Use Case: How Webroot Leverages noHold Artificial Intelligence

October 27, 2016, MILPITAS, CA – Recently, noHold had the opportunity to interview Webroot’s Knowledgebase Manager, Anna. Webroot, a leader in Internet Security, has been a long standing customer of noHold, and Anna has been managing the Virtual Assistant (VA) for almost three years now. Through that work she has gained lots of hands on experience with the VA, and learned best practices to getting the most out of it.

This interview asks Anna a hand full of questions regarding how Webroot utilizes their VA, ranging from how often the VA is updated to which reports and data are most beneficial. Here are a couple of the key takeaways from the interview.

• “The VA is a huge asset for the support team and we try to utilize it to the best advantage. When any customer goes to our support pages on our website, the first thing  they see is a list of links to the most commonly used solutions in the knowledgebase, as well as a search box to access the VA directly.”
• “[It] has been a huge help for our growing market in Japan.”
•  “It helps me identify whether we have a true knowledge gap that calls for new content, or if I need to work with the support team directly to help users find what they need more efficiently.”
• “Take some time to learn the back end of the VA before you start building out live content. It’s a fairly straightforward management structure, but there are little things here and there you can only pick up by fiddling with the system, and those are what really help make the VA what you need it to be.”

To read the full interview with Anna, click here.
www.nohold.com

Google Announces Self-Driving Car for Public Debut in Summer 2015

In this day and age, it seems like technology is pointing us in the direction of self-service. In fact, self-driving cars are making their way to becoming the latest cutting edge technology in self-service. Just recently, Google released pictures and announced their first prototype of their self-driving car that is set to hit the streets this summer. While there are still limitations to what can be done with this car (so far), it is a step forward in advancing this type of technology and changing the automotive industry forever. 

Photo Credit: Yahoo! Tech

To read more about Google's self-driving prototype car, click here. 

 www.nohold.com

The Evolution of Self-Service

Photo Credit: www.flysas.com

As you may know, noHold recently attended the TCS Co Innovation Forum which was held at the Hyatt Regency in Santa Clara, CA. As I was walking around the hotel I noticed there was a self-service kiosk used for checking in. It really inspired me to write a blog about how much self-service has evolved and how much more common it is now compared to just a few year ago.

Now-a-days there are self-service machines virtually everywhere. They are at the grocery stores, restaurants, hotels, airports, banks, and self service beer taps that turn customers into bartenders. Click here to view the article. And how many people actually go inside the bank anymore, I know I use the ATM more often than I decide to go into the bank. Gradually, self-service machines are integrating into our society and generations to come are ONLY going to be familiar with these self-service kiosks.  

Photo Credit: selfserviceworld.com

 We started with vending machines and now there are self-service kiosks in locations you never would think they would be placed. For example, in the food industry. The places where people would usually go to be served are now reaping the benefits of launching a quick, self-service restaurant kiosk. 

I remember going to blockbuster to rent movies with my family every Friday. The next generations are not going to know such a thing because Redbox and Netflix are quickly taking over. Whether the increase in self-service kiosks is good or bad, we can all agree that they are quickly becoming the norm and stores that don’t have them want them, and stores that do have them, want more of them. Being able to adapt to change is a part of life, and it seems like self-service is a big change for most people, but accepting and embracing the change can lead to great innovations.
We realize how much we try to speed up the little things in life that we find to be a waste of time. In this era of technology, every second counts and convenience is key.   

I want to leave you with an infographic I found that goes through the evolution of self-service, dating all the way back to the 1880’s! To view the infographic, click here.

Cheers!

An Expert View of Customer Service with the VP of Global Customer Care for AVG

I just found a great interview from Garry Schultz, the VP of Global Customer Care for AVG. I retrieved this interview via IWantItNow.
Find out what Garry has to say about all things customer service. He gives his expert opinion on customer service via social media, all the way to self-service customer service.
Click here to read the entire interview.

Fun Fact: 
Garry is not just an expert on all things customer service. He is also a very talented guitar player. Here is a video of Garry playing the guitar with Albert, the Virtual Agent.

Video Here 

Cheers!

Virtual Assistants Aiding Lottery Officials!

Recently, the Powerball jackpot was at its highest in history at an estimated 590.5 million dollars. One lucky person from Florida won it all a few weeks ago, but before there was a winner, people from all over the country ( even outside the United States) were going crazy to win this huge jackpot. “When pots reach record levels, says lottery officials, phone calls start coming in from all around the world to Powerball’s Iowa headquarters. ‘ We start getting inquires from Canada and Europe from people wanting to know if they can buy a ticket,’ Neubauer told ABC News. ‘They ask if they can FedEx us the money.’ The answer is: ‘Sorry, no. You have to buy a ticket in a member state from a licensed retail location.’” (http://gma.yahoo.com/no-powerball-winner-means-jackpot-swells-475m-105638577--abc-news-topstories.html) 

Here’s some food for thought… Utilizing a Virtual Assistant to manage the flow of calls would create less chaos in an already chaotic situation. Having a Virtual Assistant embedded on the Powerball’s official website will decrease the amount of calls to the call center because people will be able to find out the answers to their questions immediately and on their own (not to mention 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which helps the people calling from different time zones). Implementing a Virtual Assistant in the call center of the Powerball’s Iowa headquarters would allow Powerball players to get their frequently asked questions answered by an Artificial Intelligence, freeing up the lottery officials’ time and decreasing the cost of answering these phone calls. Having a Virtual Assistant online and in the contact center will help tremendously with the overflow of calls/questions about how to win that money!

 Many people think Virtual Assistants are only used for technology companies that need online support for their products, but as you can see in the example, Powerball’s headquarters can benefit greatly from a Virtual Assistant…especially when the jackpot reaches record highs!

Have a great weekend!