We are in the 21st century and technology is ruling our personal and professional lives. The millennial generation is more than addicted to the technology to get what they want, whenever they want and from wherever they want. It has made brands re-think their strategies and welcome the new era of customer service.
‘Artificial Intelligence' has redefined the customer service standards. The advanced Chatbots powered by AI rules have taken customer service to a new dimension. It’s no more limited to simple question and answer scenario. Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning are making these Chatbots work far better. The scope of Chatbots in providing service is increasing as these bots process more information and detects consumer behavior in all terms.
Gartner suggests that over 50% of enterprises will invest more to develop AI-driven bots and Chatbot than traditional mobile app development by 2020.
Forward-thinking businesses have already adopted the trend. There are various examples where AI assists customers in booking tickets, buying products, ordering food, making reservations, scheduling appointments, etc. and asking recommendations via smart devices like Alexa, Siri, etc. Google’s latest Contact Center AI solution promises a set of new features in the Dialogflow Enterprise Edition that will give access to the AI-powered virtual agents for the contact centre.
For those who are yet to get started with AI-assisted customer service, here’s a list of benefits that may prompt you to dig in the world of AI Chatbots:
1 - Always Available For Customers (Happily!)
The growing Internet speed and connectivity has made us seek everything ‘instant’. Millennials lack patience. That’s why; businesses need to ensure high availability to provide support. AI-powered Chatbots are of great help. They engage in intelligent conversations 24*7 without a dull moment. Chatbots are able to attend to the customers without any time limits.
There is no clause for holidays, sickness or frustration with Chatbots. Once in a while, a human agent may get exasperated or give up on solving an issue, the same won’t happen with technology. A business can rely on the trained Chatbots to serve the customers irrespective of time and other barriers.
Also, artificial intelligence is revolutionising business quick, accurate and standard service in real-time. The bots will never leave your company, so there is no dependability or fear of losing them or their data.
2 - More for Less
A business would always look for ways to maximise revenues and minimise expenditure. With AI Chatbots providing customer support, it is possible to cut down the costs. AI has the capabilities to automate workflows, attend more customers in less time, free up resources, and generate more leads and convert them into sales.
Chatbots will never be overloaded. It means that their functionality can be scaled to meet the needs of growing customer base as well as increasing complexity of queries. They can address multiple customers and a variety of their concerns with ease. Customers can seek their help in requesting a service, finding a product, escalating an issue, completing a transaction, getting information, etc.
An uninterrupted service is natural with the artificial intelligence platform. The businesses need not invest in hiring extra staff. Chatbots can take care of Tier 1 queries with accuracy and can be made more intelligent with each interaction.
3 - Limited Errors, Limitless Opportunities
As humans, we tend to make mistakes. But the same is not the case with AI. It performs better when it comes to reliability and errors. AI Chatbots collect and analyse every conversation. The stored information helps it to help the customers in the most pleasing and precise manner. Their cognitive capabilities empower them to deliver a delightful customer experience (CX).
Companies can also ensure that the Chatbots possess sound knowledge about the product, customers, and the overall business. As compared to training their human counterparts, programming and updating Chatbots yields more fruitful and cost-effective outcomes in lesser time.
Chatbots work by using data extensively. Automated bots are pre-programmed to be proactive and take ‘preemptive’ actions compared to the passive approach. They can anticipate the upcoming issues or needs and act accordingly. Customers feel more connected as they get assisted according to their needs.
Swati Kungwani[/caption]