• Login
  • Status
  • Support
  • Partners
  • Pricing
  • Careers
  • ENLanguages
    • English
    • Deutsch
    • Français
    • 日本
    • 简体中文
    • العربية
    • 한국
    • Español
Customer Experience (CX) AI Platform
  • Customer Experience (CX) AI Platform×
  • Platform

      CXone Mpower Platform

      • Platform Overview

        Complete AI platform for customer service automation

      • Enlighten AI

        Powering smarter CX with AI-driven insights and automation.

      • Cloud Architecture

        Innovative cloud-native foundation to rapidly scale extraordinary CX

      • Dashboards & Reporting

        Gain a full operational picture of your contact center, with enhanced visualization of real-time and historical insights

      • Integrations

        Seamlessly connect your business systems with our platform

      • Trust & Compliance

        Securing your trust with every interaction

      Discover the full value of AI in customer service

      Understand the benefits and cost savings you can achieve by embracing AI, from automation to augmentation.

      Calculate your savings

    • Products
      • Explore all Products

      • Capabilities

      • Interaction Orchestration

        Interaction Orchestration

        Orchestrate all interactions and workflows across every customer service touchpoint.

        Learn more

        • Omnichannel Routing

          Reduce wait times and boost conversions with smart customer-agent matching.

        • Proactive Engagement

          Generate more revenue, minimize hang-ups, and proactively connect to reduce friction.

        • AI Orchestrator

          Unify and optimize every customer service workflow from intent to fulfillment.

        • Agent Desktop Workspace

          Connect front and back office teams with data, conversations, and workflows together in one place.

      • Workforce Augmentation

        Workforce Augmentation

        Amplify team performance with specialized AI copilots for every role.

        Learn more

        • Specialized AI Copilots

          Elevate human performance with specialized AI copilots for every role.

        • Workforce Engagement Management

          Elevate employees, adapt to flexible work, and meet expectations - without compromise.

        • Automated Agent Notetaking

          Instantly summarize interactions - accelerating resolution times and agent efficiency.

        • Voice of the Customer

          Unlock customer insights to enhance experiences, drive loyalty, and boost business growth.

        • Interaction Analytics

          Gain AI-powered insights from 100% of interactions to drive continuous improvement.

      • Service Automation

        Service Automation

        Automated customer self-service solutions increasing retention rates.

        View Products

        • Intelligent Virtual Agent

          Boost self-service satisfaction and conversion with conversational AI agents.

        • Experience Optimization (XO)

          Synthesize real customer conversations to identify your top automation opportunities.

        • Proactive AI Agent

          Keep customers engaged in conversation from onboarding to installation, service, and retention.

        • Knowledge Management

          Activate AI-powered enterprise knowledge to increase self-resolution rates and loyalty.


      • Solutions

      • By Industry

        By Industry

        • BPO

          Business Process Outsourcers

        • Financial Services

          Customer experiences that count

        • Government

          Elevate citizen trust

        • Healthcare

          Healthy patient experiences

        • Insurance

          Secure policyholder experiences

        • Retail

          Delight customers where they shop

        • Telecom

          CX for Telecommunications

        • Travel & Hospitality

          Boost traveler and guest loyalty

        Discover the full value of AI in customer service

        Understand the benefits and cost savings you can achieve by embracing AI, from automation to augmentation.

        Calculate your savings

      • By Business Initiative

        By Business Initiative

        • Grow Revenue

          Boost conversions and win rates to accelerate growth

        • Engage & Empower Employees

          Create a workplace of truly engaged employees

        • Boost Customer Loyalty

          Improve customer loyalty on interactions across the journey

        • Drive Digital Transformation

          Integrate digital technology at the center of CX

        • Small and Medium Business

          Drive growth and boost revenue with smarter, cost-effective customer service built for SMBs.

        • Call Center Software

          Empower agents to provide better experiences

        • Increase Operational Efficiency

          Leverage AI and automation to increase agent retention

        • Move to the Cloud

          Elevate experiences by moving operations to the cloud

        • Improve Compliance

          Protect your consumers with pre-built compliance solutions

        • Proactive Customer Engagement

          Elevate customer satisfaction with proactive conversational AI

      • Integrations & Custom Solutions

        Integrations & Custom Solutions

        • CXexchange Marketplace

          Discover partner solutions to extend capabilities on our platform

        • Pre-Built Integrations

          Seamlessly connect your business systems with our platform

        • Developer Tools & APIs

          Endless customization options with RESTful APIs and robust SDKs

        • Partner Ecosystem

          Embark on a journey of shared success and collaboration

        91% of customers recommend NiCE as a preferred CCaaS vendor

        Gartner® named NiCE the only Customers’ Choice CCaaS vendor in its 2024 Peer Insights™ “Voice of the Customer for Contact Center as a Service” report.

        Get report


      • View All Products
    • Services
      • Explore all Services

      Professional Services

      • Professional Services

        Industry-leading expertise, tools and know-how

      • Implementation Partners

        NICE-certified implementation partners

      • Business Consulting

        Your partner for successful transformation

      Training

      • Contact Center Training

        Tailored education delivered by CX experts

      Support & Assistance

      • Customer Support

        Global support you can depend on

      Make the smartest buying decision with the latest Gartner analysis

      NiCE has been named a Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ Leader for Contact Center as a Service for the 10th consecutive year and is positioned furthest on Completeness of Vision.

      Get report

    • Resources

        Knowledge Base

        • All Resources

          Whitepapers, datasheets, demos and more

        • Analyst Perspectives

          Contact center reports from third party analysis

        • Terms Glossary

          Detailed descriptions of industry-related terms

        • FAQs

          Contact center focused frequently asked questions

        • Guides

          Expert insights for superior CX

        Learning & Insights

        • On-Demand Webinars

          Browse our extensive webinar catalog

        • Interactive Product Tours

          Explore the complete platform with our self-guided demos

        • Blog

          CX industry guidance by contact center experts

        • Why NiCE? Video Series

          Step Inside The Room Where It Happened to see CX AI in action

        • NiCE & Simple: Video Demo Series

          Brilliant, bite-sized videos from our top product pros

        Community

        • Events

          Upcoming events and webinars

        • Customer Stories

          Our customer's success is paramount. Read case studies about real CX transformation

        • NiCE Clubs

          Collaborate, learn, and share best practices for customer service excellence

        Discover the full value of AI in customer service

        Understand the benefits and cost savings you can achieve by embracing AI, from automation to augmentation.

        Calculate your savings

      • Company

          Company

          • About Us

            Powering seamless cloud experiences

          • Investors

            Investors relations, reports and filings

          • Global Offices

            Interactive map of locations worldwide

          • Careers

            View job openings and learn about our culture

          • NiCE Leadership

            Meet our global leadership and executive team

          News & Media

          • Events

            Upcoming events and webinars

          • Press Releases

            Find the latest updates from NiCE

          • Media Center

            Media contacts and resources

          Corporate Governance

          • NiCE Trust Center

            Securing your trust with every interaction

          • Market Leadership

            Discover why NiCE is the market leader

          • Corporate Responsibility

            In a world where you can be anything, be NiCE

          Make the smartest buying decision with the latest Gartner analysis

          NiCE has been named a Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ Leader for Contact Center as a Service for the 10th consecutive year and is positioned furthest on Completeness of Vision.

          Get report

          • ENLanguages
            • English
            • Deutsch
            • Français
            • 日本
            • 简体中文
            • العربية
            • 한국
            • Español
          • Get Started
            • Login
            • Status
            • Support
            • Partners
            • Pricing
            • Careers

          Company

          • About Us
          • Careers
          • Global Leadership
          • Media Center
          • Investors
          • Awards
          • Global Office Locations
          • Contact Us
          • CCaaS
          • Customer Experience
          • NiCE Public Safety
          • NiCE Actimize
          • NiCE RPA

          Partners

          • NiCE Partners Overview
          • Developer Partners (DEVone)
          • CXone Mpower Partner Portal
          • NiCE Help Partner Portal
          • NiCE User Group

          Customer Support

          • Customer Support Overview
          • CXone Mpower Support Login
          • NiCE Customer Support
          © 2025 NiCE
          • Terms of Use
          • Site Map
          • Privacy Policy
          • Legal
          • Cookies Settings
          • Accessibility

          Stay Connected

          © 2025 NiCE
          get an a in cx and smarter self service

          Get an A+++ in CX and smarter self-service using AI, automation, and analytics

          by Tamsin Dollin
          January 14, 2022
          Share

          Contact centers that offer customer self-service typically measure containment, which—considering the definition of the word—may seem like a strange tactic to take with customers. As it happens, containment is a key measure of self-service effectiveness: it’s the percentage of customers who begin and end in self-service tools without transferring to an agent.

          Oxford Languages defines containment as "the action of keeping something harmful under control or within limits.”

          Words matter more than you’d think. Unfortunately, too many businesses take the word “containment” too literally, trapping customers in a self-service version of a mandatory, locked-door detention. (Did scenes from The Breakfast Club just run through your head?)

          Instead of “containing” customers, organizations should focus on making these customers successful in their self-service journeys by leveraging AI, analytics, and automation. A shift in mindset from trapping customers to empowering them enables businesses to optimize the customer experience and fully realize the benefits of effective self-service.

          Customer loyalty may just rely on your ability to help customers avoid contacting live customer service. Your customers actively grade the quality of your self-service—and a mere passing score isn’t enough to keep them coming back for more. The skin in the CX game today is surpassing customer expectations altogether.

          We’ll show you how to get an A+++ in your CX and self-service game.

          Do customers really want to solve their own problems with self-service?

          The short answer: a resounding YES.

          In the current age of instant gratification, consumers expect companies to be available 24/7 through self-service channels. They're no longer as willing to wait for a contact center to open to receive help, and most would rather forgo speaking with a live agent altogether.

          help your customers help themselves

          Most issue resolution journeys begin before a customer reaches out to the contact center. Search engines and the business's website are often the first places people look to for help. In fact, 8 out of 10 consumers try to handle matters themselves before contacting a live service agent.[i]

          However…

          When it comes to simple tasks such as scheduling an appointment or ordering pizza, over 60% of consumers prefer using self-service over agent assistance.[ii] It can be empowering for people to take care of business themselves, and it's extremely convenient to be able to perform tasks exactly when, where, and how you want.

          Consumers also factor self-service into decisions about who to purchase from. Our research found that 84% of consumers are more willing to do business with companies that offer self-service options.[iii]

          23 point gap

          So, yes—people really do want to solve their own problems. In fact, the demand is so great that, according to Statista, 89% of enterprises today offer at least one self-service application.[iv]

          How do businesses win customer loyalty with self-service?

          Implementing effective self-service is an escalating priority. It's been discussed within the contact center circuit for years, but more and more businesses now invest in DIY channels. As it stands, 90% of companies are actively planning or in the midst of applying AI and machine learning technology to customer interactions within the next 3 years. The current prediction: by 2023, 40% of all customer interactions will be automated.[v] Companies that don't prioritize self-service implementation risk getting left behind.

          But consumer demand and competitive parity aren't the only reasons businesses should implement self-service. DIY channels can also yield significant business benefits. Organizations that offer AI-powered self-service often experience the advantageous results, such as:

          • Improved customer experience and satisfaction. Given how many customers prefer to solve their own problems and answer their own questions, self-service that's effective will likely result in better experiences and happier customers (assuming businesses don't keep customers unnecessarily contained).
          • Increased revenue. When self-service can make personalized product recommendations, businesses can see a meaningful increase in revenue. Agents might be hesitant about cross-selling and upselling, but automated self-service tools enthusiastically recommend products 100% of the time. Because of this and other capabilities, Aberdeen estimates that businesses with effective self-service can realize a 4% improvement revenue.[vi]
          • Decreased service costs through lower agent-assisted volume. The average agent-assisted interaction costs $8.01, while self-service transactions average $0.10.[vii] That's a substantial difference.
          intelligent self service benefits

          As an example of how those savings add up, Coca-Cola realized an 85% reduction in cost per interaction by moving their B2B customers online.[viii] And diverting volume to self-service in the midst of a labor shortage relieves overworked agents and delivers timelier assistance to customers.

          • Improved agent experience. In addition to relieving agents of overwhelming workloads, self-service also reduces the number of mundane transactions agents must deal with. When customers handle their own simple tasks, agents are left to solve the more challenging and interesting interactions.

          A common misstep: automating the wrong tasks

          Not all self-service initiatives are successful. It can prove difficult to design effective self-service solutions. Common reasons self-service tools fail include poorly designed navigation, lack of contextual help, and, of course, excessive "containment."

          One of the top reasons self-service initiatives fail is because organizations try to automate the wrong tasks. Not every interaction type is a good candidate for self-service, and choosing the wrong ones can be a recipe for DIY disaster.

          The best transactions to automate with self-service technology are simple, repetitive, and predictable. For example, resetting a password has specific rules that don't vary, and that's why most websites have self-service password reset functionality. The same goes for ordering products, checking delivery status, requesting a product return or refund, and finding out when your utility bill is due.

          Companies head down the wrong path when they try automating tasks that need human judgment and problem-solving skills. For example, requesting an exception to a payment policy or troubleshooting why a mysterious charge appeared on a customer’s bill aren't good self-service tasks. They require delving a layer deeper to resolve the issue.

          The processes that organizations use to select self-service tasks are frequently manual and therefore prone to error. Choosing self-service transactions from a high-level rollup of contact types doesn't always provide the information needed to make good decisions.

          How to make self-service effective using AI, analytics, and automation

          The first key to self-service effectiveness is to change the mindset from trapping your customers to helping fulfill their needs successfully. When you focus on customer success, the results follow naturally.

          Next, use modern technology to design your self-service solutions and enhance the customer experience.

          Analytics can help businesses avoid the trap of automating the wrong tasks. Unfortunately, according to McKinsey, most organizations "are not applying advanced analytics in ways that truly put the customer first."[ix] An effective way to achieve a customer-first approach is to identify the right DIY tasks and then design and implement the best tools to help customers reach their goals.

          Advanced analytics can help businesses better understand the customer journey, what they want and how they feel as they try to transact with the company, and why they contact customer service—all of which can help organizations identify self-service opportunities. By automating the best tasks right out of the gate, businesses accelerate benefits and avoid costly, repetitive cycles of trial and error.

          Leveraging agent-assisted interactions can help businesses pinpoint the "best tasks," but manual analysis and using high-level reporting data isn't enough. A job this important requires AI-powered analytics tools.

          Interaction analytics software analyzes every interaction from all channels and provides a multitude of insights regarding what customers say and feel. Interaction analytics tools zero in on common keywords to identify contact drivers at a very detailed level. This improves the speed and accuracy of identifying appropriate self-service tasks.

          Artificial intelligence also enhances the self-service tools themselves. For example, when online virtual agents use AI and natural language processing (NLP), they provide a more dynamic scope of transaction options than static menu-driven bots, and can even understand the intent of what customers say they're trying to do.

          intelligent ai powered self service

          Similarly, conversational IVRs that use AI and NLP allows callers to say what they want to do in everyday language. This provides a more natural customer experience and enables callers to avoid the endless detention of poorly designed phone menus.

          natural language image

          We’d definitely call that an A+++ in CX.

          Self-service solutions are also made more effective by automation. Automating backend processes allows businesses to expand the number of tasks that customers complete through self-service. For example, for customers to activate a new debit card or file a new insurance claim through self-service, there need to be backend processes that support those tasks. Using end-to-end automation streamlines the whole self-service process and experience and also increases accuracy.

          smarter agent quote

          Finally, design DIY solutions so that it's easy and frictionless for customers to take a path to agent assistance. Don't contain them so well that they become frustrated and head to a competitor who claims to offer better CX. Half of customers that begin their resolution journey in self-service end with an agent,[x] so businesses should plan for and design the path of least resistance to resolution. Consumers expect omnichannel customer experiences, which means when a self-service customer transfers to an agent, the agent should have access to details of the conversations and interactions that took place in the previous channel.

          Ultimately, self-service will be effective when it's designed with the customer in mind. Focusing on empowering them to successfully accomplish their goals and "graduate" summa cum laude from the school of self-service will earn businesses an A+++ in CX.

          Learn more

          A half-baked digital platform isn’t enough to keep up with the demands of a digital world. Often, what’s really required is a system that keeps up with thousands of simultaneous interactions and can meet customer needs and match the complexity of every exchange.

          Check out these short videos to learn how you can implement a knowledge management platform to upscale your self-service and deliver impactful customer experiences 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

           

          Improve customer satisfaction.

          NiCE CXone Expert produces CX results.

          Assist agents and enable proactive customer service.

          Enhance customer self-service.

          [i] Harvard Business Review: Kick-Ass Customer Service (2017)

          [ii] HelpScout: 7 Best Practices for Effective Customer Service (2019)

          [iii] NiCE CXone: 2020 Customer Experience (CX) Benchmark, Consumer Wave (2020)

          [iv] Statista: Do you expect a brand or organization to have an online self-service support portal? (2020)

          [v] Gartner: Gartner Says 25 Percent of Customer Service Operations Will Use Virtual Customer Assistants by 2020 (2018)

          [vi] NiCE CXone: Smarter Self-Service Helps Customers Help Themselves (2020)

          [vii] Gartner: Does Your Digital Customer Service Strategy Deliver? (2019)

          [viii] OrderEase: Understanding the Modern B2B Procurement Process (2020)

          [ix] McKinsey: How advanced analytics can help contact centers put the customer first (2019)

          [x] NiCE CXone: 2020 Customer Experience (CX) Benchmark (2020)

          About the Author

          Tamsin Dollin

          See All Blogs

          Follow Us

          Follow us to get the latest news from your preferred Social Network

          linkedinlinkedinlinkedinlinkedin

          Popular Posts

          July 1, 2025

          Create a streamlined world: Where tickets and data live in one place

          Read
          The power of partnership: How NiCE, AWS, ServiceNow, and Snowflake are creating a NiCE world

          June 24, 2025

          The power of partnership: How NiCE, AWS, ServiceNow, and Snowflake are creating a NiCE world

          Read

          June 18, 2025

          Reimagine automation with CXone Mpower Agents that act, resolve, and scale instantly

          Read

          June 17, 2025

          Building a NiCE world: The stories making the world brighter

          Read

          June 12, 2025

          Turning customer service happiness into a competitive advantage

          Read

          More from the blog

          Customer Experience

          Create a streamlined world: Where tickets and data live in one place

          What if service wasn’t something customers had to chase… but something that found them? What if technology didn’t replace people… but actually amplified their ability to serve? What if we could finally blur the lines between the front office and back office… making the entire customer journey seamless?

          July 1, 2025

          The power of partnership: How NiCE, AWS, ServiceNow, and Snowflake are creating a NiCE world
          AI

          The power of partnership: How NiCE, AWS, ServiceNow, and Snowflake are creating a NiCE world

          At NiCE, our vision is to create a world where customer service just works. It’s a world that is seamless, smart, and connected across every interaction.

          June 24, 2025

          AI

          Reimagine automation with CXone Mpower Agents that act, resolve, and scale instantly

          At NiCE, we don’t believe in waiting around for what’s next. We build it. We imagine it. And with CXone Mpower Agents, we’re setting a new bar for what intelligent service can be.

          June 18, 2025