How Penn State Revolutionized Crisis Management and Communication with AI-Powered Bots
As a world-class public research university, Penn State is dedicated to creating a positive environment for students, faculty and staff. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the university had to rethink and reimagine its communication systems to keep pace with surges in safety-related inquiries. Although the institution had a cell center specifically for the situation, team members struggled to respond quickly and efficiently to callers and deliver the most up-to-date information.
Driving Tangible Business Results
Using Ivy.ai‘s advanced Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology, Penn State rolled out a generative conversational voice bot that:
- Enhanced operational efficiency: By automating responses to frequently asked questions, Penn State reduced human agent workloads, so they could focus on addressing more complex inquiries and tasks.
- Improved responsiveness: The bot provided the latest information to callers in real time, ensuring consistency and reliability in communication and enhancing the overall caller experience.
- Saved time and resources: As temporary staff contracts concluded, Penn State was able to sustain support coverage without having to rehire and train new staff as the pandemic waned.
- Drove agility and adaptability: Penn State was able to rapidly deploy and customize the IVR bot to meet the evolving needs of the COVID Call Center. As circumstances and guidelines changed, the institution was able to quickly update information.
Penn State managed 1,012 conversations, 81% of which were handled entirely by the bot without live agent intervention.
Augmenting the Power of People
At the start of the pandemic, Penn State launched a specialized COVID Call Center, which was open during standard business hours and dedicated to addressing inquiries related to the crisis.
However, the situation rapidly evolved and information changed frequently, which left the team struggling to develop an efficient and scalable response system that involved human agents. The situation was compounded by the turnover and training needs of temporary staff hired for the call center. The university needed a dynamic and adaptable solution to provide accurate and timely assistance.
Penn State tapped Ivy.ai to create a customized bot tailored specifically to the needs of the COVID Call Center. Unlike traditional chat bots, this bot provided answers directly over the phone when callers had questions. As a result, the university automated responses to frequently asked questions, provided timely updates to callers and ensured information was delivered consistently, while minimizing human intervention. Team members instead focused their time and effort on more complex issues and important tasks.
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