Conversational AI: Interview with Seb Reeve, Director International Go-to-market at Nuance Communications

Seb Reeve is the Director International Go-to-market at Nuance Communications. With customers in several industries such as healthcare, financial and telco, Nuance is improving user experience with virtual agents powered by Conversational AI and voice biometric solutions for authentication.

Mr. Reeve recently spoke at the Humanising Digital & Self-Service, which was held in London on October 3rd, 2019.

In this interview, Mr. Reeve shares insights on how conversational AI can be used to improve customer experience thanks to technologies such as speech recognition and voice recognition through biometrics, and how this can help remove any possible friction between the brand and the customer.

This interview has been featured in the Conversational AI Initiative 2019.

What is your background and how did you get involved with Nuance Communications?

My background is in Software Engineering – in which I have a Master’s Degree – with most of my working life spent helping brands create differentiated experiences for their customers. I joined Nuance in 2010 with the responsibility of developing our business growth in Europe which has been an excellent experience and incredibly natural fit.

Who are Nuance Communications’ customers and how do you create value for them? Are most of your customers in a particular industry, and if yes, why?

We work with thousands of organisations globally across healthcare, financial services, telecommunications, government and retail – to empower a smarter, more connected world. As a pioneer and leader in conversational AI innovations we deliver solutions that understand, analyse, and respond to people – amplifying human intelligence to increase productivity and security.  

You recently spoke at the Humanising Digital & Self-Service Conference. What did your presentation cover?

The key driver of my talk was on how we will make interactions with brands truly frictionless – and that to achieve this, we will need services that are both conversational and available across all the touch-points users truly want to interact with. I also focused on how designing effective, optimal self-service experiences will require both machines and humans to work together much more closely to see improved outcomes.

Learn more about Humanising Digital & Self-Service, which was held in London on October 3rd, 2019.

Conversational AI plays a part by enabling consumers to engage in natural interactions through text or speech to gain immediate access to information and easy, effortless outcomes through IVR, messaging or web channels.

Conversational AI Q&A

How can enterprises leverage conversational AI to make their customers happier and more satisfied?

At Nuance, our key focus is to help businesses deliver world-class, differentiated experiences – powered by AI – that focus on customers. We are committed to transforming the customer journey into an experience customer’s love.

Conversational AI plays a part by enabling consumers to engage in natural interactions through text or speech to gain immediate access to information and easy, effortless outcomes through IVRmessaging or web channels. It enables organisations to deliver omnichannel experiences that originate in or through the channel or device of a consumer’s choosing and navigate seamlessly across channels to achieve their desired outcome.

That’s why many organisations are turning to voice biometrics for customer authentication in the IVR. If the customer enrols a sample of their voice, biometrics can recognise them when they call and authenticate them without asking for any other details. This is a shining example of conversational AI removing obstacles to interaction with a brand and making the experience for a customer smoother.

How can enterprises get started with their conversational AI strategy?

Customer expectations continue to rise rapidly, and there’s no sign of that slowing down. They’re going to continue challenging companies to give them better experiences and make every interaction effortless.

Whether that’s through chat-bots becoming smarter and more natural in their conversation, or a clearly defined and seamless process of escalating a conversation to a human to take-over, we are at the forefront of the digital-first customer experience.

The combination of data-driven personalisation alongside prediction algorithms will offer the ability to design experiences for consumers that are genuinely easier to use than those we’re seeing today.

There are a few that looked destined to have a considerable impact! For me, the combination of data-driven personalisation alongside prediction algorithms will offer the ability to design experiences for consumers that are genuinely easier to use than those we’re seeing today. I envisage a world where we will not need to reach out to brands very often at all – instead, we can expect them to anticipate our needs.

What are the most interesting conversational AI use cases for business that you see emerging in 2019?

With customers increasingly seeking to ‘self-help’ through digital channels I see more use cases for smarter virtual assistants that bring even better customer service and faster resolutions for everyone. Not only customers but also agents and employers. The technology will allow for example show to metrics including agent churn, job satisfaction, overtime hours. Conversational AI will augment humans

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