How often have you phoned a customer service number with a problem or a complaint? And how often did you receive satisfactory service? Cogito, a spin-out from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has developed software that uses voice analysis to determine the moods of callers as well as call center operators, in order to improve the quality of service during customer service calls.
 
Every day call centers receive millions of calls about problems with bills, devices, software and so on. In most cases the customer has a problem that they want to have resolved as quickly as possible. These situations often become fairly emotional, which makes it difficult for both parties to conduct an effective conversation. The Cogito Dialog software monitors subtle aspects of vocal behavior, such as long pauses, interruptions, and agitated or fast speech, and uses them to deduce whether someone is angry, agitated, disinterested or confused. Based on these signals, call center operators are guided to conduct the conversations as well as possible.
 
Cogito has many years of experience in studying human behavior, and the results form the basis for the voice analysis software. The company recently conducted a trial in cooperation with a large health insurance provider. Among other things, the software found that the call center operators were too dominant in the conversations and that too much time was spent on disinterested customers. After adjustments in these areas, customer satisfaction rose by 25 percent and the number of calls dropped by 23 percent.