Angry computer to improve customer service on its way

RESEACHERS are set to create an angry computer in a bid to improve customer service.

The program will be based on two years of customer calls to an Australian bank. It is hoped the system, which will be live by then end of the year, will then be able to simulate hundreds of millions of angry customer interactions in a bid to improve them.

The system is called Radiant, after a supercomputer created by sci-fi author, Isaac Asimov, in the 1950s.

The project is being backed by a $500 000 (R6 million) investment from customer engagement consultancy and software vendor, Touchpoint Group. The company has also spent the last two years building the massive data set on customer interactions required.

“The end goal is to build an engine that can recommend solutions to companies – and we’re talking about the people at the frontline here – how they can improve particular issues that customers are facing,” Touchpoint Group chief executive Frank van der Velden told The Australian.

He said the program would constantly run “what if” scenarios to see if a particular scenario was likely to enrage or benefit the customer.

The system is being built with input from one of Australia’s big four banks, which is supplying reams of real-life customer interactions that have been collated over the past two years. Telecommunications and insurance firms are also involved. – Daily Mail