get, noHold turns automated customer support into cognitive customer interactions. noHold customers include Toshiba, Cisco and a host of industry leaders. More information can be found at www.nohold.com.

Press Contact

Veronica Cech

Marketing Associate

vcech@nohold.com     

408.946.9200 ext. 356

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