Voice Recognition Aims To Lower Call-Center Costs

Aspect Communications Corp. last week shipped Aspect Customer Self-Service 6.0, which is equipped with enhanced voice recognition that promises to lower call-center costs by handling all calls except those that require human intervention.

Navitaire Inc., a Minneapolis application service provider to the airline industry, has integrated its hosted call-center software offering with Aspect's new product, replacing an older version. Since the beta version test began in June, the voice recognition has become much more accurate, says Dan Reagan, VP of technology and architecture for Navitaire. "We had only 60% to 65% recognition accuracy for stronger accents, and there was certainly concern about that," he says. The recognition accuracy now is 90% or greater.

The software makes a print of customers' voices when they speak at the prompt. The tool then recognizes them during subsequent calls. Instead of hitting prompts on a telephone keypad, the customer speaks requests. The software responds by automatically providing the information that customers request--reducing the burden on call-center reps.

A bank could use Aspect to let customers transfer funds or pay bills from their accounts without a keypad. The software recognizes the customer's voice and then determine a percentage probability that the customer is who he or she claims to be, adding a layer of security beyond passwords. Not only is voice recognition faster than using the keypad, it's also easier and safer for cell phone users to conduct transactions.

Aspect's 6.0 product integrates with other customer-relationship management packages, such as those from Siebel Systems Inc., so customers and agents can get additional information necessary to complete a request. The software also connects with Aspect's eWorkforce Management product, which lets managers plan call-center staffing and access work schedules. For example, a manager who's on the road can call the application and ask how many call-center reps called in sick that day. The software starts at $50,000.