Firm says robust frameworks in place to ensure responsible use
Telstra has announced that its two in-house generative AI solutions will be rolled out to more teams this year following successful trials in 2023.
The telecommunication firm's One Sentence Summary and Ask Telstra will be extended to all contact centre and store teams throughout 2024.
The rollout comes after both generative AI solutions garnered positive responses from team members who trialled them last year.
New tech tools for call centres
Nine in 10 team members who used Telstra's One Sentence Summary said they were able to save time and increased efficiency, which led to 20% less follow-up contact.
The solution, which is powered by Microsoft Cloud and its Azure OpenAI capabilities, summarises customer notes, interactions, and transactions under a customer's recent history and status to reduce the need for them to repeat information.
Employees who used One Sentence Summary last year said it also enabled them to quickly understand and tactfully engage with customers who had sensitive circumstances, according to Telstra.
Meanwhile, the telecommunication firm's employees also gave positive feedback to Ask Telstra, which generates AI responses to employee queries through a simple search interface.
More than 80% of the trial participants said the tool had a positive impact on customer interactions.
According to the employees involved, the pilot helped them quickly and easily gather information that can support customers.
Robust framework for AI
Telstra's expanded use of its AI tools comes amid widespread doubt among employees, even business leaders, on the responsible use of AI tools at work.
But the firm said it has "robust frameworks" in place to ensure its responsible, ethical, and secure use of the tools.
"We're at a profound juncture in a new era of transformation, and it's one that we're navigating in lockstep with our partners," said Kim Krogh Andersen, Telstra's Group Executive Product & Technology, in a statement.
In its adoption of AI tools, Telstra said it collaborated with Microsoft and Accenture for its adoption of AI tools.
"Strong, strategic partnerships, like ours with Microsoft and Accenture, are critical to our shared success. By collaborating and leveraging each other's strengths, we can ignite innovation and deliver the best products and services for our customers," Andersen said.
