Omni-channel customer experience and call centre solutions firm Genesys has partnered with Google to integrate AI components into its technology and enhance the customer experience.

The companies have blended AI and Google voice interaction technologies with Genesys call centre automation and predictive routing to boost customer service by availing chat or mobile messaging apps as channels of interaction.

Google Contact Centre AI works with Genesys Predictive Routing to source the best agent to assist a customer.

Genesys predictive routing uses machine learning to choose the resource that will deliver the best results for a given customer and the business. It operates within the controls established by a business' existing routing logic to deliver predictable results.

Speaking at the Genesys Blended AI Summit 2019 hosted in Sandton, Johannesburg, Dick Dijkstra, Technology Partner Growth Lead at Google, said the software company's focus is to make partner solutions more accessible to generate more revenue.

Dijkstra added that Google is "doing a lot of things with AI" and demonstrated several offerings including Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Translator, Google Voice and Cloud AI.

Google's Cloud AI Building Blocks is designed to enable developers to infuse AI into applications, and add capabilities like sight, language and conversation.

Genesys used the Summit to underline the significance of automation within the call centre environment.

According to the company, call centre automation involves automating the customer experience and back-end processes – including automated reports to provide realtime information end-to-end and the use of bots to handle repetitive or mundane tasks.

Genesys has stressed the role of chatbots (bots with pre-built microapps and direct dialogue) in automated contact centres and said bots combine intelligent automation with predictive routing, orchestration and agents to engage customers using voice, text or microapps.

The company said according to Accenture, well-designed bots can resolve 80% of customer interactions.

"They offer a scalable and cost-effective approach to improving customer journeys – and the overall customer experience," Genesys stated in its marketing material. "Connecting the power of bots with the power of the human touch is the foundation of a seamless customer experience."

Genesys also directed attention towards its customer experience AI technology it calls Kate. This technology brings together AI, adaptive learning, bots, cognitive computing and other automation technologies.