TechTalks
July 31, 2020: Among all the things that have proven to be broken and overlooked or underestimated because of the covid-19 pandemic, and between all the industries and niches that came to a halt, technology adoption was the exception.
While simple (and old) measures such as quarantines, social distancing, washing hands, and wearing masks were still the most effective, our modern society wanted to give a modern answer to the virus.
Thus, the pandemic became an accelerator for the more widespread use of technology—Zoom meetings and home deliveries became more prevalent, as some even tried it for the first time after the outbreak.
But as these solutions solved our urgent needs, they were not always ready for the task. What awaits us down the road, and how should we prepare?
With people staying at home, calls for support and assistance increased dramatically. According to Raj Koneru, the CEO and founder of Kore.ai, “There has been a spike of 30-40 percent in calls, the burden of which simply fell on agents who have been forced to work remotely.”
Virtual Assistants (or AI-powered agents) started to take over calls and replace operators. While not as smart as their human counterparts, they were still able to take on a significant portion of the simpler and mundane calls, freeing the operators for more challenging tasks.