Simone Somekh
August 13, 2024
Hello! Welcome to Skit.ai. Click here to book a demo.
Hello! Welcome to Skit.ai. Click here to book a demo.
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 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.
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:
When applied to text message automation, Conversational AI allows debt collection agencies to:
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:
By leveraging AI for communication logistics, agencies can allocate human resources to complex conversations and negotiations, enhancing overall efficiency without replacing live agents.
Email automation powered by Generative AI enables you to do the following:
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.
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:
To ensure data security, we have the following certifications:
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.
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!
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 […]
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 […]