Say Hello to Pia: Your New PASCOM Intelligence Agent

The way business communicate has and continues to change with remarkable speed. Just look back over the previous 12 months or so, and PASCOM has developed a host of new, AI-powered features, from smart voicemail boxes and Welcome Agents to AI transcription and AI-generated voice prompts. With Pia, the PASCOM Intelligence Agent, we’re excited to be introducing a new age of native AI-supported business communications.

Whether it’s offering customers a 24/7 around the clock service or automated summaries and transcriptions of call recordings and voicemail messages, PASCOM already had you covered and now with Pia, PASCOM Intelligence offers a wide-ranging AI-powered feature set that actively interacts with callers, PASCOM and critical business applications to suit almost scenario and every need.

Pia – Native AI Meets Cloud Telephony

Pia is designed to become an intelligent digital team member that understands context, dynamically interacts with callers, and accesses relevant business information whether assisting with customer enquiries, optimising internal processes, or helping employees find information faster. As such, Pia transforms the way businesses interact with both customers and colleagues.

Pia is built directly within the PASCOM platform, meaning Pia is a native AI phone assistant that is seamlessly integrated in the PASCOM telephony solution, providing access to relevant caller information, which Pia can use when interacting with the caller. Furthermore, Pia can understand requests and take action based on the context of the conversation. For example, if a caller requires product support, Pia can ask the caller if a ticket has already been opened, and if so, what the ticket number is. This information can then be added to a call label and which can then be used to open the correct ticket once Pia transfers the call to the support team, saving valuable time and making the whole process more efficient.

Compared to traditional automatic call distribution tools such auto attendants or IVR option menus that offer a static customer interactions option. So rather than simply responding to predefined commands, Pia can:

Access relevant company and customer information stored within the PASCOM phone system
Personally greet callers by name (if the name is stored)
Understand natural conversations
- Ask for the reason for calling
- Ask short follow-up questions to pass on to appropriate team/department.
Set call labels to pass information to provide employees with additional insights during customer interactions
Determine appropriate team/department according to caller requirements
Forward calls to that team/department.

Pia also includes the capability to connect with 3rd party applications, allowing Pia to:

Support callers with intelligent self-service option
Automate repetitive communication tasks

The result is a smarter, more efficient communications experience for all involved.

Getting Started with Pia

Many AI tools act as standalone systems that require users to jump between applications or complex integrations to function correctly – Pia is different.

Because Pia is built directly into the PASCOM ecosystem, it is already integrated into and can work alongside your existing communication workflows, helping employees and customers achieve more, more quickly and with less effort.

To start with Pia, simply choose from one of the inclusive monthly minute bundles available for Pia. The available options include Pia Start, Pia Plus, and Pia Pro, and are suitable for a wide range of business applications depending on your business size, industry and call volumes.

Pia Start

With 10 free inclusive minutes per month¹, Pia Start is ideal for companies that have very low inbound monthly call volumes (1-5 calls per day). Examples include micro-sized businesses such as SOHO setups, new startups, and sole trader (sole proprietor in the US) with few employees offering highly specialised, niche products and services in a localised market. Additionally, Pia Start is also great for smaller businesses wanting to test Pia’s capabilities before committing to a paid plan.

Pia Plus

Including 250 minutes per minutes per month¹, Pia plus is the recommended option for businesses that receives an average of 10 to 40 calls per day. Typical businesses include small SMBs with between 10 and 50 employees. Moreover, Pia Plus businesses that offer high value products or services, niche luxury goods or operate in specialised B2B sectors and back-office operations segments as they typically have a lower total customer base which in turn means fewer daily customer touch points.

A good example of where Pia and the Plus package could be ideally suited is in a Automative Showroom. Despite being considered as a necessity for many, cars are high value products with a long customer life-cycle. As such, the total number of customers is larger, but the number active buyers is considerably smaller and therefore the total number of calls to a car showroom per day will also likely be lower.

Of course, the location of showroom and any additional value added services such as workshop, MOT services etc will effect the total number of incoming calls.
For example, city dealers have a greater customer base and the bigger the dealership and the greater the number of services offered may well make Pia Pro more viable.

Pia Pro

Designed for businesses that handle higher inbound call volumes, Pia Pro is ideal for organisations that receive 40+ calls per day, for example medium-sized and larger SMBs. In fact, any business that operates any form of inbound Contact Centre handling larger call volumes will benefit Pia AI phone assistants. Typical high volume industries include healthcare, travel and hospitality, financial services, telecoms, and property management and real estate.

A classic example of where Pia be the perfect fit is supporting a General Practice doctor’s practice elevating the work load on primary care works and medicals assistants who ordinarily spend a significant amount of time on the phone managing a wide range of enquiries from appointments and prescription refills to clinical questions, referral requests and patients needing to be signed-off work (fit note/sick note).

Example Use Case

Let’s look at a practical example; how AI can support your customer service team.

Previously, when a customer contacts your business regarding a particular issue or problem they are facing with your products or services, they may have had to go through something similar to:

Explain their problem multiple times
- Depending on how many times there call was forwarded internally
Provide customer details
- This could also happen multiple times
Provide open ticket numbers / open support request references
Wait while employees locate relevant information

With Pia, the experience looks very different.

As soon as the interaction begins, Pia can identify the customer, retrieve relevant context, and assist in gathering the information required before the conversation reaches a member of the team.

For example, Pia could access the PASCOM phone book and use the saved contact data to greet the caller as follows

Pia: “Hello Mr Smith, I’m Pia, [company name]’s intelligent assistant. How can I help you?”
John Smith: “Hi Pia, I need help with product XYZ”
Pia: “Okay, sorry that you’re having trouble with product XYZ. To help speed things up, do you already have a ticket number? If so, could you please confirm your ticket number?”

While engaging naturally with the customer, Pia can collect relevant details, organise the information, and ensure employees receive the necessary context before handing the call over to most appropriate employees i.e. the customer service / support team.

By the time the call is transferred, the employee will already have a clear overview of the customer request and can immediately focus on resolving the issue. From the customer’s point of view, they will benefit from immediate call answering leading to reduced waiting times and faster resolution times. For employees, the benefit is simple, they will have immediate access to relevant information, reducing the need to repeatedly clarify information. Meanwhile, the overall benefit for the business is improved customer satisfaction and more productive employees – all because the initial call was handled by Pia.

The Future of Business Communications Starts Here

AI is rapidly changing the way businesses communicate and with Pia, PASCOM is bringing the power of intelligent automation directly into your communications solution, helping business design and deliver better customer experiences, improve employee productivity, and make every interaction more efficient. And this is just the beginning.

As PASCOM Intelligence continues to evolve, Pia will become an increasingly powerful digital teammate, helping businesses unlock new opportunities and work smarter than ever before.

About PASCOM – Simply Better Connected

If you have any questions about Pia and PASCOM Intelligence, our PASCOM Cloud Phone System, and our Team Messaging apps, then we are here to help. Visit our website and arrange to speak to one of our experts. Alternatively, get started today with our free cloud phone system trial and discover first hand how PASCOM can help upgrade your business communications.

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¹Minutes used that exceed the inclusive minutes will incur additional charges