AI CUSTOMER SERVICE — ALL HYPE OR NEED OF THE HOUR?
The benefits of AI are thought to be massively overhyped. The World Wide Web is loaded with articles extolling the power of robots answering customer queries. It is deemed as the future of customer service which may almost replace the requirement for customer support representatives.
Social media giant Facebook tried its hand into it by launching smart chatbots for Messenger. This was around three years back and the company recorded a heavy failure rate (70%). The bots failed to answer customer queries leaving them unsatisfied. However, within a year things changed. According to a Forrester analysis made recently, self-service portal usage for customer service showed a drastic increase. It is also predicted that by the end of the year 2020, around 80 percent of customer service may be conducted without engaging human representatives. Customers have also started welcoming the idea of dealing with chatbots.
Build better voice apps. Get more articles & interviews from voice technology experts at voicetechpodcast.com
AI has a long way to go. It will take some time to replace customer support completely. However, it is still an incredibly valuable tool for improving support offerings. The dynamic potential of AI should not be ignored especially if you don’t wish to lag behind your competitors.
Listed below are some strong reasons to take AI customer service seriously:
BETTER DATA CRUNCHING COMMAND THAN HUMANS
Data collection on customers has become very important for businesses. Keeping tabs on the usage of products, conducting regular surveys, and establishing conversations with customers will help companies gain insight into customer requirements and expectations. However, an accurate assessment of an enormous amount of unstructured data is tough for humans. This process demands quantitative data. The introduction of AI and machine learning tools such as Idiomatic and Scope will help you derive quantitative data from the qualitative. Additionally, this can be done at a faster pace than humans can. AI is also capable of finding patterns humans can even imagine to look for.
AI tools can work with customer support teams and product departments to assess the voice of customer (VOC) data through multiple channels.
ENHANCES EFFICIENCY SANS AFFECTING QUALITY
Is your brand customer experience sensitive? Do you have apprehensions about AI establishing direct communication with your customers? AI will still be very helpful behind the scenes. It uses natural language processing to “read” a ticket. Thereafter, it will direct it to the concerned team. This process is much faster than a customer support method used by your human team.
GREAT BENEFITS FOR SMALLER COMPANIES TOO!
The technology is gradually becoming more accessible to all sizes and types of businesses. Hence, startups or smaller companies can also reap benefits from AI. It is very easy to set up and can be integrated into your existing workflows without any hassles. For instance, tools such as MonkeyLearn and Solvvy do not need large amounts of data. You can witness instant benefits by automating a portion of your customer support workflow.
Solvvy facilitates customers to help themselves at a fast pace by developing the finest knowledgeable articles based on their queries. MonkeyLearn will automatically tag tickets. It will also identify customer sentiment to ensure prioritization. This tool will assess other text samples on the internet to
pick up insights from your customer’s queries.
IN A NUTSHELL
Eventually, businesses that implement AI without delay can enjoy an edge over their competitors. They will also have more breathing room to emphasize on providing effective customer service. These organizations will also have more insights to concentrate on. So, even if you consider Contact Center AI or the AI customer service just hype, you simply can’t afford to ignore its tremendous advantages completely.
