IRIS Clarity brings premium voice to 8x8 through AI-powered noise cancellation. The following is a guest post from IRIS Clarity CEO and Co-founder, Jacobi Anstruther.

According to ContactBabel’s 2024 Call Center Decision Maker’s Guide, at over 40%, the phone channel is still the most popular channel for high-complexity and high-urgency issues for both UK and US customers. “In a digital age, live voice contacts matter even more in providing a high-quality customer experience,” says McKinsey in its Value of the Human Voice report. It’s clear the voice channel has become the de facto choice for VIP enquiries.

How background noise hinders contact center KPIs and call outcomes

Background noise however continues to be a major obstacle in matching the quality of the service to the importance of the conversation. A survey of 1,000 customers and 500 call center agents found that 86% of customers have had to ask an agent to repeat themselves because of noise around them, and 89% of agents said background noise hurt their KPIs and call outcomes.

This makes it clear that background noise is a major obstacle to quality conversations. But the problem goes beyond the customers and agents—ContactBabel found that background noise costs UK call centers £246m per year (roughly $314 million in the US) due to repetition.

Using AI to drive better customer experiences

Where call center headsets and other noise canceling infrastructure can help alleviate some of the issue, IRIS Clarity’s AI noise cancellation app can remove all background noise at both ends of the call. This means your agents won’t hear things like a hectic household or traffic noises at the customer’s end of the call, and the customer can’t hear other agents answering queries at the agent’s end of the call.

The outcome: a perfect noise-free bubble to have a crucial conversation. By removing noisy distractions that cause repetition and misunderstandings, IRIS Clarity helps to drive:

  • Better customer outcomes by ensuring smooth, flowing conversations
  • Improved agent experience by removing a barrier to their everyday life
  • Reduced costs through shorter call times and less money spent on expensive headsets
  • More inclusive service for customers who are vulnerable or hard of hearing

How IRIS Clarity complements 8x8 Contact Center

Available as an integration in the 8x8 Technology Partner Ecosystem, installing IRIS Clarity into your contact center ecosystem is a quick and easy process. The app works alongside all popular headsets and 8x8 Contact Center, and the IRIS onboarding team can get your agents up and running fast regardless of your setup.

Background noise continues to hinder the contact center industry, adding unnecessary delays to conversations, ruining the customer’s experience, and causing additional stress to already burnt-out agents. We’re delighted to bring our AI noise cancellation app to 8x8 customers to help them remove all background noise and drive a premium experience for your voice channels.

If you’d like to learn more about IRIS Clarity and how it can quickly improve your contact center key metrics, help your organization become more compliant, and better serve vulnerable customers, visit the IRIS Clarity integration page.