A new conversational AI program called DISA (Digital Intelligence Sales Agent), which automates telesales and customer service processes, is being introduced to the Jamaican outsourcing sector.

ACCESS Sales Group, the sales division of the ACCESS Group of Companies — a financial and sales programme management and technology company with operations in the United States, Canada and the Latina AMerica and the Caribbean (LAC) region — has teamed up with Vocodia, an AI software company based in Florida and the developer of DISA, to bring this project to Jamaica.

Vocodia’s partnership with ACCESS in Jamaica and the LAC region is a new step for these companies after 15 years of successful programmes together.

“Jamaica is at the top of our list for the roll-out of DISA to the region because of its strong position in the outsourcing industry,” explained Larry Hunt, CEO of the ACCESS Group of Companies. “Call centres, BPOs and businesses that rely on phone sales will now be able to use DISA to support their live agents in their interaction with clients. DISA uses actual live agents to record scripts and responses — unlike old, bionic-sounding technology — and never goes off-script. It can be tailored to the specific goals, budget, and unique requirements of a particular company.

“The businesses that will utilise DISA are generally those that rely on inbound customer service to fuel their business, or those businesses that rely on outbound contact for product or service sales,” the CEO added.

ACCESS has stated that, already, several local companies have expressed interest in the program and are well on their way to becoming regional trailblazers in AI implementation.

The organisation is in talks with Jamaican customer service entities that have frequent inbound calls supporting frequently asked questions; government services such as licensing, financial services; all consumer services such as cellular, Internet, home security; online orders via click-to-call or from post to pre-qualify.

DISA can service any industry that has a volume of inbound customers calling in for FAQs, and these can then be transferred to a live agent to handle escalated calls.

In terms of outbound telesales, DISA can service entities making calls to consumers or businesses to pre-qualify them prior to transferring them to a live closer.

Hunt revealed that local companies find DISA appealing because, “What we’ve noticed in Jamaica and LAC, in general, is that traditional approaches to telemarketing can quickly become costly and time-consuming.

“While live agents are crucial as closers or problem solvers in the telemarketing process, DISA significantly supports their operations by providing a level of consistency where agents may have physical limitations,” he explained. “It can handle up to 400 outbound calls per day and up to 20,000 simultaneous calls, compared to a high-quality agent that can only handle an average of 150 calls or less per day.”

Businesses utilising DISA can tap into a cost-effective approach and boost their capabilities for sales and customer experience even further. They can expect to not only save money but to streamline their operations and increase the productivity of their agents. The savings they make can then be reinvested back into their business, allowing them to focus on other essential aspects of their operations.

“Our business customers have come to realise that DISA’s ability to handle far more significant volumes of calls provides a level of consistency and leaves their agents to be more productive and engaging with their customers when closing sales or handling escalated customer service,” Hunt assured.

The CEO also addressed concerns that organisations may have regarding the introduction of AI.

“Primarily, companies are concerned with the cost of integration, human resources to deal with that integration, and the potential costs of new or additional equipment,” he said. “Fortunately, having been in the call centre business for over 25 years and having dealt with these same hurdles, we provide our prospective customers with a turnkey solution. Integration is as simple as a DID and an API integration, both of which can be handled in minutes and at no cost to them.”

During the training and implementation process scripts, rebuttals, and recordings of interested companies will be leveraged to build them a custom DISA. Then, a call-flow chart will be created to ensure DISA is asking the right questions or providing appropriate responses for a specific company. Furthermore, a live test of the agreed script is conducted for 3-4 days to gather intelligence and tweak scripting, based on customer response. For increased efficiency, with the guidance and approval of the compan, the team will also continuously monitor and update campaigns.

“ACCESS has years of experience working with Fortune companies in the US, providing up to 500 pre-qualified live transfers a day,” Hunt emphasised. “We have worked with agent centres, transitioning calls to their teams. We listen to live and recorded calls to help detect areas that can be improved upon. Because of our extensive background we not only help them create the front-end scripting for DISA, we also help them build transition scripting to ensure a smooth handoff from DISA to the live agent.”

He added that ACCESS also specialises in the provision of financial technology (fintech) services, helping finance- and banking-related businesses unlock new opportunities for innovation, growth and development.

“With the rise of digital platforms and online payment systems, technology has made it easier for people to access financial services from anywhere and at any time,” the CEO expounded. “Now, more than ever, people are uninterested in reverting to the days of paper-based and face-to-face processes so with DISA, along with our expertise in fintech, we see these developments making big waves in Jamaica.”

This initiative in Jamaica comes as several governments in the region have acknowledged the value of AI in many economic sector, according to a 2022 report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Jamaica’s use of DISA could put it ahead of several other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that have already begun to contemplate the ways in which AI can enhance their productivity.