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!
