Transform Your Service Desk with a GenAI Chatbot for Agents

Much has been written about the opportunities of generative AI (GenAI) chatbots in an end-user context. Where the GenAI capabilities finally turn IT self-service capabilities into a service that meets end-user expectations. However, it’s essential not to overlook the opportunities to transform your IT service desk, and not just your IT self-service capabilities, with GenAI chatbots for service desk agents. After all, most service desks are looking to transform their operations to deliver better business outcomes in the face of higher business expectations across “better, faster, and cheaper.”

This blog explains more, starting with the “Why?”.

It’s essential not to overlook the opportunities to transform your IT service desk, and not just your IT self-service capabilities, with GenAI chatbots for service desk agents. This blog explains why. #GenAI #servicedesk #ITSM #Chatbots Share on X

Why provide GenAI chatbots to service desk agents?

GenAI chatbots offer a wealth of opportunities for your IT organization to improve (or transform) the roles and performance of service desk agents. Two key opportunities are:

1. Providing information and automation when it’s needed
2. Content creation to reduce administrative work.

Importantly, these benefits are not only felt by your service desk agents. They also help by providing better service experiences to end-users (which in turn makes them more productive) and time and cost savings for the service desk.

Chatbots for information and automation

Modern IT service management (ITSM) tools offer virtual assistants (often called Copilots or chatbots) for your service desk agents. These chatbots deliver real-time, tailored (AI-generated) responses that conversationally address your agents’ needs. This can provide information, knowledge, or actions so agents can quickly resolve end-user issues. All without leaving the ticket record. This capability not only helps seasoned agents but also enables new staff to be effective more quickly.

GenAI chatbots can automate your ITSM workflows and provide step-by-step guidance, enabling your service desk agents to quickly perform tasks while standardizing processes, practices, and policies. In doing this, they read contextual information, like the employee’s name and role, so they can automatically populate fields to save time in issue resolution.

GenAI for content creation

In addition to facilitating the required solution, GenAI chatbots for agents can also create “content.” For example, ticket summaries or message drafts contextually from within the ticket record. This can be during the resolution, perhaps to seek more information, or once the issue is resolved. They can also provide agent-specific insights for individual tickets or agent performance and improvement opportunities. For example, reporting service desk performance information such as the average ticket handling time for the day and where improvements can be made.

Hence, the GenAI chatbot benefit is twofold. First, when solving the end-user issue – with the benefit having both time and quality dimensions. Second, related to administrative work and performance and insights.

Did you know that the benefits are two-fold when it comes to GenAI chatbot? Read this blog to find out how. #GenAI #ServiceDesk #ITSM #Chatbots Share on X

Examples of how GenAI chatbots help service desk agents – information provision

The “conversational assistance” capabilities of GenAI chatbots make it easier for service desk agents to get ticket-related information. This could be diagnostics information for the end-user’s affected asset. The chatbots also provide a suggested solution for a ticket’s issue or request and potentially access to the means. For example, the automated removal of a conflict-causing software application.

The data pool for agent chatbots can include agent-only knowledge and information, with the chatbot educated using what are deemed internal knowledge base articles, ticket records, and credible external documents, links, and data sources. This improves the relevancy of the agent chatbot responses.

Examples of how GenAI chatbots help service desk agents – working smarter

GenAI chatbots can suggest the next ticket for an agent to work on based on knowledge of the agent’s skills and experience and the contents of the ticket queue. This makes it easier for your service desk agents to manage the service desk ticket queue and work through it efficiently.

The GenAI chatbots for agents can also match their characteristics and responses to your company’s strategic position and goals, including its internal voice and tone, value proposition, and approach to customer satisfaction.

Finally, the GenAI chatbots can be monitored and fine-tuned to ensure that the answers provided to agents are fit for purpose, with agents empowered to supervise the quality of the chatbot responses.

This blog looks at how GenAI chatbots help service desk agents work smarter and increase operational velocity. #GenAI #Chatbots #ServiceDesk #ITSM Share on X

How GenAI chatbots benefit service desk agents and their IT service desks – increased operational velocity

As with traditional automation, GenAI chatbots offer many benefits across the dimensions of “better, faster, cheaper.” To start, there’s increased efficiency and speed, with GenAI chatbots instantly providing your service desk agents with suggested responses, solutions, and troubleshooting steps. The AI also helps reduce the chances of human error and the associated time and cost impact in diagnosing and resolving issues. Both of these and an increased first-contact resolution (FCR) rate help improve your service desk’s end-user satisfaction and the employee experience (for service requesters and service providers).

Knowledge management capabilities are improved. Not only in terms of speed, but GenAI chatbots also help ensure your agents have access to the most relevant and up-to-date information. GenAI chatbots can also predict and proactively address recurring issues through their knowledge of previous tickets and the associated resolutions.

How GenAI chatbots benefit service desk agents and their IT service desks – cost savings

While most IT service desks will appreciate the increased operational velocity, GenAI chatbots can also lower your operational costs through automation and reducing agents’ time on each ticket. There are also reduced training costs and a quicker “time to value” for your new agents because they can be onboarded faster with the support of the GenAI chatbots.

GenAI chatbots can also apply a layer of protection above IT service desk operations. For example, they can ensure that the provided solutions and responses adhere to your organizational policies and compliance requirements. There’s also a clear audit trail that’s useful for compliance and quality assurance.

The ultimate result of providing GenAI chatbots for your agents is better individual and team performance, which is reflected in better employee and business outcomes. They transform so much more than transactional efficiency.

But that’s not all!

While most of this blog talks about the IT opportunity of GenAI chatbots for your IT service desk agents, it’s also applicable to service desk agents or support staff in your organization’s other business functions.

Thanks to the now widely adopted enterprise service management approach, which shares ITSM capabilities with other business functions to improve their operations and outcomes, GenAI chatbots can also be implemented for your support staff in human resources (HR), facilities, finance, legal, etc. roles. Again, the GenAI chatbot capabilities will transform the service-and-support status quo.

Here you'll find six examples of how GenAI chatbots aid enterprise service management efforts. #servicedesk #ITSM #ESM #GenAI #Chatbots Share on X

Example enterprise service management use cases

GenAI chatbots can:

• Assist your HR teams with hiring by screening resumes, scheduling interviews, and answering candidate queries.
• Suggest responses during live chat interactions for customer service representatives, provide product information, and guide agents through troubleshooting steps.
• Help your sales teams qualify leads by interacting with potential customers, gathering necessary information, and assessing buying readiness.
• Assist your marketing teams by generating content ideas, drafting social media posts, and creating email templates.
• Generate financial reports based on real-time data, assist in budget tracking, and provide financial performance analysis to help finance teams make informed decisions.
• Quickly retrieve and summarize relevant legal precedents, regulations, and case law to aid your legal support staff in preparing for cases or drafting documents.

If you want to learn more about transforming your corporate service desks and support functions with GenAI chatbots for agents, take a look at our hands-on SysAid Copilot workshop.