AI transforms the IT support experience

We understand that effective support service requires a deep understanding of clients’ technical issues. Enterprises expect quick and accurate solutions to their problems, necessitating support teams with strong technical knowledge and clear communication skills. Utilizing product-embedded or online support tools, like virtual assistants, can enhance support interactions by providing informed and efficient self-service options for clients.

Research shows that about 85% of executives believe generative AI will be directly interacting with customers within the next two years. Implementing self-service search capabilities into websites and tools can significantly boost the power of generative AI. This technology can learn from extensive datasets and deliver personalized responses based on the specific needs of users. By understanding the context of a question and considering variables like tone and sentiment, AI can provide tailored responses and automate tasks like creating support tickets for ordering replacement parts.

Even when virtual assistants are unable to resolve certain issues on their own, automation can seamlessly connect clients with live agents who can provide assistance. In such cases, AI-generated summaries of past conversations can be shared with live agents to ensure a smooth transition and continuation of support.

IBM, as a developer of AI technology, collaborates with numerous clients to integrate AI solutions into their businesses for enhanced insights and efficiency. Drawing from our own experience of implementing AI in our processes and tools, we bring valuable expertise to client engagements.

Clients often express the need for streamlined proactive support processes that can anticipate user needs, leading to faster responses, reduced downtime, and preemptive issue resolution.

Clients Can Self-Service 24/7 and Proactively Address Potential Issues

IBM Technology Lifecycle Services (TLS) leverage AI and automation to offer efficient support services through various channels like chat, email, phone, and the web. Integrating AI and automation into customer support tools has been crucial in enhancing efficiency and improving the overall client experience:

Online Chat via Virtual Assistant: IBM’s virtual assistant streamlines service operations by providing a consistent interface for navigating IBM services. With access to guides and past interactions, many queries can be resolved through self-service. The assistant can escalate to a live agent if needed or open a support ticket for resolution by a support engineer.

Automated Help through Products: IBM servers and storage systems feature Call Home/Enterprise Service Agent (ESA) functionality, allowing clients to automatically send notifications to IBM round the clock. When errors occur, service requests are automatically opened and addressed according to the client’s support contract terms. The majority of Call Home requests are responded to through automation, streamlining problem diagnosis and resolution for clients.

Automated End-to-End View of Clients’ IT Infrastructure: IBM Support Insights Pro offers visibility across clients’ IBM and multivendor infrastructure, providing analytics-driven insights, inventory management, and preventive maintenance recommendations. This cloud-based service helps IT teams proactively address issues, improve uptime, and manage security vulnerabilities across their IT assets.

Empowering IBM Support Agents with Automation Tools and AI for Faster Case Resolution and Insights

Generative AI enables support agents to navigate complex issues with ease by discerning patterns and insights from data. This capability offers agents comprehensive visibility into clients’ situations, enabling them to provide informed assistance and automated summaries, tailored communications, and recommendations.

At IBM TLS, we utilize watsonx technology and automation tools to enhance the productivity and efficiency of our support engineers. Some of the services we have developed include:

Agent Assist: An AI cloud service based on IBM watsonx, Agent Assist helps support teams quickly access relevant information from the IBM knowledge base and provides recommended solutions, saving time and improving efficiency.

Case Summarization: Using generative AI, support agents can create case summaries with minimal effort, simplifying the communication and update process for complex support cases.

IBM Support Portal: Powered by IBM Watson and Salesforce, the Support Portal offers a unified view of support tickets for clients and support agents, facilitating collaboration, trend analysis, and proactive support tips.

Meeting client needs in technical support involves a combination of technical expertise, effective communication, tool utilization, and proactive problem-solving. Generative AI revolutionizes customer service by enabling dynamic and context-aware conversations, automating tasks, analyzing data, and facilitating faster issue resolution.

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