SpiceJet is using Nuance’s Intelligent Engagement Platform to modernize its call center operations. The Indian airline will specifically be using the Platform as the foundation for a new bilingual virtual assistant, which will be able to provide service in both Hindi and English.
The virtual assistant in question has been dubbed Pepper, and it stands as the first bilingual voice assistant in the Indian airline industry. The platform has natural language understanding capabilities, which allows Pepper to figure out the purpose of each call and direct the customer to the proper resource (either an agent or a self-service menu) based on conversational cues.
SpiceJet indicated that Pepper has reduced the average call time and improved customer satisfaction since it was installed. The company will search for ways to expand the utility of the platform and reduce the burden on its agents based on that initial success.
“At SpiceJet, more and more customers are reaching out via voice channels for service — whether it’s for flight enquiries, bookings or cancellations, or flight status,” said SpiceJet Chief Marketing Officer Debojo Maharshi. “Recognizing this shift in consumer preferences, we created Pepper, which understands a customer’s query and steers the conversation to provide a quick and relevant response.”
“We are pleased to be partnering with SpiceJet for the roll out of Pepper voice bot and congratulate them for being first in their field with this kind of application,” added Nuance Intelligent Engagement SVP Tony Lorentzen.
The Intelligent Engagement Platform allows corporate customers to develop their own conversational voice assistants. SpiceJet is one of two companies to take advantage of the portfolio in recent months after Nuance’s Intelligent Engagement AI Services were integrated into Rakuten Mobile’s Rakuten Communications Platform.
The news comes shortly after McLeod Health expanded on its existing partnership with Nuance’s Computer-Assisted Physician Documentation solution. The healthcare organization is anticipating a wave of surgeries as patients come in for procedures that were postponed due to COVID-19.
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