Is AI Chatbot the Future of Customer Service?
No more please hold, long answers to repetitive questions, and more importantly no more angry customers?
In these fast-paced environments, customers want their answers right now and the solution to their problems in the instant. The intollorence of slow customer service and extended hold on phone calls has become an issue that lead to customer disatisfactions.
So what can marketers do to not upset our customers with the waiting time?
Say hello to Google Dialogflow
Lifelike conversational AI with state-of-the-art virtual agents — Google Dialogflow
Or have you meet Amazon Lex and Watson Assistant, the intelligent virtual agent
Help you customers get stuff done quickly, easily, and on any channel — IBM Watson Assistant
Yes, I’m talking about advanced AI Chatbots that seamlessly connect brands with customers — no robot like interactions nor frustrating answers.
What are AI Chatbots?
There are mainly 2 types of chatbots, first is the rule-based or quick reply chatbot which response to customers' questions with prewritten answers. Another is the smarter one, the AI chatbot, which uses machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) to build a database of potential answers over time and create more complex conversations with users.
Bringing chatbots into use is easy, as simple as putting a link to your website, no complex coding experiences needed. But of course, the more features the more pricey it gets.
Should Brands Use AI Chatbots?
Chatbots can come into help with many functions of the business, from scheduling appointments, customer support, e-commerce sales, and the list of applications goes on.
Here are some quick pros and cons of AI Chatbots…
So, which kind of chatbot should we use?
I would say this depends on what kind of tasks you’re expecting chatbots to accomplish for example, rule-based chatbots have no problem at all with answering standard repetitive questions like what time the store open?, where is my package?, and how to return products? But when it comes to complex questions, this is where AI comes into play. I would recommend to invest on an AI chatbot if you’re aiming for it to guide customers from start to the end of conversion process, especially when you want to exceed customer expectation.
What Customers Think?
As the line between human and bots become more blurred, some people prefer bots but some rather engage with real humans.
27% of consumer were unsure if the customer support interaction they had was with real person or chatbot
40% of millennials claim to engage with bots on a daily basis
60% of consumers believe human can better understand what they need as compared to a chatbot
There’re many facts and statistics that support and against the use of AI and bots in customer services. It’s fun to look at but, there are too many I’d say!
What are the Concerns?
AI is not Human, the technology’s ability to recognize intent and express empathy is limited, which can leave customers feeling neglected and frustrated. Not to mention sarcasm and tone, where even among human ourselves sometimes is challenging to detect and respond appropriately.
Privacy and Security is another issue to considered about, such as sensitive personal information and confidential data. Many people still not trust machines nor willing to do transactions through bots.
These are things that marketers have to consider and aware of the consequences of adopting AI chatbots and other technologies to customers touch point.
So? Yes or No to AI Chatbot?
My Thoughts
I personally believe that chatbots can be of great help to business operations, especially with daily inquiry and FAQ. As long as you’ve try out the chatbot before releasing it out and making sure it help customers to satisfaction, then definitely go for it!
Still, I would recommend making real human customer service available at least in normal operating hours because in my experience there are things that only us, human, can figure out.
I think AI will definitely integrated into all digital touchpoint very soon and brands should use it as an advantage in one way or another, while remember to keep the balance between machine and human touch.
