Paul Stockford of Saddletree Research, a leading analyst firm in the Contact Center industry, published today a Research Brief covering Xaqt's AI powered Vaccination Communication and Scheduling automation platform. The original Brief may be downloaded here. XAQT DEPLOYS AI-BASED COVID VACCINATION SOLUTION
SUMMARY
On December 22, 2020, Xaqt, of Chicago, IL, launched a contact center solution specifically designed to meet the unique requirements of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution program. As cities and municipalities receive an increasing number of calls to existing call centers regarding vaccine distribution, Xaqt provides an automated solution that deflects calls with artificial intelligence (AI)-driven virtual agents. Xaqt’s Intelligent Virtual Agents also have the capability to schedule and manage appointments and send reminders to citizens. In the case of local Public Health Departments that don’t have an existing contact center, Xaqt’s automation first approach can help them launch and scale quickly to meet demand. Xaqt’s Intelligent Virtual Agents are also able to respond to SMS-based interactions. Constituents can text their questions and requests directly to an Xaqt provided number or to any of the contact center’s numbers that support SMS communications. Similarly, Xaqt Virtual Agents can be configured to generated automated outbound SMS messages, such as appointment reminders or messages that enable the scheduling of follow-up vaccination appointments. Once at the vaccination location, Xaqt manages the check-in process for customers via an automated conversational concierge that interacts via voice call, SMS, or a dedicated kiosk. Customers secure their place in line and are notified when their entry time is near so they can return for expedited entry. Xaqt’s vaccination solution is offered as a managed service delivered via the cloud and is priced based upon usage, so it is accessible to government agencies or health care providers of every size.
THE VIEW FROM THE SADDLE
As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout begins, it is clear that the process is not going as smoothly as expected. The number of people receiving the vaccine is far below the number of planned distribution as of this date. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 15.4 million doses of the vaccine have been shipped while only about 4.5 million people have received their first dose. That translates to just 30 percent of available doses that have been used. Here in Saddletree Research’s home state of Arizona, only 16 percent of vaccinations received have been administered. Logistics appears to be the culprit behind the lag in vaccinations – not just delivery but also scheduling. In Maricopa county – the Phoenix metropolitan area – the website server facilitating online appointments was overwhelmed soon after it launched on January 11, 2021. The best advice from the state’s top health official was to “just keep trying.” Saddletree Research believes this problem, which is being replicated in states across the country, can be quickly and efficiently rectified by AI-driven solutions such as Xaqt’s COVID Vaccination Solution. Conversational chatbots replace tedious website sign-up pages and manage the vaccination process from check-in to follow-up appointments. Municipalities responsible for administering the COVID vaccination program should find financial assistance for the launch of intelligent chatbots to assist in the management of vaccinations in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2021, which was signed into law on December 27, 2020. The CARES Act provides financial assistance for State, Local and Tribal governments to cover expenses incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Scheduling and appointment management should be included in this broad category, negating the ever-present budget argument in the contact center industry. In order to secure government contact center business at any level, a solutions provider must also be able to provide quality assurance (QA) or quality management (QM). Xaqt is able to monitor the performance of their intelligent bots the same way other QA solutions monitor live agents. Similar to live agent monitoring, Xaqt’s intelligent bot QA solution employs analytics to evaluate the metadata around a transaction, annotate it, and use it to retrain the bot. Xaqt’s COVID Vaccine Solution can be delivered as a managed service and is platform agnostic. It can also work with a customer’s existing infrastructure, so no segment of the market is excluded from using the Xaqt solution during this critically important time. Xaqt has also partnered with Interaict, an affiliated Contact Center Outsourcing company to provide augmented staffing and onshore live agent support. Through the partnership, Xaqt and Interaict can now offer governments and health care providers a turnkey and end-to-end solution to streamline and scale their vaccination operations. Saddletree Research believes contact center automation segment will be the first market segment to benefit from exceptional deployment and growth during 2021. With the introduction of the Xaqt Vaccine Solution intelligent agents, we expect to see that growth accelerate. © 2021 Saddletree Research Click here to download the Research Note.
