© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 117 April 2019
Speech-Tek 2019 Session C302
Unlocking the Puzzle of AI & Omni-Channel Integration
Greg Stack
Vice President Speech-Soft Solutions
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 217 April 2019
Founded in 2003, Speech-Soft has grown into a global problem solver specializing in Speech, AI, Chatbot,
Omni-Channel, IVR and Contact Center technologies. Today we span 3 continents and employ over 100
professionals.
Key Offerings
Speech NLU Applications
Chatbots/AI Integration
CX Assessments and Tuning
NLU & Conversational Speech UI Design, Build Deploy
Omni-Channel Solutions for voice, chat, e-mail, mobile, and AI “Follow-The-Sun” Support / Managed Services / Day 2 Services
Speech-Soft
Plano, TX
Konectiv
Reading, UK
Speech-Soft India
Hyderabad, India
Speech-Soft HQ
Oklahoma City, OK
Global, Local, Expanding
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 317 April 2019
Agenda
• Audience
• The problem
• Lots of Options, Lots of Pressures
• The Solution
• Practical Cost Effective Approaches to drive ROI & CX
• Guidance to best solutions and paths
• Q&A
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 417 April 2019
The Corporate Landscape Problem
• Bombardment from all sides with AI solution options
• Everything boasts AI
• Executive questions & pressure around AI
• New groups are getting involved
• AI & Chatbot skunkworks or POCs
• Ineffective, too time consuming
• $ spent with no measurable results or ROI
• Large investments in legacy IVR applications and platforms
• Internal wars between new chatbot & AI groups vs. legacy IVR and Contact Center Groups
• Cloud, PCI and HIPPA Security concerns
• Turning the aircraft carrier
• High cost evolution solutions from legacy vendors
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 517 April 2019
The Problem
How to deliver something that actually
➢ Enhances CX
➢ Delivers quick ROI
➢ Doesn’t break the bank
➢ Keeps best of legacy
➢ Doesn’t take years?
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 617 April 2019
The Vendor Solution Landscape
• Too Many Choices• Chatbot development platforms
• Chatbot vendors with AI integration
• Hosted AI vendors with open interfaces
• Agent Platform vendors
• Knowledge Base Vendors
• Application Vendors
• Hosted Contact Center Vendors
• Traditional on premise Contact Center Vendors
• Home grown POC or niche deployments
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 717 April 2019
Speech Omni-
Channel
CRM
Vendor Solutions Compete & Overlap
Multichannel &
Knowledge
Base
Cloud CC
ReportingIVRContact Center Cloud AI
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 817 April 2019
Trends
• New easy-to-develop cloud systems are impressive
• No brainer for new small to medium businesses
• Complex transition for large customer interaction investment
• Emerging Cloud AI Services
• Speech intent recognition updated monthly
• Gateways and APIs that enable links from legacy IVRs to
cloud AI platforms
• AI applications with machine learning (ML)
• Realization of savings of omni-channel digital architectures
• Cloud Platforms UIs common across channels
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 917 April 2019
Practical Approaches
• Hosted cloud all-in-one AI Omni-Channel Platform
• Great for new or ancient infrastructure organizations
• Allows migration options by channel, region, business unit
• Integrate investment in legacy platforms with cloud AI services
• EntrAI Chatbot
• AWS, Google, Amelia
• Integrate supplemental cloud AI/Omni-Channel platforms legacy called/controlled
• Google, AWS, EntrAI, Omilia
• Adjunct or Standalone
• Omilia & Google work both ways via MRCP gateway
• Do Nothing
• Fall behind & lose customers
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 1017 April 2019
Hosted All-in-One Cloud Digital Omni-Channel Architecture
Customer
Call
Dialog, Intents
SIP
SIP
Speech
Recognition
HTTPs
DataWeb Service
APIs
Company Systems Fulfilment
Call Center
Agents
Mobile eMail Chat/SMS Intelligent Assistant
Omni-Channel
Telephony/ CC
Platform
Routing & Reporting
Programmable
Business Logic
ML & AI
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 1117 April 2019
Hosted All-in-One +
• Modern dev tools across channels
• Operation, integration, upgrades all
handled by cloud vendor
• Most are digital omni-channel
architectures
• Customer or complete turn key
managed service operation available
• Startup or Migration by location,
business unit or channel
• Optimal for small organizations or
those with ancient legacy systems
Hosted All-in-One -
• Dependent on one vendor for new
developments, functions, features
• Difficult to change or integrate with
other vendor offers
• Harder to leverage legacy investment
for large or complex CS organizations
• Dependent on managed service
vendor for timely changes
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 1217 April 2019
GCP
NLU On Premise IVR Using Google for Speech Recognition
Actionable
Data
IVR
Customer
Call
Voice
Gateway
Voice Browser
USAN
DialogFlow
SIP
SIP
SIPMRCP
VXML
Google Speech
API
HTTPs
CCE Routing &
Reporting
DataWeb Service
APIs
Company Systems Fulfilment
Call
Center
Agent
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 1317 April 2019
Cloud
On Premise NLU IVR using Google for Intent
Actionable
Data
IVR
Customer
Call
Voice
Gateway
Voice Browser
DialogFlow
SIP
SIP
SIP
MRCP
VXML
HTTPsGoogle Speech
API
Contact Center
Routing &
Reporting
DataWeb Service
APIs
Company Systems Fulfilment
Call
Center
Agent
Speech
Engine
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 1417 April 2019
EntrAI ChatBot
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 1517 April 2019
• EntrAI Chatbot: an innovative quick first step toward omni-channel and AI
• Patent pending approach adds AI to Customer Chat while leveraging business
logic and integrations already in your IVR platform
• Rapid low cost POC and deployment
• Unique GEDI (Grammar Engine Dialog Interpreter) Hub
o Transforms IVR application and Web responses to appear as a chat response
o Works with DTMF IVR applications
o Uses AI for intent if not in grammar and adds intents via machine learning
• Leverages business logic & data connections in existing IVRs, Websites
and CRM to create an Omni-Channel Chatbot solution
o Redaction solutions for HIPPA & PCI Data
o Web Chat, SMS, Mobile Applications
o Work with any agent Chat desktop with open API
EntrAI Omni-Channel
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 1617 April 2019
AI Cloud
EntrAI+ Cloud AI Services for Chat Intent Determination
Actionable
Data
IVR
Customer
Call
Voice
Gateway
Voice Browser
Dialog Flow or
Amazon LEX
SIP SIP
VXML
CC Routing &
Reporting
DataWeb Service APIs
Company Systems Fulfilment
Call Center
Agent
GEDI
Machine Learning
EntrAIChat Agent
Customer
Chat/SMS
Web Site
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 1717 April 2019
Integrate Legacy & AI Services +
• Many AI & Chat products available
• Best of Breed approach
• Smaller incremental cost
• Easy to pilot & try and buy
• Make changes at own pace
• Easier to change vendors
• Ideal for companies with substantial
investment in up to date legacy
systems (private hosted or on prem)
• HIPPA & PCI Security options
Integrate Legacy & AI Services -
• Must manage multiple vendors
• Will need staff or integration help
• Still need to manage or outsource
legacy platforms and applications
• Responsible for own roadmap
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 1817 April 2019
Cloud
On-Premise IVR using Google for NLU, Intent/dialog, Logic + Speech
Actionable
Data
IVR
Customer
Call
Voice
Gateway
Voice Browser
USAN
DialogFlow
SIP
SIP
SIPMRCP
VXML
HTTPsGoogle Speech
API
HTTPs
CC Routing &
Reporting
DataWeb Service
APIs
Company Systems Fulfilment
Call
Center
Agent
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 1917 April 2019
AWS Cloud
Cloud Services
On-Premise IVR using Google for NLU, Intent/dialog, Logic + Speech (GW in AWS)
Actionable
Data
IVR
Customer
Call
Voice
Gateway
Voice Browser
USAN or
uniMRCP
DialogFlow
SIP
SIP
SIPMRCP
VXML
HTTPsGoogle Speech
API
HTTPs
CC Routing &
Reporting
DataWeb Service
APIs
Company Systems Fulfilment
SD
Agent
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 2017 April 2019
Cloud
On-Premise IVR using Google for NLU, Intent/dialog, Logic + Speech – Digital
Omni-Channel Architecture
Actionable
Data
IVR
Customer
Call
Voice
Gateway
Voice Browser
USAN
DialogFlow
SIP
SIP
SIPMRCP
VXML
HTTPsGoogle Speech
API
HTTPs
CC Routing &
Reporting
DataWeb Service
APIs
Company Systems Fulfilment
Call
Center
Agent
Mobile eMail Chat/SMS Intelligent Assistant
Omni-Channel
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 2117 April 2019
• Omni channel to match your customer’s lifestyles
• One conversational NLU engine that can power all channels -- with speech, text and/or GUI
• Eliminates channel silos. Same UX across all interactions, AI Everywhere
• Build once, deploy segments when you want
• Cloud or On Premise Options
DiaManTPlatform
Omilia Supplemental Platform for all Channels
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 2217 April 2019
Supplemental Hosted AI Dialog +
• Best of previous options
• Keeps PCI & HIPPA data on premise
• Hybrid of Legacy & Cloud AI Services
• Allows for migration to Cloud services
at own pace & price point
• Offloads AI/ML technology to hosted
vendors while still maintaining control
of aps & customer experience
Supplemental Hosted AI Dialog -
• Need to coordinate and manage
integrated cloud and legacy
• Need IT or consulting integration help
• Use of legacy vs hosted elements can
be internally contentious
• Responsible for own roadmap and
pace of change
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 2317 April 2019
How to decide
• Decision Framework
➢Current legacy environment
o Investment and useable value
➢Size of Company
oVolume of calls, existing cost of ownership/value
➢Is contact center/IVR already or about to be hosted?
o Is your hosted strategy moving quickly or based on economics and security?
➢Are there AI partnerships with your CC/IVR vendor?
➢Who maintains and makes changes to your CC/IVR environment?
oOutsourced vs internal vs hosted
➢How easy is it to get approval for distribution of HIPPA or PCI information?
oCloud? Legal Concerns, Don’t care or no sensitive customer data
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 2417 April 2019
Planning Flow-chart---Roadmaps are the Key
POC Legacy System
(IVR, chat, Email, Mobile, IVA) with
hosted AI & Omni-Channel Platform
Develop Roadmap of Legacy Hosted
Integrations, Channel & Application
Priorities
Add hosted AI Integration into
transition-to-digital Omnichannel
architecture
Permanent Supplemental AI Cloud
Best-of-Breed Private Cloud, etc.
Expand POC &
Channels or Vendors
Create roadmap for migration to
hosted all-in-one omni-channel
platform
Evaluate POC/Pilots with vendors
and make selection
Migrate to hosted all-in-one platform
no
yes
yes
no yes
no
Comfortable with
3rd party hosted
platform reliability
and PCI & HIPAA
Security?
Limited IT
staff/Outsourced
OR Challenging
budget?
Small- to medium-
sized company OR
Limited/Simple CX
system?
yes
Does POC meet
business &
operational
needs?
Organization’s
Culture of Change
(very fast)?
no
yes
no
© Copyright Speech-Soft Solutions, LLC 2517 April 2019
Q&A
