Voice channel is an add-in that extends Dynamics 365 Customer Service chatbot functionality to calls. It also includes a much-requested native voice-activated options menu, conversation transcription, real-time translation, AI-driven insights and more. This latest addition to the Microsoft Customer Service Omnichannel suite entered general availability in November 2021.
The add-in enables businesses to use Power Virtual Agents chatbots for Interactive Voice Response (IVR) services. With voice channel, it’s now possible to use the same bot infrastructure utilized for live chat, social messaging, and SMS in D365 Customer Service for customer calls. Additionally, it transcribes conversations and utilizes AI for intelligent routing, personalized user experiences, real-time reference material recommendations, and post-call analysis.
Voice channel is full of features that enhance agent efficiency and enable them to deliver higher quality customer service:
Intelligent Voice Menu
The greatest benefit of voice channel is that it reduces the burden on one of the most costly customer service channels. The intelligent voice menu can reduce the number of calls that need to be escalated to an agent by providing automated assistance with simple requests.
Live Transcription
Voice channel’s transcriptions services reduce confusion and need to ask clients to repeat themselves, enable smoother case transfers through detailed records of interactions, and free agents from the need to take notes.
Real-time Language Translation
Live translation of call transcripts makes it possible to assist clients even when a translator is not available.
Knowledgebase Article Suggestions
Increase issue resolution efficiency with live knowledgebase article suggestions. Voice channel provides agents with real-time resource recommendations based on AI analysis of the ongoing call.
Performance Analytics
Voice channel helps you continually improve service quality with performance metrics such as call duration insights and AI-powered customer sentiment analysis.
Call Topic Trends
Discover the most common questions and issues your customers are encountering with call topic trends. This valuable insight can help uncover problems and topics in need of an article on your customer self-service portal.
Seamless Dynamics 365 Integration
The native app has the reliability and scalability you expect from Microsoft cloud products and was designed to integrate with Dynamics 365 Customer Service.
Voice channel was designed with no-code to low-code users in mind and a computer savvy business analyst or a team member comfortable with Power Virtual Agents will be able to quickly ramp up to building voice channel IVR chatbots that utilize Dataverse data. If you would like to connect to another data source (such as a patient record database or external scheduling system) assistance from a development team or Dynamics 365 consultant will likely be needed.
As voice channel is a Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise add-in, a license for the enterprise solution is required first. At the time of this article, the voice channel add-in can be purchased at list price for
$75 per user/month
It can also be added in a bundle with the Digital Messaging add-in to provide the various interaction channels to users for $90 per user/month.
Interested in learning more about how voice channel could work for your organization? Read the Microsoft documentation or talk to an Altriva team member.
