What is CTI?

CTI – Computer Telephony Integration is a technology feature that enables computers to interact with telephone systems.

CTI is mainly used in call centers and it improves agent productivity by allowing them to perform telephony operations without a phone. CTI features highly reduce call waiting times and improve contact resolution rates. It simplifies the job of call center agents, thus improving customer experience. Agents handle inbound and outbound calls from a single interface application and access crucial call center software functionality, such as:

• Screen pop – displays on the agent´s computer screen information about the calling party, such as the ANI (Automatic Number Identification) or caller history.
• Phone controls- enable the agents to perform operations with the call, such as answer, extend, or hang up.
• Call routing – performs actions with the call, such as sending to an IVR or delivering to an agent using skills-based routing.
• Automated dialing – enables operations such as power dialing, click-to-call, or automated call back.

What are the benefits of CTI – Computer Telephony Integration for call centers?

Combining voice and data at the agent´s desktop helps call centers to gain competitive advantage. Below are some of the benefits of CTI call center technology:

Improve customer experience

Call center CTI can authenticate callers by recognizing the number that is calling and searching the company´s database to find a match. Knowing who the caller is before starting the conversation enables agents to offer a more personalized experience, such as identifying the caller by name or acknowledging the reason for calling to avoid the customer from repeating information.  CTI reduces complexity and improves the customer experience.

Empower call center agents

The screen pop displayed to agents with information, such as history of previous interactions, professional and personal information when receiving the call empowers agents with knowledge to have a more personalized and engaging conversation with the customer.

Boost call center productivity

Boost call center agents´ productivity by providing all required information in a single application, reducing the interaction handling time. Automated and predictive dialing enable the call center to make ore calls. The pop up with customer information increase business results, be it for outbound, as agents may adapt the speech according to the caller, or inbound, as agents have all the information to answer customer queries.

Seamless integration with other technology

CTI seamlessly integrates with other call center technologies, such as ANI (Automatic Number Identification), routing applications, or IVR (Interactive Voice Response). This integration gives call center agents complete information, at the right time, about the caller, and customers the option of self-service.

Reduce costs

A call center handles a high volume of calls and has high costs with workforce. The objective is to handle the maximum number of calls in the shortest time frame, so they need to avoid call abandonment from callers being placed on hold for too long. CTI allows call centers to reduce the call handling time by simplifying agent work or offer other services, such as an IVR to convey important information while customers wait in the queue.