AI Phone Agent vs Call Center: What’s Better for B2B?

Although different in their essence and function, sales and customer support may have more things in common than one might think, especially in the B2B landscape.

Both are in pursuit of improving customer experience without amassing large costs or derailing the efficiency of the business process. 

However, one of the most overlooked similarities of each is the overwhelming need to employ AI technologies in the way they interact with their customers.

But is it better for B2B entirely?

Some would say that traditional call centers remain a standard since it enables personalization and the humanistic ability to understand customers, especially their plight and concerns. 

For this blog, we will uncover what is better for B2B not just for its sales and customer service process, but potentially for your entire business. 

Understanding AI phone agents and traditional call centers

Although, traditional call centers remain foundational for every phone and communication process — both for sales and customer service.

AI phone agents on the other hand revolutionizes the way B2B sales and customer service process by adding automation and overall efficiency in their workforce.

But let’s break it down. 

AI phone agents

AI phone agents operate under a different subset of Artificial Intelligence which are the recipe for its automated systems.

These subsets are:

• Machine learning 
• Large Language models
• Natural Language Processing 
• Speech recognition

Every great AI phone agent utilizes these to help them engage in real-time conversations, enable personalization — to provide correct responses —, analyze customer inquiries, and adjust the way they communicate with the context of the conversation. 

What are they used for? These agents are commonly used for tasks like answering FAQs, qualifying leads, booking meetings, and providing customer support.

Traditional call centers

Traditional call centers use man power — or human agents — that manage inbound and outbound calls with customers and prospects.

For years, many businesses employ human and traditional call centers to handle customer service inquiries, provide technical assistance, and even engage in sales outreach.

All agents undergo proper training to help them in handling various objections and help customers resolve complex issues and possess ample product fluency so they can engage their customers more effectively. 

Related Reading: AI Phone Agent Vs Call Center: Which is Better? 

Uncovering the actual difference of AI phone agent and traditional call centers

Besides the technological differences, AI phone agents offer a more nuanced advantage over traditional call centers.

No one can deny the advantage of traditional call centers and its contribution to how sales outreach and customer service evolved, but the development of technology and the overwhelming changes in customer demands calls for a transformation.

This challenge makes the comparison with AI phone agents inevitable—and we’re breaking it down to the last detail.

1. In terms of efficiency

AI phone agents

AI phone agents can automate routine tasks and are perfect for handling repetitive yet complex tasks, giving you and your human agents to spend their time on more complex cases. This capability can help your business:

• Answer FAQs or common questions
• Update customer information
• Process basic inquiries

Besides automation, you can guarantee:

• Round the clock operation and availability
• Contact customers in different time zones without the agent risking fatigue
• Instant response time

AI tools such as AnyBiz can operate around the clock, ensuring that your business is always available to customers, even outside of regular working hours and responding to inquiries instantly which reduces wait times. 

For our SDR (Sales Development Representative), we understand that conducting outreach to potential clients of different timezones is important. 

But what about their language? Our AI SDR is capable of speaking multiple languages, supporting over 30 languages  including English (various dialects), Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, and many more, making it ideal for global outreach. Additionally, you can select the tone of voice—formal, professional, friendly, or conversational—to better connect with your audience.

Traditional call centers

• Empathy and unique problem solving skills are the best arsenal of traditional call centers. NNo matter how complex your programming is, there will always be some issues that will still require human intervention.
• But still, a human being can only handle one conversation at a time, and this can lead to longer wait times—eventually frustrating your customer. This can have a negative effect on your customer service rating, or turn away potential clients risking your sales output. 
• Traditional call centers operate within standard business schedules limiting your outreach with potential customers of different time zones. 

2. Delivering customer satisfaction

AI phone agents

At this stage, delivering customer satisfaction is the ultimate advantage of traditional call centers. However, as per Zendesk Customer Experience Trends it is worth noting that two-thirds of CX organizations found that AI can equally provide topnotch customer service with its warm and familiar interactions. 

AI sales tools such as AnyBiz understands the importance of personalization even in its sales prospecting capabilities. 

With AnyBiz, you can customize instructions based on your brand’s tone and communication style. 

Here are a few ways to personalize the instructions for your needs:

• Communication tone: If you want the agent to be more formal or casual, this can be reflected in the instructions. For example:

• • “Be polite and formal, using terms appropriate for corporate settings.”
  • “Keep the tone informal and friendly to create a conversational atmosphere.”

• Handling objections: You can specify how the agent should respond to certain objections or questions. This ensures the agent maintains the right emotional tone and guides the conversation toward a successful outcome.

• • “If the client says they don’t have time, offer a brief summary and suggest following up later.”

• Focusing on client problems: Specify what the agent should ask to understand the client’s specific needs. This will help the AI agent dig deeper into the problem and position your product or service correctly.

• • “Ask questions to explore the client’s pain points more thoroughly, so the agent can identify how your product fits into their needs.”

Having this as part of your sales can give you the boost, meanwhile, there are also tons of AI tools for call centers that can offer quick resolution for inquiries that may require a much simpler assistance, which can give you a quick customer satisfaction rate.

Traditional call centers

• Human empathy prevails for traditional call centers, along with the capacity to handle complex issues, project critical thinking and showcase emotional intelligence.
• Traditional call centers can also account for higher engagement, especially if there are customers that prefer speaking with an actual live agent.
• However, its limitations is exactly what AI phone agents can provide. Speaking to a live agent may take longer than usual, this can be detrimental to the customer satisfaction rate

3. Exercising cost-effectiveness

AI phone agents:

When discussing the cost of ROI (Return on Investment) especially in the US market AI phone agents in sales are perfect for lead generation. 

Meanwhile, for call centers and customer support AI phone agents are known to reduce labor costs with its automation capabilities. This can result in higher cost savings, especially for businesses that have high volume of calls. 

AI agents are also capable of handling multiple calls simultaneously making it highly scalable without accounting for additional infrastructure or staff. 

But a point of concern for B2B businesses and their sales and customer support is the initial setup cost, and the dedicated support required to set it up.

AnyBiz can give you a dedicated customer success manager giving you personalized support from an actual dedicated expert. This can help you with the initial setup of your AI agent, especially for your sales prospecting. 

Traditional call centers

Customer satisfaction has a great contribution to your ROI. According to Forbes, U.S. companies lose an estimated $75 billion annually due to poor customer service. 

But when it comes to employing human agents you should also account for their training, employee benefits and other overhead costs. 

Scaling can also be a factor (more of like a challenge) since it will require employing more agents and the time consuming process of maintaining a consistent level of service. 

AI phone agents vs call centers: Which is best for B2B?

For B2B business the choice would largely depend on the complexity of their interactions and also you need to consider the specific business needs. Here is a table to help you:

Both AI phone agents and traditional call centers have their pros and cons. 

• For simple, high-volume tasks such as lead scoring and qualification, appointment scheduling, and basic inquiries, AI phone agents are an excellent choice. Tools such as AnyBiz can take on the role of an appointment setter, it can help you find the right contacts, clients and people that will subscribe to your business. 
• However, for complex, high-touch customer interactions, where empathy, understanding, and nuanced conversations are required, traditional call centers remain invaluable. Human agents excel at handling situations where AI technology falls short, particularly in cases that involve sensitive issues or require creative problem-solving.

Hybrid approach: Combining AI and human expertise

Many businesses are adopting a hybrid approach, combining AI phone agents for routine tasks and human agents for more complex interactions. 

This allows companies to optimize efficiency while maintaining the personal touch needed for high-value customer interactions. By integrating AI technology with a skilled human workforce, B2B businesses can create a seamless, efficient customer service experience that meets the diverse needs of their clients.

Leverage your AI-driven call centers with AnyBiz, try it out for only 0.99 USD, or book a demonstration meeting to know more about its features.