What Is An Intelligent Virtual Agent & How Does It Work?

Ever called a company and had to wait for a long time to talk to a real person? You lost connection and got disconnected from an agent after waiting for a long time? Of course, this is Super annoying, right?

In this case, businesses are also struggling to save money while maintaining satisfied and active customers.

Fortunately, there is now a new assistant called an Intelligent Virtual Agent (IVA). It is like having a tiny friend who is a smart robot who assists with whatever you need. But what is an IVA, and how does it even function?

This guide will assist you in enlightening yourself on what intelligent virtual agents are and how they work.

What is an intelligent virtual agent (IVA)?

An intelligent virtual agent is an agent who assists users via a medium such as the Web in a manner that adapts real Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP). Its purpose is to execute functions, inform, and guide users via voice, text, or graphics.

IVAs are sophisticated applications, also known as virtual communication enablers primarily developed to enable the user to converse naturally with people. The latter leverage AI, ML, and NLP technologies to analyze consumers’ needs, respond to them, facilitate different processes, and provide personalized assistance in various spheres.

By collating data from several sources for every operation, IVAs can perform tasks such as setting appointments, sending help requests, helping with ordering, and dealing with usual IT issues for AI communications.

How does it work?

• Understand your request by using technologies such as speech recognition and natural language processing (NPL).
• Processing the information with machine learning models which helps IVA learn from past interactions, improving its response over time.
• Formulating a response by natural language generation and converted into spoken language for audio output.
• Providing a response through a suitable user interface such as a screen, speaker, or app for the convenience of customers or clients.

How to implement an intelligent virtual agent?

This means that creating an IVA involves a number of predetermined stages, and the final design should correspond to the company’s goals and work.

Step 1: Define objectives

Before Proceeding with the IVA, a goal needs to be set, a target audience considered, and what the IVA should do.

Step 2: Choose the AI software

When choosing the platforms, you need to assess and perhaps select tools like Google Dialogflow and IBM Watson. Seeking IVA is not sufficient; you have to look for functions like NLP, ML, integration facilities, etc.

Step 3: Training of the IVA

You have to collect historical data and some documents from customers, including their interactions, frequently asked questions and product documents.

Step 4: Integrate with systems

Determine which systems the IVA needs to interact with, such as CRM, knowledge base, and payment gateway, and ensure that IVA can operate across various channels.

Step 5: Test thoroughly

You should conduct initial tests to identify major issues, gather feedback, identify any usability issues, and ensure it can handle peak usage.

Step 6: Monitor performance

Monitor, collect, and analyze user feedback regularly to identify areas for improvement and ensure it continues to meet the business objectives and user needs.

Advantages of using an intelligent virtual agent

Intelligent virtual agents offer numerous advantages that can be beneficial to businesses. Here are some advantages of using an intelligent virtual agent:

I. Improve customer experience

IVA utilizes machine learning, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence to provide human-like interactions and offer instant solutions to customers. It is capable of managing tasks like responding to frequently asked questions and directing incoming calls to specific agents in order to reduce customer wait times.

III. 24/7 customer support and availability

Addressing all customer inquiries and delivering support around the clock contributes to business expansion improvement. An intelligent IVA can manage all of your inquiries and repetitive demands and resolve your problems at any time, day or night. 

IV. Enhanced efficiency

IVA streamlines repetitive tasks such as setting up appointments, issuing reminders, addressing common inquiries, and offering fundamental details. Thus, it conserves time and enables human resources to concentrate on more intricate engagements.

V. Personalize the experience

IVA can use NLP and ML to comprehend user preferences, tailor its responses, and adapt to their needs. An example is an IVA’s ability to greet a customer by their name, recommend items based on their past purchases, and provide individualized support as per their requirements.

Core technologies behind intelligent virtual assistants

Using Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs) involves integrating several modern technologies. An overview of the key technologies at play is provided below:

A. Natural Language Processing (NLP)

NLP allows the IVA to work to enable it to know and process the language used and written by humans. It encompasses analyzing inputs, determining intents, and extracting information as needed.

Key Components:

• Tokenization: Dividing text into individual words or tokens.
• Part-of-speech tagging involves considering the different words within a sentence: an adjective, a verb, an adverb, and so on.
• Named Entity Recognition (NER): The identification and classification of some entities, such as names, dates, and places.
• Semantic Analysis: The objectives are to comprehend the implications of semantics and context.

B. Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning

This makes the IVA learn progressively from data and feedback about the user and their previous interactions.

Key Techniques:

• The process of utilizing labeled data to train the models in order to forecast the results.
• Unsupervised Learning: Pattern and structure discovery in inherently unlabeled data.
• Reinforcement Learning involves cultivating various models that enable the training to undergo an experimental period to reach set objectives.

C. Speech Recognition

Converting Speech to Text: In speech recognition, natural human language is recognized and translated into a form that the IVA can easily comprehend, which is the written form of the language.

Key Components:

• Acoustic Model
• Language Models
• Speech-to-Text Engines

D. Sentiment Analysis

Understanding Emotions: Sentiment analysis involves determining the emotional tone behind a text, whether it’s positive, negative, or neutral.

Key Techniques:

• Lexicon-Based Approaches
• Machine Learning Models
• Contextual Analysis

AI Virtual Agents: The Future

In today’s business world, company competitiveness is based on the ability to be ahead and not behind. IVA is a complex and versatile tool that offers numerous possibilities for business development regarding its clients and internal process improvement. Incorporating IVA into a business’s call center or other functional region of the operations enhances task/activity management, workflow, and the general customer experience.

The nature of technologies associated with intelligent virtual agents can be viewed as potentially shocking because of the developments in artificial intelligence, deep learning technologies, and technologies associated with the user experience that have been visibly progressing recently. Here’s something of what’s ahead: Here’s something of what’s ahead:

• Advanced personalization
• Enhanced Natural Language processing
• Integration with the Internet of Things (IoT)
• Conversational UX
• AI-driven Automation 
• Enhanced security and privacy 

IVAs are a significant advancement in AI-driven customer conversations and embrace various benefits and features in various industries. As different technologies continue to advance, IVAs are expected to become even more sophisticated and embedded in day-to-day life, transforming both business and individual interaction.

Such a future trend suggests a process of continuous change that makes IVAs’ evolution a challenging and exciting experience. It continues to revolutionize engagement approaches and experience improvement in ways previously unimaginable.

FAQs

What are the different types of IVAs?

IVAs can be categorized according to their functionalities and deployment. Here are some types of IVAs:

• Customer service IVAs
• Text and Voice-based IVAs
• Personal productivity IVAs
• Enterprise IVAs
• Technical support IVAs

What are the ethical considerations of using IVAs?

The use of Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs) presents important ethical concerns such as privacy, bias, job displacement, and the risk of misuse for malicious purposes. Complete guidelines and regulations are crucial for responsible IVA development and deployment.

How do IVAs differ from chatbots?

Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs) are equipped with advanced capabilities, while chatbots operate based on pre-written scripts. IVAs can comprehend and address complex queries using natural language processing and machine learning. They can also learn and evolve over time, leading to interactions that closely resemble human conversation.

What are the future trends in IVA development?

Future IVAs are expected to become more human-like, with advanced capabilities such as emotional intelligence, multimodal interactions, and integration with the physical world.