Bringing new agents up to speed is one of the biggest challenges for support teams. Between learning company policies, navigating internal tools, and figuring out how to communicate with customers effectively, the onboarding process can feel overwhelming - both for new hires and the teams training them.

The biggest struggle? Finding answers quickly. Even with a well-organized knowledge base, knowing where to look and what information to trust takes time. That’s where AI can make all the difference.

The Challenges of Training New Support Agents

1. Too Much Information, Too Fast

New agents are expected to absorb a huge amount of information in a short time - product details, policies, troubleshooting steps, escalation procedures, etc. It’s nearly impossible to retain everything at once.

2. Struggling to Find the Right Answers

Even if your team has a solid help center, new agents don’t always know where to look or what to search. Sifting through long articles or internal docs (or worse yet, Slack channels) while handling live tickets can slow them down and hurt confidence.

3. Uncertainty Leads to Slow Responses

When agents aren’t sure about an answer, they have to look elsewhere. Often that means asking in a Slack or MSFT Teams channel, and waiting for confirmation from a team member who’s more experienced. This isn’t only slowing down the new agent, but also causing a distraction for the rest of the team.  

How AI Speeds Up Agent Onboarding

1. Instant Knowledge Retrieval

AI-powered assistants (like Stylo Assist) surface relevant help center articles, similar solved tickets, and macros as agents work on tickets. Instead of searching manually, new hires get the information they need, exactly when they need it.

2. AI-Suggested Replies as Training Wheels

New agents don’t have to write every response from scratch. AI-generated replies provide a starting point that shows them how the company would prefer they respond  - helping them learn by doing.

Better yet, AI tools can also be used to standardize tone, length, empathy, formality, etc. meaning there’s 1 less string of requirements that the new agent needs to keep in mind. 

3. Summarizing Key Information

Long ticket histories, customer conversations, and internal policies can be overwhelming. AI-powered summaries cut through the noise, highlighting only the most relevant details so agents don’t waste time digging for answers.

The Bottom Line

AI doesn’t replace training - it removes roadblocks. New agents ramp up faster when they can find answers easily, learn in real time, and respond with confidence.

Want to see how AI can help your team onboard faster? Try Stylo Assist and make ramping up new agents easier than ever.