One of the challenges that quickly emerged following the release of the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine was how to ensure the equitable distribution of the vaccine across populations.
To increase its involvement in that effort, Google Cloud recently expanded its Intelligent Vaccine Impact solution (IVIs) by adding Contact Center AI (CCAI), which “scales call center human operations with intelligent virtual agents that understand, interact and can talk with people 24/7 in real-time.”
According to the company, the technology will be particularly important in reaching “those with limited technology proficiency; those without access to a computer, a smartphone, or the internet; and those who are non-native speakers, as CCAI supports up to 28 languages and dialects.”
Built on Google Cloud’s Conversational AI, the new tool offers “intelligent virtual agents” through chat, text, web, mobile, and phone, which platform potential users find most convenient.
The virtual agents will help users with registration, scheduling and follow-up reminders, as well as “direct users to local resources, answer questions, and provide guidance at each step of the registration, eligibility, locating vaccination sites, and appointment scheduling process” through a secure web presence.
“Users of this solution benefit from our world-class cloud compliance certifications and best-in-industry fraud and threat protections against malicious actors. This technology can work for both inbound and outbound phone calls to reach populations that may not engage online, via SMS, or email communication,” Google Cloud explained at the time of the announcement. “Multilingual virtual agents can also provide assistance for individuals who are more comfortable in their native language, both online and over the phone.”
In addition to serving the public, the virtual agents will help public health agencies update answers to potential questions in real-time as new information becomes available.
CCAI can also extend to existing systems to go beyond standard questions and answers and take action on behalf of people calling in. CCAI, whether deployed as part of the IVIs or as a standalone technology, allows for easy integration into an existing scheduling or registration system, so callers who need to change their appointments can do so without logging into a website.
According to the company, the state of New York implemented CCAI to provide New Yorkers with real-time answers to their most common and pressing questions about vaccine safety and efficacy, enabling it to deflect roughly 25% of incoming calls from human staffers, as constituents were able to get answers and information from the intelligent virtual agents now in place. This helped to free up the staffers at the call center on more unique questions and cases.