The Keys to Intelligent Search: Simplify, Modernize, Automate
In today’s busy world, information is critical. Customers and employees rely on immediate access to the right information at the right time. However, the abundance of data within an organization means that finding this needle in the haystack is no easy task. Here are three tips to help ensure your approach to search provides the intelligence needed to keep up with the demands of your users.
It’s not uncommon for an organization to have millions of pieces of information that need to be searched. Given that most users type only a word or two into a search box, it can often be difficult to find the best answer. There are several ways to simplify access to these millions of search results to make it faster and easier to find the right one.
First, your search engine must leverage information beyond the words typed into the search box. By taking into account information such as the customer’s product, location, purchase history, or other factors, the search can quickly simplify the set of results to a small fraction of the available content. Second, an intelligent tagging hierarchy is critical to make it simpler for users to find the information they need from a large set of search results. Tags allow the end user to quickly and easily filter results by content type, product, topic, or any other logical category.
As technology has evolved all around us, search engines have largely remained the same—a website, a search box, and a list of results. Intelligent search needs a modernized approach to take advantage of the technological advances available. For instance, all search capabilities should be available via API, so users can search for answers outside of a typical search page. Today’s users want to search for answers via Amazon Alexa®, or within an IVR, not just on a web page. Additionally, many consumers would rather interact with a virtual assistant rather than a simple search box. As a result, your results should be accessible within a virtual assistant to allow customers to enjoy a more conversational experience.
Organizations should also take a modernized approach to where results can be found. Social content, from sources such as communities, contain a treasure trove of information otherwise unavailable from traditional content sources. Intelligent search should incorporate results from social sources, as well as traditional knowledge articles and other content.
Even the most accurate search engine still requires humans to type what they are looking for. But what if that wasn’t the case? Automation has reduced effort throughout almost every aspect of our lives. With automation, an intelligent search engine can find results without the user ever having to actually search. This can be accomplished in several ways:
♦ Context—By understanding information about the user, the search engine can predict what information is needed. For example, if a customer owns a particular handset, and a recent upgrade has been causing errors with that model, he or she is likely looking for a fix to this issue. Likewise, if an insurance customer’s policy is about to expire, he or she is likely looking for information on how to renew.
♦ Related content—If a user is viewing a specific piece of content, the intelligent search engine can recommend other information that may be helpful as well, without requiring the user to manually search for it.
♦ “Listening”—Intelligent search engines can even listen to conversations in real time to recommend content. If a customer is having a conversation with a contact center agent, the intelligent search engine can listen for specific words within the conversation and use those as triggers to automatically present information to assist in the conversation.
Verint® offers intelligent self-service and other solutions that can help your organization simplify, modernize, and automate customer engagement. Contact us to find out how we can help you turn customer engagement into a sustainable competitive advantage, while reducing complexity and cost in customer operations. © 2018 Verint Systems Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.