What the FCC’s onshoring proposals mean for CX
There’s a sort of online noticeboard I sometimes use when I’m looking for sources as a journalist.
If I put out a request like, “Seeking experts to talk about agentic AI,” my inbox will be flooded with pitches within less than a few hours.
When I put out a request a few days back looking for people to discuss the Federal Communication Commission’s proposed new rules for contact centers, I only got two. And the second wasn’t even legit.
I can understand the industry’s reservations about speaking out. What’s being floated includes a rule whereby customer service reps would have to disclose where they’re calling from, and to limit the volume of calls from overseas contact centers.
That’s more on the telemarketing side, but the FCC is also thinking about forcing brands to transfer support inquiries to staff working from a U.S. location.
Call me (locally), maybe
To say this creates uncertainty within the contact center space is a gross understatement.
Many brands have established agreements with business outsourcing providers (BPOs) of various kinds where the prospect of lower wages for offshore reps is a key part of the value proposition. Getting out of those contracts would take some time and no doubt incur short-term financial pain.
While vendors have been relentlessly pushing the idea of agentic AI to reduce the reliance on BPOs, there are groups within the Senate who are actively campaigning against using the technology to replace human beings working in customer support.
There is little question the FCC’s proposals are about keeping jobs in the U.S., which is particularly tone deaf since the tech sector has been suggesting for the last three years that contact center jobs represent low-value work that deserves to be automated.
It’s like telling marketing departments to go back to using typewriters instead of laptops because we need to keep the typewriter repair people employed.
Where AI could still offer an answer
There are still plenty of opportunities to leverage technology if the FCC rules come into effect, at least internally.
Reps could certainly be better armed with conversational intelligence capabilities that help them track down answers or solutions to common problems sooner, for example.
Contact center managers can still getter a better handle on customer needs and sentiment by using AI to synthesize insights from call transcripts and other records.
On the customer-facing side, however, I imagine many brands will push “pause” on further pilots involving chatbots or intelligent virtual assistants (IVA).
What may gain traction are tools to assist offshore reps in improving their English-speaking skills, as well as routing tools to comply with requests to talk to a more local employee.
Even if the FCC doesn’t go through with its proposals, this may be the only thing that forces the contact center industry to acknowledge the growing body of research that shows customers don’t want to be deflected and to talk to real people.
While everyone is keeping mum for the moment, this is a conversation we may not be able to put off for much longer.
