Aspect Releases Mila, a WFO Virtual Assistant

Aspect Software, a provider of fully-integrated consumer engagement, workforce optimization, and back-office solutions on premises and in the cloud, has released Aspect Mila, an interactive assistant that combines Aspect CXP and Aspect natural language understanding (NLU) technologies. When used with components of the Aspect EQ Workforce Optimization (WFO) suite, it helps supervisors manage staffing requirements and enables agents to take control of their schedules from anywhere using their mobile devices, without direct access to the WFO desktop applications.

"First it was Siri, Alexa, and Cortana as our personal assistants, and now chatbots are dramatically redefining how we interact in our daily lives. Consumers are quick to take advantage of the time-saving convenience bots offer, and Aspect Mila is putting these same technologies and efficiencies to work in the contact center," said Mike Bourke, senior vice president and general manager of workforce optimization at Aspect Software, in a statement. "The key objectives of Aspect's WFO solutions have always been to align support with customer demand, while incorporating the needs of employees and managing costs. Mila represents the next level of agent empowerment and convenience, which will lead to greater agent engagement, happier agents, and ultimately happier customers."

Aspect Mila uses conversational SMS, desktop chat, other text channels, or interactive voice response to remotely enable employees to complete workforce optimization tasks.