By Samit Banerjee, Division President, Cloud Operations Services & Head of Customer Service Unit, Amdocs
Telecom operators are undergoing digital transformation, and Generative AI (GenAI) is poised to be a game-changer. Telecom operators are on a digital transformation journey, transitioning from connectivity providers to digital-native, cloud-native communication service providers.
One of the first domains where telcos will look to deploy real-world GenAI applications and experiences is to enhance customer experience. GenAI will transform reactive call centers into proactive customer service hubs. But, as with all new and emerging technologies, telcos need to assess the benefits and limitations of using GenAI solutions in a real-time environment.
GenAI’s role in telecom’s tech transition
GenAI promises to redefine roles within the telecom industry by improving network efficiency, enhancing security, streamlining operations, automating complex tasks, and facilitating zero-touch service management. GenAI offers quick wins and substantial improvements, particularly in customer care and support, often serving as the focal point of telecom operators’ digital transformation efforts. By leveraging GenAI, communication service providers (CSPs) can unlock new use cases, drive business growth, and achieve unparalleled precision in model fine-tuning.
Capitalising on data for business growth
According to GlobalData, India’s telco industry alone is expected to reach $41.1 billion by 2026. To capitalize on this growing market and similar opportunities globally, telecom companies must harness the vast amounts of data they generate. Every customer interaction, network usage statistic, and service request produce valuable data. Advanced AI technologies can analyze this data to provide deep insights into customer behavior, network performance, and market trends, thereby informing strategic decisions, optimizing operations, and driving business growth.
GenAI-powered customer experiences: faster, smarter, more personalised
The telecom industry faces challenges with outdated operating practices and processes, and GenAI can bring much-needed improvements. By enhancing customer lifecycle management and reducing operating costs, CSPs can improve their return on investment. GenAI enables CSPs to analyze vast amounts of data, generate insightful content, and make predictive decisions. This shift from reactive to proactive operations is transforming how CSPs engage with customers. Let’s explore some key areas for GenAI optimisation:
Smarter bill-assist: GenAI is revamping the traditional billing process, a common point of friction between CSPs and customers. By analyzing various data sources like bill files, customer data records, and plan catalogues, GenAI helps create a flexible self-service interface that can answer complex queries like “why is my bill so high?” in a simple, user-friendly manner. This will result in reduced call volumes, shorter wait times, and increased customer satisfaction, ultimately lowering operational costs associated with customer care.
Elevated Customer Touchpoints and Churn Prediction: GenAI-powered insights will help CSPs summarize customer interactions and extract valuable insights, which will allow them to offer personalized experiences aligning with customers’ digital lifestyles. Current CSP systems often miss the granular details of customer interactions. With the help of GenAI, CSPs can summarize these interactions, enriching customer profiles, and empowering customer service representatives with valuable insights.
GenAI has the potential to revolutionize churn prediction, providing deeper insights that allow for more accurate detection of potential churn. With this information, strategies can be implemented to boost customer loyalty, further illustrating the transformative potential of GenAI in the telecommunications industry.
Personalised Content Generation: Beyond analytics, one of the most transformative applications of GenAI is content generation and personalization. With this technology, telecom companies can automate the creation of marketing messages, tailoring them to each customer’s preferences and behaviors. This level of personalisation, previously unattainable, represents a significant shift in how telecom companies engage with their customers.
Consider the impact on customer engagement and satisfaction. Personalized promotions resonate more deeply with customers, making them feel understood and valued. They are also more likely to respond positively to these promotions, leading to increased sales and customer loyalty. In this way, GenAI isn’t just transforming the telecom industry – it’s redefining the very nature of customer engagement.
Enhancing the human experience
Integrating GenAI into the telecom industry goes beyond adopting cutting-edge technology; it involves strategically leveraging it to address fundamental challenges and opportunities. GenAI platforms are only as good as the data they are based on, and most of the present ones lack access to telecom-specific information within the technology ecosystem. This gap can be bridged by partnering with ecosystem players in telco data and GenAI platforms, accelerating the GenAI monetization journey for telecom companies and enhancing the customer experience for their end users.