I recently had written a post which deals with the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) being combined into "Killer Applications" which will effectively lead to the end of the call center as we know it. The post can be found here: IBM's Watson Will Kill The call Center Industry
The concept is simple, a computer with a well synthesized voice (just think of Siri) and a highly developed Artificial Intelligence powered backbone will combine to offer better customer service than anything a call center could possibly offer.
The computer will be patient, understanding and able to cross reference any prior conversation the user had with the same machine before. The possibilities for improved customer service, if done well, are endless.
Most tantalizing is the prospect that the more conversations are being routed into the computer...the better the product will be (economies of scale). The machine will learn from every conversation and can optimize its approach to every new conversation to make sure that the caller gets off the phone faster and more satisfied. (the dream combination in call center Key Performance Indicator's)
As any user of call centers knows, scaling up call center operations without sacrificing quality is rather complex and very difficult to achieve. It does not matter if the center is located in India, Philippines, or China, it is a tremendous challenge to go from 50 center reps to 500.
Compare that to a machine environment where scaling up is as simple as ordering more space in the cloud and get a few more lines.
To top it all off...the entire call center can be run from an office located onshore.
My view that the call center industry will die out has just been confirmed in an article posted below:
Major Industry Executive Believes Call Centers Will Be Gone In 10 Years