Need to Make a Decision? Ask the Machine

Artificial intelligence can now guide employees’ actions at work. But don’t take it too seriously…yet.

- HAYDEN FIELD

It doesn’t really need saying, but Conor Sprouls is a human being. His job is to talk to other humans, as a call center representative in MetLife’s disability insurance department. And as he began his workday one recent morning, he received exactly the kind of call he’s been trained to handle: It was from a human with an anxiety disorder, who needed help understanding their coverage.

But something else—something not human—was listening in, too, and it had suggestions for how Sprouls could be a better human. Be more empathetic, it told him once (though not in those exact words), through a pop-up on his screen. You’re taking too long to respond, it said a few other times.

These little nudges are the work of Cogito, a Boston-based artificial intelligence company that also works with Humana, and other major clients. For about two years, MetLife has used Cogito to monitor its call centers. The system sends alerts whenever it thinks a representative could improve their interactions, such as displaying more empathy or increasing their vocal energy. Interactions are tracked and scored, and managers can review to see who on their team may need improvement.

When Cogito rolled out, some MetLife employees were concerned about constant supervisor oversight and notification overload. But Sprouls says the system isn’t so bad. “A lot of us look at Cogito as a personal job coach,” he says. In the old days, human supervisors would randomly listen to associates’ calls—catching particularly easy or challenging ones, but never getting the full picture, Sprouls says. AI hears all. “Cogito is going to give you the end result: who needs to work on what,” he says.