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What Are the Most Important Integrations for a Conversational AI Platform?

You are ready to adopt a Conversational AI or Voice AI solution for your contact center, or you are in the process of adopting one—congratulations! Now is the time to think about integrations. In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits of integrating your Conversational AI platform with various tools and applications to transform your tech stack into an ecosystem, and we’ll offer some guidance on where to get started.

What Are Conversational AI Integrations?

Integrations are the systems and processes that connect the Conversational AI platform or software with other tools or applications you may be already using, so they can work together seamlessly. Integrations enable you to view, exchange, and control data from multiple sources; they augment your system’s capabilities, ensuring a more unified and efficient workflow, and enabling the automation of work that would otherwise have to be done manually.

There are different ways to build an integration—for example, via APIs or through RPA.

The Most Important Conversational AI Integrations

Integration with internal systems is the top criterion considered when selecting a Conversational AI platform provider, according to research by Gartner.

The most common types of integrations for Conversational AI are required for customer relationship management (CRM) systems, payment gateways, telephony platforms, speech analytics tools, and messaging tools. In this article, we’ll explain the role and importance of integrations and go over the most common types for various use cases.

What Are the Benefits of Integrating a Conversational AI Platform with Other Tools and Applications?

For a seamless collaboration between live agents and voicebots or chatbots, your business requires various tools that perform different functions while working well together. Through integration between tools, the entire process can be as smooth and efficient as possible.

The main benefits of integrating your Conversational AI platform with other tools and applications are:

  • Ensuring a better customer experience, as the virtual agent will be able to perform multiple tasks and better serve the user or consumer.
  • Maximizing the personalization of each interaction, as the virtual agent will be able to address users by name, easily access their records, and base its interactions on context.
  • Automating several tasks, freeing the contact center’s staff of the administrative burden.
  • Generating automated metrics and real-time analytics to track the performance of the calls and maintaining records of all consumer interactions.

3 Things To Consider When Thinking About Conversational AI Integrations

Stay lean at first. The number-one tip for companies adopting a Conversational AI solution is to avoid focusing too much on integrations at the beginning of the adoption process. This is because when you adopt a new technology, it’s important you focus on gaining experience with it and fully understanding how it can benefit your business before you invest a lot of time and money in integrating it with several other tools and platforms. First, implement the solution with the most necessary integrations, and then you can start investing in the heavier ones.

Flat-file transfers. Since integrations can be resource intensive, at first you might prefer to rely on flat-file transfers to execute your campaigns with the Conversational AI solution. Flat-file transfers via a Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) are easy to execute and enable you to start using the solution immediately.

Data privacy. Data privacy and data protection are elements that you should always keep in mind when integrating different systems. You want to secure the data against unauthorized access, adopting processes like encryption, secure communications protocols, and relevant security policies.

The Most Important Integrations for a Conversational AI Platform

Conversational AI Integration with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems

Companies use CRM software to gather, organize, and manage customer information. The primary benefit of integrating your Conversational AI solution with your CRM system is to easily personalize all calls, whether outbound or inbound, and automate them end-to-end.

For outbound calls, for example, the virtual agent can gather the customer’s information from the CRM and address them by name: “Hi John, this is a virtual agent calling from…” The CRM also feeds the AI solution more detailed information and context on the customer’s account and history based on the use case.

For a debt collection agency, for example, the virtual agent can gather information about the consumer’s debt and the outstanding balance.

Examples of CRM systems are HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Finvi, InterProse, Latitude, Simplicity, Freshdesk, and Zendesk.

To avoid API setup, you can integrate your CRM via robotic process automation (RPA). You can learn more about robotic process automation (RPA) in our dedicated blog post.

Conversational AI Integration with Telephony Platforms

Every company with a contact center operation has a telephony system. Examples of telephony systems include TCN, LiveVox,  Twilio, Genesys, RingCentral, 8×8, and Five9. Integration of the Conversational AI platform with your existing telephony system is essential and can be accomplished with two different methods.

The first is SIP trunking, a method for making and receiving phone calls and other types of communication over the Internet. This is typically the preferred method to handle AI-powered calls, but some telephony systems may not be compatible with it.

The other one is PSTN call forwarding, i.e. the public switched telephone network, an advanced network of telephone lines, switching centers, and cable systems to enable connectivity between phone devices. This solution is less flexible than SIP trunking and presents several limitations, but it can be faster to implement. Some businesses may start with PSTN call forwarding and later upgrade to SIP trunking.

Conversational AI Integration with Payment Gateways

Integrating the voicebot platform with payment gateways or payment applications improves the customer experience and ensures the completion of various transactions during the call without the need to involve a human agent. Examples of payment gateways are Payscount, RevSpring, PayNearMe, Nuvei, and IntelliPay.

Consumers can easily pay a bill either on-call or via a link to a secure payment gateway.

For debt collection use cases, this integration can be very useful, as the AI solution can assist users in making payments. This integration makes the collection process fully automated, cheaper, and smoother.

Conversational AI Integration with Messaging Platforms and SMS Solutions

To provide an omnichannel solution that allows consumers to interact with your company through their preferred channel, you’ll need to integrate the Conversational AI platform with an SMS solution. This enables the AI solution to handle inbound and outbound interactions via text message in a compliant manner.

Messaging integrations can be used both for inbound and outbound messages.

Outbound messaging:

  • Payment reminders. The solution can send text messages to remind consumers of due balances and upcoming deadlines.
  • Confirmations and receipts. After a consumer has made a payment, the solution can send a payment confirmation and receipt via email or text message. Confirmations can also be sent for any other type of transaction or request, such as a travel reservation change or a callback request.
  • Payment link. The company can send a link to a secure online payment portal via text message (SMS) or email so the consumer can complete the payment.

Inbound messaging:

  • Consumers who prefer to interact with your company via text message will be able to exchange messages with the SMS bot and receive responses in real-time.

Are you interested in learning more about how Conversational AI can benefit your business? Book a demo with one of our experts.

What to Look for When Purchasing a Conversational AI Solution for Collections

You’ve been exploring Conversational AI as a possibile solution to automate your debt collection agency’s operations; you’re considering adopting AI to scale outbound and inbound calls and other interactions for collections. Congratulations—you’re in the right place. What next?

A Conversational AI solution can significantly reduce your business’ collection costs and improve the success rate and duration of your collection campaigns. However, not all AI vendors are the same. How do you choose the right vendor for your company?

Given our extensive experience in the accounts receivables industry and our tech expertise, we’ve put togehter a list of criteria to consider when meeting with providers and choosing the best one to move forward with, from the understanding of your business operations to technical capabilities.

If your Conversational AI vendor doesn’t fully understand the collections space, you’ll end up being heavily involved in every step of the process, causing delays, higher costs, and a disappointing return on investment.

Compliance with Debt Collection Regulations Based on Region

Collections are a highly regulated and litigious industry. The first thing to look for in any AI provider that handles collections is the company’s level of understanding of the existing laws related to collections in your region.

An AI-powered digital assistant handling outbound collection calls and messages can be designed to comply with consistency and precision that human agents can hardly achieve. However, it’s important to check whether the provider is up to date with the current laws.

For example, some of the collections-related regulations in the United States are:

  • Telephone Consumer Protection Act
  • Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Reg F
  • Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance
  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

Some of the regulations for Canada-based collections are:

  • Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
  • Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)
  • Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission: Key Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules

Provider’s Understanding of the Collections Space

This point goes beyond regulations: How well does the Conversational AI provider know and understand the collections space as a whole? Their understanding of the structure and overall operations of a collection agency will be a helpful factor in the collaboration between your business and the provider.

The provider should understand the agency’s structure, the challenges related to employee retention and call scalability, and the best practices for outbound collection calls. This way, you can trust that they will design an optimal conversation flow to facilitate your collection efforts.

Different factors, such as the type of debt and the age of the debt, may affect the conversation design.

Ability to Handle End-to-End Conversations

The Conversational AI solution needs to be able to handle interactions with consumers from start to finish, without any human intervention, from verifying the user’s identity to completing, to answering frequently-asked questions and completing a transaction.

The solution must be able to handle human-like, two-way conversations; its capabilities should include:

  • Right-party contact (RPC) verification
  • Promise-to-pay (PTP) capture
  • Payment collection, either on-call or via SMS link to payment gateway
  • Dispute handling
  • Settlement and payment plans negotiation

Whenever the consumer requests it or the AI solution is unable to assist, the interaction should be transferred to a live agent; however, whenever that’s not needed, the solution should be capable of handling a variety of scenarios.

Seamless Omnichannel Capabilities

To offer an outstanding customer experience and maximize recoveries, collection agencies nowadays must offer omnichannel communications, empowering consumers to interact through their preferred channels, such as voice, chat, text messaging, and email. The best practice is to meet consumers where they are, offering the convenience of self-service they expect from financial services organizations.

Voice AI is the most engaging medium among automated communication channels, and can automate phone interactions optimizing the frequency and timing of each engagement.

AI assistants can also be deployed via SMS, chat, and email, offering cost-effective solutions for businesses and convenient channels for consumers. Many consumers nowadays prefer to interact via text messaging, as they enjoy the convenience of responding whenever they want.

Omnichannel capabilities enable collection agencies to identify the best channel to contact various segments of consumers and leverage a mix of channels in a strategic manner. The solution must be able to retain context across channels, so that a consumer can start a conversation on one channel and continue it on another without losing any context.

Comprehensive Integration Ecosystem

When you adopt Conversational AI, you need to ensure it fits into your tech stack to streamline rather than complicate your collection operations. You should therefore be able to access a wide range of integrations with your other tools, such as your CRM, telephony system, SMS provider, payment gateway, and spam monitoring solution. This ensures a smooth, unified approach to consumer interactions, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness across all channels.

Actionable Analytics

Once the Conversational AI solution goes live, will you be able to easily visualize and analyze its performance and results?

As more and more users interact with the digital agents across various channels, you can gather precious data that you don’t want to waste. Your Conversational AI vendor should give you access to a dashboard to monitor the effectiveness and quality of the conversations. Actionable analytics will empower you to optimize your recovery strategy and improve your success metrics.

After Go-Live: Continued Voice AI Training

After your Conversational AI platform goes live and begins interacting with your consumers, the work is far from finished. The solution must be maintained and the technology should be further optimized to improve the conversational experience. Monitoring the solution, especially at the beginning, is needed for quality assurance purposes.

According to a recent Gartner report, failing to monitor automation tools in post-production is one of the most common mistakes companies make when implementing automation.

Additionally, it’s important to note that Conversational AI solutions are typically rolled out in multiple phases: with time, additional capabilities and use cases may be added.

Therefore, your agency will want to work with an AI provider wthat hasa clear plan for post-go-livetraining and handling.


In conclusion, watch out for these key questions to ask your Conversational AI vendor.

For more information and a free demo, you can schedule a call with one of our experts. We’ll be happy to help!

How Conversational AI Helps Collection Agencies Prepare for Tax Season

Tax season is the busiest time of the year for collection agencies. According to a recent report, at least 29% of Americans say they plan to use their tax refunds to pay off their debt. With a majority of U.S. residents receiving a tax refund from the government during this season, the number of people who will wisely take advantage of the reimbursements to pay off their debt is high.

In 2024, the average tax refund for individuals in the U.S. was $2,869.

Creditors and debt collection agencies know it’s important to take advantage of this window of opportunity to maximize their recovery rates and agency margins. During tax season, the industry usually experiences a peak in payments, paired with a general openness of consumers to engage with collectors. Many consumers will be relying on tax refunds to pay off their debt at this time of the year.

Now is the perfect time for agencies to prepare for tax season and the surge in outbound and inbound calls. In this article, we’ll explain how Conversational AI (the technology behind voicebots and chatbots) can transform tax season for the better, making it a less stressful and more profitable time for businesses performing collections.

The Challenges Collection Agencies Face Before and During Tax Season

While tax season undoubtedly represents a window of opportunity, it also presents several challenges for collection agencies. The best way for executives to tackle these challenges is to prepare in advance and to involve their collectors on the floor in these preparations.

Here are some of the most common challenges collection agencies face before and during tax season:

Hiring new collectors: To handle the surge in call volume, collection executives often seek to hire new collectors to join their staff. Hiring takes time and resources; over the last few years, it’s become more challenging to find new talent, as people are inclined to seek more flexible jobs, and salaries have become more competitive. You’ll need ample time to find new talent and train new hires.

Training staff to prepare for the season: Whether newly hired or seasoned, all collectors should receive the appropriate training before the beginning of tax season. All training materials should be easily accessible, focusing on the challenges and skills specific to this time of year.

Updating the agency’s compliance management system: Every agency should have a compliance management system, often found within the collections management software. This system is used to store and organize the current laws and regulations of the ARM industry. Before tax season begins, the agency’s compliance officer or manager should ensure that the system is up to date with the latest regulations, including state laws; outdated regulations should be removed. Additionally, this system should be easy to access and browse for collectors.

Planning a successful settlement campaign: The surge in collection volume encourages some agencies to offer small discounts for a limited time; other agencies take it to the next level by planning a wide-scale settlement campaign. For a settlement campaign, the agency focuses on a specific group of accounts, typically consumers with higher recovery rates and debt whose age falls within a specific timeframe. If the agency services third-party debt, then it also must coordinate the campaign with the original creditors. Executives must decide what balance reduction they are going to offer those consumers and the running time of the campaign. The entire process can make the agency extremely busy, and things are likely to get hectic for the collectors on the floor.

How Conversational AI Can Make Your Life Easier During Tax Season

How Conversational AI Helps Collection Agencies Prepare for Tax Season

Conversational AI, the technology behind voicebots and chatbots, has become one of the favorite automation technologies in the accounts receivables industry. Conversational AI enables creditors and collection agencies to automate both inbound and outbound conversations with consumers across multiple channels—such as voice, text, chat, and email—making it much easier for executives to scale their collection campaigns without the need to hire additional or seasonal agents.

Skit.ai’s Conversational AI solution:

  • Initiates thousands of calls and messages to consumers within minutes;
  • establishes right-party contact;
  • reminds them of the outstanding balance;
  • provides information about the debt, and
  • encourages them to make a payment or captures promise-to-pay.

The solution easily transfers calls to your live agents when needed, so they can speak to the most engaged consumers and collect payments on-call.

It’s important to note that Voice AI is not IVR (interactive voice response), an outdated and unpopular solution commonly used in customer service. Unlike IVR, Voice AI can handle intelligent, two-way conversations with consumers.

Automation of consumer interactions with Conversational AI is transforming collections across the board, as it enables collection agencies to handle many more accounts simultaneously, recovering payments at a fraction of the cost. Additionally, this technology augments the work of live collectors, who are empowered to handle more complex cases and focus on more revenue-generating accounts; whenever agents get a transfer from the AI solution, they receive the context on the consumer’s previous interaction with the voicebot in real-time.

While this technology is helpful all year round, during tax season it becomes particularly essential. Here’s why:

Make it super easy for consumers to pay. Any roadblock in the payment process can significantly hinder the recovery of the debt. That’s why customer experience plays an important role, and making the payment as easy and frictionless as possible is a priority for your agency. Multichannel Conversational AI enables consumers to use their preferred mode of communication, making the recovery process smooth and pleasant.

No need to hire additional collectors during tax season: Conversational AI enables executives and managers to scale their operations, without the need to hire additional collectors during this busy season. This way, they can continue to rely on their trusted team and get the extra help they need from the virtual agents, which are unlimited in number and can handle thousands of conversations simultaneously. Collections with Conversational AI are significantly cheaper; additionally, bots don’t take a commission!

Fewer concerns about compliance thanks to AI: Executives can worry less about ensuring compliance with laws and regulations since the platform is fully trained to comply with regulations at the state and federal levels thanks to rigid guardrails and compliance filters. Unlike live collectors, the automated agent is always compliant and does not go off script.

Execute a smooth settlement campaign at scale: With Conversational AI, collection agencies can execute a settlement campaign at scale, reaching thousands of consumers in a very short amount of time to offer the settlement and collect the payments.

What Industry Leaders Are Saying About AI for Tax Season

“We were seeking a way to boost collections cost-effectively and without the need to add additional workforce. We began by leveraging Skit.ai to run a settlement campaign during tax season this year, with the technology adapting to our seasonal needs and business model,” said Daniel Klein, CEO of Uown Leasing, a Florida-based provider of lease-to-own, flexible payment solutions for consumer products.

Klein continued: “I don’t think technology will eliminate people, but having the right point of intersection between technology and human capital is how you can scale operations and make your business successful.”

After implementing Skit.ai’s solution, the company experienced a significant surge in self-serve consumer payments directed through its online payment portal, facilitated by the AI solution.

When Should You Start Preparing for Tax Season?

While it’s never too early to get started, many agencies evaluate partners and vendors before Thanksgiving, just as the holiday season approaches and many U.S. residents are known to use their credit cards for holiday spending.

However, make no mistake: it’s also never too late! At Skit.ai, we pride ourselves on our fast and efficient implementation process. From the moment you adopt our Multichannel Conversational AI solution, you can go live and start using the platform in as little as 48 hours.


Are you ready to take the next step toward call automation with Conversational AI? Schedule a free demo with one of our experts to learn more!

How ARM Companies Can Automate Right-Party Contact with Conversational AI

What Are Connect Rate and Right-Party Contact (RPC)?

Making contact with the right consumer—right-party contact—is crucial for debt collection agencies, but it’s often more challenging than it seems. One might think a simple phone call is all it takes to speak to the consumer who owes the debt; but oftentimes, the phone number is wrong, the consumer does not answer the phone, or the wrong person picks up the phone, leading to wasted time and resources.

Connect rates and right-party contact rates are two metrics that significantly affect the outbound contact operations of a collection agency. What are these metrics?

The connect rate measures the percentage of calls that are picked up over the total outbound calls initiated. The right-party contact rate is the percentage of calls where an agent is able to connect with the target consumer, which could be either the debtor or a relative who has been given permission to handle the debt, as opposed to reaching the wrong person (wrong-party contact) or leaving a message.

Automate Right-Party Contact with Conversational AI

Right-party contact (RPC) is the most accurate measure of the effectiveness of an agency’s outbound calling efforts.

In this article, we will explore how Conversational AI technology in its various forms can efficiently automate right-party contact verification, leading to significant time and cost savings for collection agencies.

Automate Right-Party Contact with Conversational AI

Why Right-Party Contact Can Be a Challenge for Collection Agencies

Collectors know it very well: reaching consumers can be tricky.

Given the limitations imposed by local regulations—such as the TCPA and the FDCPA in the U.S. and Canada’s Key Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules—collectors can’t call debtors at any given time of the day. While timing is everything, even a well-staffed agency can only contact consumers so many times in order to reach them, as the number of available collectors is limited and you don’t want them to spend too much time trying to reach the same numbers too often.

Right-party contact can be a serious challenge for collection agencies. Collectors (and their managers) want to spend as much time as possible actually speaking to consumers and collecting payments — and as little time as possible trying to reach people on the phone. Calls not resulting in RPC don’t lead to a collection and result in an overall waste of resources.

This is where automation and artificial intelligence come into play.

How Conversational Voice AI Solves the RPC Issue for ARM Companies

With shrinking margins, high attrition rates, high inflation, and an overall competitive landscape, accounts receivables companies performing collections are looking at digital transformation and automation as valid solutions to their operational challenges.

Contact centers in all industries have been relying on automatic dialing systems (or auto dialer software) for decades. These systems make the dialing process faster and easier, boosting agent productivity; in addition to queueing calls and dialing the target number automatically, they also screen out inactive numbers, busy lines, and answering machines, drastically improving the contact center’s connect rate.

But what about right-party contact?

Once the collector reaches a consumer on the phone, they must establish whether the person they are speaking to is the right party (the consumer or debtor) or not. The right party could also be a third party (a person authorized to handle the debt or an attorney representing the debtor). This process can take a few minutes.

A Conversational AI solution can handle the actual call — rather than just the dialing process — and interact directly with the consumer, easily verifying their identity.

Once the consumer picks up the phone, the virtual agent confirms right-party contact and authenticates the consumer through their zip code, date of birth, or the last four digits of their social security number. Once the authentication is complete, the solution engages with the debtor, offering ways to pay off their debt. If needed, the solution will negotiate a payment plan or transfer the call to a live agent.

The entire process is faster and cheaper, allowing the collection agency to save on resources. It also enables live agents to focus on more complex calls and engage with consumers who are already authenticated.

You Can Automate RPCs Across All Communication Channels

Nowadays, consumers prefer to interact with businesses through various communication channels. It’s become essential for financial services institutions to offer multiple channels, such as text messaging (SMS), chat, and email, in addition to traditional phone calls.

A Multichannel Conversational AI solution can establish RPCs via any channel. As you can see in the graphic below, Skit.ai’s SMS bot establishes RPC via text message:

Automate Right-Party Contact with Conversational AI

Are you interested in learning more about how Conversational AI can streamline your collection strategy? Schedule a free demo with one of our experts.

Are You Still Using an IVR Menu for Debt Collections?

What is IVR for Collections?

IVR stands for “Interactive Voice Response,” a legacy technology that enables companies to automate both inbound and outbound calls. IVRs use a pre-recorded voice that interacts with consumers and guides them through a pre-set menu, which can be navigated by inputting DTMF (dual-tone multi-frequency) from the phone keyboard.

Virtually everyone has interacted with an IVR system at some point in their lives. Whether you’ve called a business, a bank, a pharmacy, a doctor’s office, or a phone service provider, you are certainly familiar with prompts like: “For hours of operations, press 1,” or “For Spanish, press 2.”

Call automation for call centers and businesses is not a new concept. IVRs became popular in the 1980s when they emerged as an essential customer service technology. Debt collection agencies have been using IVR for over a decade, for both outbound calls (such as payment reminders) and inbound calls (such as consumer inquiries).

However, the fact that IVR is so common does not mean that it’s an optimal solution. In this blog post, we’ll go over the limitations of IVR and explain why adopting a Conversational Voice AI solution is a far better option for collection agencies.

Why IVR Is Overwhelmingly Unpopular

Are You Still Using an IVR System for Debt Collections?

IVR reduces wait time for consumers, but it does not eliminate it, as it forces users to listen to lengthy menus that are for the most part irrelevant. At least 61% of consumers think that IVR systems make for a poor customer experience (CX).

A survey conducted by Vonage with Opinion Matters in 2019 revealed that having to listen to seemingly endless, irrelevant menu options is the primary factor contributing to consumers’ negative experiences. Additionally, the respondents complained that IVR menus are usually too long, that the reason for their call is sometimes not even listed, and that the system prevents them from speaking directly to a live customer representative.

Building the right IVR for your company can be tricky. If the system is not designed well, users will get frustrated and abandon the call. IVR is notoriously difficult to navigate, especially when a business offers different services or targets various sets of consumers.

In one sentence: consumers don’t like IVR. So what’s the alternative?

IVR vs. Voice AI: Which One Is the Best Option?

Conversational AI is the technology behind what is commonly referred to as a “voicebot.” It enables companies to automate both inbound and outbound calls with consumers without the involvement of a live agent. In recent years, SaaS platforms offering Conversational AI solutions have become more affordable and easier to deploy; additionally, some of these solutions are now trained with large language models (LLMs), which enable them to be even more effective at handling complex interactions.

In the accounts receivables industry, Voice AI can transform creditors’ and collection agencies’ recovery strategies by providing an infinitely scalable team of voicebots that can handle the vast majority of consumer calls. The solution can handle the most repetitive and mundane calls, empowering live agents to focus on more complex and revenue-generating accounts.

Skit.ai’s solution can handle intelligent, personalized, and effective conversations with consumers, eliminating wait times and significantly cutting costs for the company adopting it. The solution retains the context of previous interactions and will tailor the service it offers based on the specific needs of the user. The technology not only understands what the user says but also the semantics of the conversation.

Are You Still Using an IVR System for Debt Collections?

Conversational Voice AI for Outbound Collection Calls

Collectors are usually expected to go through thousands of accounts per month; a large number of those accounts remain untouched because it’s impossible for a human collector to contact and engage so many consumers. This process leads to substantial losses in potential revenue for the creditor or agency.

Artificial intelligence does not have this problem. When fed with large quantities of accounts, an AI platform can initiate and handle an extraordinarily high number of calls or interactions through a variety of communication channels, and they are available 24/7. These are some of the solution’s capabilities:

The solution can easily transfer the more complex calls to a live agent when it cannot reach a satisfactory resolution. When agents see that a call is being transferred from the voicebot, they know the consumer is usually inclined to make a payment or reach a settlement.

Why You Should Not Use IVR for Outbound Collection Calls

Using IVR for debt collection calls is limiting and is unlikely to lead to a successful debt recovery on a consistent basis. The system can’t capture dispositions and is capable of performing a limited number of actions. Let’s say the consumer refuses to pay or disputes the debt—can your IVR capture the reason? Let’s say the consumer is willing to pay but can only pay off part of the debt at this time; can your IVR handle a negotiation? If the consumer is busy right now, is your IVR able to schedule a call-back at a time that’s convenient for the consumer? Probably not.

Conversational Voice AI for Inbound Queries

When a consumer calls a creditor or collection agency, they probably don’t want to deal with a frustrating and lengthy IVR menu. An intelligent voicebot is a much more welcome alternative!

The voicebot picks up the call right away, eliminating the wait time of a regular call; additionally, the user does not have to patiently listen to a long list of options. The voicebot typically authenticates the caller’s identity and, if relevant, informs them of their due balance. Here the customer gets to have an intelligent, effective, multi-turn conversation with the Voice AI solution.

In revenue-generating inbound calls, the voicebot can help the consumer make a payment. In non-revenue-generating inbound calls, the solution will answer the consumer’s questions based on the information it has on file and will transfer the call to an agent when needed.

Why You Should Not Use IVR for Inbound Queries

Whenever a consumer is interested in making a payment and resolving their debt, they might be turned off by the poor customer experience offered by the IVR. In non-revenue-generating inbound calls, the IVR system is often incapable of resolving the query and will, therefore, transfer the call to a live agent.

U.S. debt collection agencies report that their agents spend about 20% of their time answering inbound calls! Many of these calls are not revenue-generating, so they consume time and resources that could be allocated to collection calls.

A disadvantage of relying on live agents for inbound calls is their limited availability; they are not available 24/7. As a result, when consumers have queries or wish to make payments during off-hours, it is not possible, causing collection agencies to miss out on collection opportunities. 

The Benefits of Adopting Multichannel Conversational AI for Debt Collection Agencies

Here are some of the benefits reported by collections agencies that have adopted Skit.ai’s Voice AI platform:

Are You Still Using an IVR System for Debt Collections?
  • Eliminate wait times: Say goodbye to long wait times, Beethoven symphonies, and lengthy IVR menus.
  • Augment collections: Thanks to total account penetration within minutes and automatic file segmentation, you’ll get much better clarity into your portfolio.
  • Empower your agents: Because AI can take care of the most repetitive and mundane tasks, your live agents can focus on the most revenue-generating calls.
  • Minimize compliance risks: The Conversational AI solution is built to be fully compliant with local laws and regulations.
  • Improve CX: By offering multiple communication channels available 24/7—voice, SMS, chat, and email—you empower consumers to engage using their preferred method.

Interested in learning more about how Conversational AI can help you streamline your collection strategy and reach your full potential? Schedule a free demo with one of our experts.

6 Unexpected Capabilities of Conversational AI for Collections

For anyone working in the accounts and receivables industry, it’s unlikely not to have heard of Conversational AI for collections. Whether you’ve attended an industry event or visited an industry news site, you’ve likely encountered this technology. Many collection agencies and creditors across North America are adopting it to accelerate and enhance their collection strategies and processes.

There are many known benefits to using Conversational AI for debt recovery. Contact center automation, rigid compliance guardrails, business growth, and cost-effectiveness are some of the ways different organizations benefit from it.

Many executives have reported that, since integrating voicebots and chatbots, they’ve been able to acquire larger debt portfolios, thanks to the increased outbound and inbound consumer engagement they’re able to handle. Others have reported that the technology’s consistency and reliability have been game changers; after all, artificial intelligence “never has a bad day.”

But what are some of the lesser-known benefits of adopting Conversational AI for collection calls and interactions?

6 Unexpected Capabilities of Conversational AI for Collections

Traffic Boost

This is every collector’s dream—increasing the inbound traffic from consumers who want to speak to an agent and resolve their debt. Thanks to Conversational AI, which acts as a first line of communication with consumers, you can automate most of your outbound traffic across multiple channels (voice, text, etc.), establish right-party contact, and even collect payments. The solution can easily transfer calls to your live agents, informing them of the relevant context and previous interactions.

“Skit.ai is helping us optimize agent bandwidth, as it enables our agents to spend more time answering high-value inbound calls,” said one of our clients, a collection agency’s chief operating officer based in Michigan. “With Skit.ai as our first filter, our long-term goal is to ramp up call automation and increase inbound calls. The Voice AI platform has already helped us take steps in that direction, with the 40% boost in inbound traffic as a testimony to the solution’s efficacy.”

Intelligent Conversations

Both our clients and the consumers interacting with our Conversational AI solution are positively impressed with how intelligent and humanlike the bot sounds. No matter what the user on the call says, the solution knows how to handle it, offering relevant and timely information and finding ways to solve problems in real time; it also ensures the conversation does not go off-topic. Whenever the consumer asks to speak to an agent or the solution is unable to help, the consumer gets transferred to one of your live agents or can request a callback.

The solution is context-rich, meaning that it tracks previous interactions to offer the user the best possible experience.

Positive Customer Experience (CX)

Consumers who have interacted with one of Skit.ai’s virtual assistants—chatbots, voicebots, email bots, etc.—can testify to its ability to deliver a positive customer experience.

First of all, with Conversational AI, consumers don’t have to wait—they get the assistance they need right away, without having to listen to a Mozart symphony or a time-consuming IVR menu.

With Multichannel AI, consumers can choose to interact via their preferred channels. Our research shows that different consumers and demographics have different preferences; some prefer texting, others speaking on the phone.

Conversational AI establishes right-party contact (RPC) in less than a minute; if the call is transferred to a live agent, consumers won’t need to repeat the RPC step, as their identity has already been authenticated.

According to industry data, the vast majority of consumers (88%) expect organizations to provide self-service support. We’re not surprised: the back-and-forth with AI is easy and painless.

Rigorous Compliance

With a multitude of ever-evolving federal and state regulations, collection executives and collectors often struggle to keep up with the changes. Compliance is one of the most serious pain points and concerns for the industry, as non-compliance can result in major financial losses for creditors and agencies.

Artificial intelligence can make your compliance more rigorous and your collection strategy more secure. Skit.ai’s Conversational AI solution has built-in filters designed to adhere to all telephony, data security, and collection-related regulations, such as the FDCPA, Reg F, and TCPA, among others.

With the appropriate guardrails, Conversational AI never goes off script or forgets a regulation; you can trust that, with all the correct compliance filters in place, the solution will rigorously follow every rule, including the Mini-Miranda and call frequency restrictions.

Perfect Timing

You can always count on artificial intelligence to be timely and precise.

An important aspect of the regulatory environment for debt recovery is call frequency, as outlined by Reg F and other state-level laws. Conversational AI always complies with those rules, initiating calls only at the right time of day and never exceeding the maximum number of call attempts allowed by the applicable regulations.

Additionally, follow-up timings with AI are always precise. If a consumer tells the AI that they’re not able to speak at a given moment and asks the solution to call back at a different time, you can be sure that the AI will call back at the exact time requested by the consumer.

Context Retention Across Channels

Going multichannel doesn’t only mean offering multiple communication channels, such as voice, text messaging, email, and chatbots. It also means that the technology is capable of retaining context across different channels. The solution remembers prior interactions, allowing for seamless transitions between channels. Let’s say a consumer interacts with the voicebot; if they start texting with your agency the following day, the SMS bot will pick up the conversation where the voicebot had left it.

This capability greatly enhances the customer experience by ensuring that users don’t have to repeat themselves or re-explain their situations, fostering a sense of understanding and trust. Additionally, with context retention, live agents can be better informed when they step in to support complex cases, leading to a more effective resolution.


By leveraging complex conversational capabilities and context retention, Skit.ai’s Multichannel Conversational AI solution not only adheres to regulatory requirements but also cultivates a more personalized experience for consumers. As the debt collection landscape continues to evolve, embracing these technological advancements will be key to fostering trust and satisfaction among consumers, ultimately leading to more successful outcomes for both consumers and collection agencies.

Are you interested in learning how Conversational AI can accelerate your collection strategy? Schedule a free demo with one of our experts.

Boost Your Collection Strategy with AI-powered SMS and Email Automation

For Canadian debt collection agencies and financial services organizations handling collections, consumer outreach has always been a multilayered challenge. Because of resource limitations, shrinking margins, and the difficult ecosystem of consumer collections, it’s not easy to reach debtors, with account penetration, right-party contact, and payment recovery being some of the hurdles faced by collectors.

Two solutions to these challenges: diversifying your communication and contact methods and leveraging top-tier technology. The rise of Conversational AI and GenAI-enabled, automated messaging via SMS and email is opening new and efficient channels for communication with consumers, which can significantly boost debt collection operations.

Thanks to the recent advancement in Generative AI, text messaging and email automation solutions can now handle two-way, multi-turn, intelligent conversations with consumers, all while complying with provincial regulations on contact timings and frequency.

In this article, we’ll outline the immense potential that text message and email automation using Conversational AI has for ROI in your journey to contact center automation.

Conversational AI: A Game Changer for Debt Collection Across North America

Conversational AI is enabling debt collection operations to be more adaptive, consumer-friendly, and efficient. This technology relies on natural language processing to understand and respond to consumer inquiries, making the process more conversational and less transactional.

Debt collection agencies across North America have already been relying on Voice AI to automate both inbound and outbound collection calls, delivering impressive results. Now, leaders in the industry are offering additional self-service channels to consumers, so that everyone can utilize the channels they prefer. One of them is text messaging automation with AI.

Why It’s Good To Offer Email and SMS Communications to Consumers

  • Text messages have a remarkably high open rate, estimated to be between 80-99%.
  • 90% of text messages are opened within the first 3 minutes of receipt
  • Click-through rates with SMS (i.e., clicks on links within the SMS) can vary greatly, but they’re estimated to be somewhere between 15-30%.

Every consumer is different; our research shows that different demographics prefer to engage through different channels.

Here’s why email is an important channel to use to engage with consumers:

  • Email communications are a good alternative to print letters, as they are more cost-effective and reach consumers faster.
  • Email improves documentation, helping with compliance matters.
  • Email provides metrics such as open rates and click rates, allowing you to better understand consumer responsiveness, which would not be possible with print letters.
  • Electronic records help you integrate metrics with other channels of communication to better understand consumer behavior and preferences.

How AI-powered Text Messaging Fits into Your Recovery Strategy

When applied to text message automation, Conversational AI allows debt collection agencies to:

  • Engage consumers on their smartphones, enabling flexible response times and methods.
  • Conduct intelligent, two-way SMS conversations regarding outstanding debt and resolution options.
  • Alleviate live collectors from routine communication tasks.
  • Share time-sensitive information like payment reminders, settlement offers, and deadline alerts in real-time.
  • Offer 24/7 inbound support via text to consumers
  • Seamlessly integrate with existing software and workflows.

The main benefit of text message automation is maintaining a consistent, timely, and non-intrusive communication line with consumers, allowing them to engage at their convenience. This enhances recovery rates by making interactions more natural and personalized.

AI-powered text messaging offers convenience and personalization. When consumers feel understood and are offered practical solutions, recovery chances increase. AI-driven texts can:

  • Respond instantly to queries or requests.
  • Offer personalized payment plans.
  • Adapt communication strategies based on consumer response trends.

By leveraging AI for communication logistics, agencies can allocate human resources to complex conversations and negotiations, enhancing overall efficiency without replacing live agents.

Explore an Email Strategy Powered by Generative AI to Engage with Consumers

Email automation powered by Generative AI enables you to do the following:

  • Reach consumers directly in their inboxes, allowing them to respond at their convenience.
  • Automate two-way, intelligent, and comprehensive email conversations about outstanding balances and resolution options.
  • Deliver information such as payment reminders, settlement offers, debt breakdowns, and deadline alerts promptly.
  • Integrate seamlessly with your tech stack and workflows.
  • Respond immediately to queries or requests, expediting the recovery process.

Today, email is one of the most common forms of communication. Having Conversational AI handle part of your email communication strategy represents a game-changer for collection agencies of all sizes.

How AI Complies with Canadian Regulations, Both Federal and Provincial

Skit.ai’s solution is tailored specifically for debt collections, and built to comply with the industry’s regulations, such as permitted call timings, frequency of contact attempts, and mandatory disclosures.

These are the federal Canadian regulations our solution complies with through rigid guardrails and filters:

  • Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
  • Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)
  • Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission: Key Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules

To ensure data security, we have the following certifications:

  • SOC 2 Type II certification
  • ISO 27001:2022 certification
  • Information Security Management System (ISMS) policies and procedures
  • PCI-DSS compliant
  • AES-256 encryption

Skit.ai also complies with all province-specific laws—such as Ontario’s Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act and British Columbia’s Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act.

Enhancing the Overall Consumer Experience (CX)

It’s also a good practice to focus on the customer experience, which is often overlooked in debt recovery.

Despite seeming out of place, the way consumers interact with your agency significantly influences their behavior. Providing self-service options, like text messaging and email automation, can greatly enhance the consumer experience. Text messaging automation accelerates the resolution process and appeals to demographics that prefer not to use phone calls, such as younger consumers.

Overall, enabling consumers to communicate through their preferred channels maximizes engagement and improves resolution rates. Additionally, Skit.ai’s solution is context-aware, tracking previous interactions across different channels, including Voice AI phone calls.


Are you interested in learning more about how Conversational AI can improve your collections strategy? Book a demo to schedule an appointment with one of our experts!

Seamlessly Integrate Conversational AI with Your CRM Platform Using RPA

When you adopt a Conversational AI solution for your collection business, one of the first challenges is getting it to exchange information with your company’s customer relationship management (CRM) platform. In this article, we’ll explain how you can integrate Skit.ai’s solution with your CRM system using a robotic process automation (RPA) approach. This method can save you time and money while requiring minimal technical expertise.

The Importance of CRM Software for Collection Agencies

CRM software is essential to gather, organize, and manage your accounts’ information. The benefit of integrating your Conversational AI solution with your CRM system is to easily personalize calls and quickly fetch consumer data in order to achieve end-to-end automation.

Whether it’s an outbound call—and your bot is calling a consumer to collect payment—or an inbound call—in which a consumer may call to request information on their account—you’ll need the bot to have access to the data.

The Challenges of Achieving a Conversational AI & CRM Integration for Collection Agencies

Collection agencies that want to adopt Conversational AI have a options to give the solution access to their CRM data.

To get access to CRM data, flat-file transfers and middleware are two ways to avoid a complex integration requiring building new APIs. It’s important to note that flat-file and middleware are not considered actual integrations.

SFTP Flat-File Transfer:

  • What it is: Campaign files are transferred directly from one system to the other—from the agency’s systems to the Skit.ai servers—usually via a Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP).
  • The advantage of flat-file transfers: This approach is very simple to execute, especially for basic data exchanges, requiring no IT effort and resources.
  • The disadvantage of flat-file transfers: This method does not provide real-time updates and is not automated, requiring the collection agency to handle file uploads on a regular basis.

Middleware Approach:

  • What it is: The middleware approach enables the Conversational AI platform to access the collection business’ CRM platform and store its encrypted data in the platform’s database. Additionally, every time the AI solution handles an inbound call with a consumer, it creates an SFTP file on the call and then uploads it on the client’s server.
  • The advantage of the middleware approach: It’s a more scalable solution and it’s good for inbound use cases, as it enables the Conversational AI solution to access consumer data.
  • The disadvantage of the middleware approach: It requires setup and maintenance and does not provide real-time updates, as the transfers only occur at regular intervals (e.g., once a day). It also can’t be used for outbound use cases.

API Integration:

  • What it is: An Application Programming Interface (API) enables different software applications (such as a CRM and a Conversational AI platform) to communicate with each other.
  • The advantage of API: It allows the Conversational AI solution to seamlessly access CRM data in real-time and in a structured manner. The CRM is updated in real-time with the outcomes of each interaction. Another benefit is that once the API is built and implemented, no further manual intervention is needed.
  • The disadvantage of API: APIs need to be available or custom-built, and they require programming expertise to implement and manage. CRM platforms usually don’t provide ready-made API integrations. This method requires a longer go-live timeline.

Due to the disadvantages of each method, we’ve adopted an alternative approach to solving this challenge.

What Is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?

Robotic process automation (RPA) involves using bots to automate repetitive tasks and workflows by mimicking human actions to interact with systems and applications.

With RPA, the Conversational AI platform can automatically access a CRM without requiring an API setup. The collection business grants the bot access to the CRM platform and whitelists it to ensure that the server is recognized as secure. The RPA bot functions as a live agent, logging into the CRM system and interacting with it directly, without the need for integration.

This approach requires no IT effort on behalf of the collection business utilizing Conversational AI, resulting in significant cost savings.

How Does an RPA Bot Impact Debt Collection Use Cases?

An RPA bot with access to a collection agency’s CRM can do the following:

  • Fetch account information such as due balance
  • Update the CRM with promise-to-pay (PTP), payment date, and other outcomes
  • Add notes to the CRM, e.g. reminder to call consumer on payment date

All this can be automated and executed without any human intervention.

The RPA method only works with cloud-based CRM platforms, such as Finvi, Collect!, and Debtrak. It does not work with on-premises CRMs, such as CollectOne, Debtmaster, Latitude, and Gcollect. 


Curious to learn how Skit.ai can integrate with your existing CRM? Request a demo with one of our experts!

Why Creditors’ Rights Law Firms Are Deploying Multichannel AI

Navigating the intricacies of debt collection is no easy feat—even for law firms specializing in the practice.

Creditors’ rights law firms engaged in collections often deal with hurdles such as staffing challenges, account penetration, compliance with the regulatory landscape, consumer engagement, and the high cost of traditional collection methods. Consequently, these firms are turning to cutting-edge technological solutions to streamline processes, aiming for greater efficiency and cost savings.

Like other areas of the accounts receivables industry, the legal collections field is undergoing rapid transformation. As the sector grapples with these changes, artificial intelligence has emerged as a pivotal tool. In this article, we delve into the impact of Conversational AI on creditors’ rights law firms and explore how a multichannel strategy can improve consumer outreach and debt recovery.

Why Law Firms in Debt Collections Are Adopting Conversational AI

The first—and often daunting—task for any organization involved in debt collection is outreach. It’s a multifaceted puzzle that demands not only reaching the consumer but also doing so in an effective and compliant manner. When dealing with large volumes of accounts, it can be challenging to reach every consumer, and it can be even more difficult to do so efficiently.

Conversational AI has revolutionized this process by automating consumer outreach, as well as the handling of consumer engagement and interactions via various channels, such as phone calls, emails, SMS, and web chat.A multichannel strategy enables collection agencies and lenders to cut costs, improve processes, and meet the diverse needs of consumers.

Here are some of the most common challenges faced by law firms involved in debt collections:

Regulatory Compliance: Law firms and agencies are the most careful and well-informed when it comes to complying with laws and regulations, including the TCPA, FDCPA, and Reg F.

Staffing: Collecting in-house requires hiring and retaining full-time staff, including legal assistants and live transfer agents, which is costly and time-consuming.

Outsourcing: Outsourcing collections to a third-party agency is a common practice, yet it’s an expensive option for law firms.

Call Volume: Maximizing the number of consumers reached, known as account penetration, can be a pain point that some companies end up compromising on, especially when dealing with hundreds of thousands of accounts.

Time and Resources: The last calling attempts before pursuing legal action cost time and resources, including establishing right-party contact (RPC).

How Multichannel AI Can Help Creditors’ Rights Law Firms

Conversational AI handles human-like conversations with consumers; here are some of the benefits it offers in the legal collections space.

An Outreach Revolution

Any entity performing collections must first perform consumer outreach. Multichannel Conversational AI has revolutionized this step by automating a diverse range of outbound communications tactics across multiple channels.

Conversational AI enables companies to automate thousands of consumer interactions within minutes at a fraction of the cost of a traditional collection call. Collection agencies have been relying on this solution for both outbound and inbound collection calls, successfully cutting costs and accelerating the recovery process. The bot can trigger the communication based on pre-determined criteria and identify itself and the collection entity.

This technology must not be confused with an IVR system. An IVR forces users to listen to lengthy menus that are mostly irrelevant. Research has consistently shown that IVRs are not popular among consumers. Unlike IVR, an AI-powered solution like Skit.ai handles intelligent, personalized, and effective conversations with consumers, eliminating wait times and cutting costs.

Multichannel capabilities enable companies to offer multiple channels to consumers, boosting engagement by enabling them to utilize their preferred mode of communication.

24/7 Inbound Support

Conversational AI can answer every single call or message from consumers at any hour of the day and on any day of the week, unlocking 24/7 inbound support for your consumers calling to ask questions or make a payment. Thanks to this technology, you won’t have to miss a single collection opportunity coming your way. 

Right-Party Contact Verification

AI can save a significant amount of time and resources invested in performing right-party contact (RPC) verification. Bots can easily verify RPCs at the beginning of an interaction with a consumer by using the last four digits of their social security number, date of birth, or zip code.

Disposition Capture and Payment

Given the bot’s ability to handle human-like, two-way, and multi-turn conversations with consumers, Conversational AI can provide information on the consumer’s debt and offer ways to pay it off. The bot can therefore capture promise-to-pay and collect the payment in multiple ways: via a live agent transfer, an SMS link leading to an online payment portal, or an on-call card payment.

Live Agent Transfer

Interactions with consumers are not always straightforward, and that’s why the bot is built to identify complex queries and scenarios in which a live agent transfer is necessary. The benefit of live agent transfers is that they’re context-based, as the solution shares the context and history of the interaction with the live agent.

Do you want to learn more about how Multichannel Conversational AI can help your company automate and streamline your collection process? Book a demo with one of our experts.

Contain BHPH Delinquencies with Multiple Follow-Ups

Buy Here, Pay Here car dealerships need to reach all of their active customers frequently and effectively. Conversational AI can help them do so in a scalable and cost-effective way.

Artificial intelligence is transforming the way car dealerships communicate with borrowers. Thanks to the use of interactive virtual assistants, dealerships are now able to automate intelligent, two-way conversations over multiple channels—voice text, email, and chat. This technology is emerging as a game-changer thanks to its cost-effective and scalable nature.

Based on data from our customers, we have seen that connectivity for a given set of accounts increases proportionally with retries. In other words, to boost connectivity, you should perform multiple follow-ups using Conversational AI.

Connectivity tends to peak at around 5 retries. The frequency and spacing of the retries can be programmed in compliance with TCPA requirements and state regulations.

The graphic below from a collection agency shows that, with 5 retries, the connectivity rate doubles.

Here are our tips to maximize your connectivity performance and boost revenue recovery:

  1. Perform at least 5 contact retries per campaign, in compliance with federal and state regulations.
  2. Leverage multiple communication channels, all automated with AI: phone calls, SMS, email, and chat.

Curious to learn more about how Conversational AI can enhance your collections strategy? Book a free demo with one of our experts.