Tovie AI, the conversational AI provider, has launched its UK Debt Collection Report in its bid to drive empathetic ethical AI solutions across the debt recovery landscape. This comes at a time when across the debt recovery landscape, customer service teams are placed under extreme pressure.
Tovie AI identified an empathic approach as especially important for customer service teams as they deal with more complex calls and longer resolution times. It is important for brands to provide the resources to support their teams and to put systems and processes in place to drive a new and improved approach. Empathetic customer service results in better relationships, resolution and repayment time, and satisfaction scores. This is in addition to positive word of mouth and brand reputation as well.
This applies equally to outbound calls where customers need to be chased for payment, as it does to inbound calls from those who are willing to pay.
Technical platform developers have a real opportunity to support the frontline teams. They must optimise and automate the customer journey enabling teams to work on the more complicated queries by using ethical AI solutions.
AI enables companies to use advanced analytics, behavioural science and machine learning to their advantage. It allows companies to seamlessly automate debt collection strategy, and drive average days sales outstanding down. All the while also staying within the ethical framework and providing the humanised, human, conversational approach. And of course, coupled with AI voice technology taking automation to the final frontier.
Tovie AI‘s UK Debt Collection Report is a compilation of stats, best practices and AI-powered automation scenarios. They are put together to help debt collection technical platform developers map out this landscape. In turn, allowing them to efficiently automate the debt recovery process to deliver better services by using ethical AI solutions.
AI in the debt collection industry
With rapidly changing technology, regulations and demographics, debt collection agencies face a wide range of challenges. Debt collection is a time-consuming and extensive task. For example, the client may require frequent support. This can take a lot of time and effort and the costs will be extremely high.
In addition, debt collection needs a great deal of legal attention. It requires verification of each defaulter, the reason for non-payment, confirmation of promise-to-pay dates, etc. Having meaningful and error-free conversations with debtors daily is an unrealistic task for most call centre agents.
Equally important is the fact that agents should be sensitive to the personal situations in which clients may find themselves. The middle ground between debt collection and empathy for customers is a fine balancing act.
Automated customer coverage
Debt collection is becoming increasingly efficient through the introduction of automation. More than 50% of the customer interaction process can be completed by an AI assistant which can handle most of the simple issues such as identification, notification and confirmation of promise-to-pay dates.
With AI bots, agencies can automate the whole collection process by creating custom call flows. This will help make decisions based on the data collected by the bot, getting results in real-time.
Effective debt collection strategy with AI
Implementation of a digital strategy is a customer-oriented approach, which is crucial for clients. Bots allow debtors to free themselves from the guilt associated with talking about their debts and instead discuss better payment options. In addition, by analysing the debtor’s emotions, the bot can emphasise and respond in a more convenient way.
A collection bot can replace an entire contact centre. Such a bot is able to make up to a million calls and texts a day, showing an 80 per cent increase in debt recovery. Such AI assistants can send out regular reminders and offer the debtor different options to choose from.
The Debt Collections Bot by Tovie AI is a conversational AI solution that can be easily implemented in any existing default management process. The bot automates the debt collection process, saving up to 50 per cent on agents. That way, organisations get a higher conversion rate and extra revenue.
