Bright Pattern Launches Conversational IVR and BrightStart Apps

Bright Pattern, a provider of omnichannel cloud contact center software, has added to the Bright Pattern Customer Experience Platform with its launch of a conversational interactive voice response (IVR) system and Bright Start Apps that allow companies to turn on particular customer service capabilities quickly.

Bright Pattern's conversational IVR, powered by artificial intelligence from Google and IBM, lets customers lead the conversation and choose the path they prefer. The conversational IVR also captures customers' exact phrases, providing insight into specific issues that customers are researching via self-service. Using this data, the conversational IVR can learn and be improved and updated continually.

"It's time companies just say no to the traditional IVRs that have frustrated customers for decades. With powerful cloud technology coupled with AI, consumers no longer have to deal with poor, rigid self-service options. AI-powered conversational IVRs are another step forward as we phase out traditional IVRs and revolutionize customer engagement," said Konstantin Kishinsky, chief technology officer and founder of Bright Pattern, in a statement.

The BrightStart Apps, meanwhile, are preconfigured modules built in the Bright Pattern Journey Builder using a a point-and-click workflow. BrightStart Apps are instantly deployable solution packs for solving common customer experience issues.

Bright Pattern is providing customers with their choice of a BrightStart App as part of their initial onboarding. Additional apps can be purchased from Bright Pattern or partners.

Initial BrightStart Apps being introduced include the following:

  • Conversational IVR App – This configuration includes conversational IVR capabilities with logic that selects the appropriate bot, greets the caller, uses speech-to-text to capture the customer's need, and then uses AI-powered natural language processing to respond to the issue. The logic will also find the best skilled agent if human assistance is needed, while passing on full context from the bot interaction to the agent.
  • Omnichannel Digital Starter App – This configuration connects a company's voice channel with its next most important channel (e.g., chat or text).
  • Proactive Priority Web Chat App – This app allows businesses to specifically reach out and offer concierge-like service to priority customers. Priority customers who visit a website are identified, greeted with a personalized web chat—perhaps referencing their last company interaction—and then routed to their own personal agent who has their complete customer journey history.
  • Human and Chatbot App – This app allows companies to turn on blended AI, with bots performing a basic triage of information. When escalation to a human is required, the best agent is found and all context is passed to the agent.

Other BrightStart Apps will be released throughout the year.

"Our BrightStart Apps will allow companies to immediately deploy new capabilities nimbly and without the cost and time of a large IT staff. Today's businesses need to offer a great customer experience on the fly and can't afford to be limited by on premises-based systems or bolted-together cloud solutions. Our BrightStart Apps represent another step in our mission to revolutionize customer experience with an enterprise-powered cloud platform that is easy to use for companies of any size. We are bringing to companies of all sizes what the largest enterprises have tried to achieve and doing it with the speed of the cloud at a fraction of the cost of existing solutions," said Ted Hunting, Bright Pattern's senior vice president of marketing, in a statement.