3 Ways AI Will Improve the Customer Experience
Customer service is an essential and often neglected aspect of running a business. Bad customer service can have devastating consequences for a business. When a dissatisfied customer leaves a bad review, a brand needs to earn 12 positive reviews to make up for it. Fortunately, brands can leverage new artificial intelligence technology to better position themselves with their customers.
Here are some ways that AI is changing the customer experience in 2018.
Chatbots Are More Cost-Effective & Lift Customer Service
Research shows that chatbots are changing the future of customer service. Their potential is unlimited and predicted to save businesses over $8 billion.
Most businesses look at the benefits of chatbots from a cost perspective. However, their real value comes from enhancing the customer experience. By employing chatbots, brands can guarantee customers more timely service. Customers with routine questions can get the support they need within 120 seconds, whereas they might need to wait up to half an hour to get the same questions answered during peak hours.
Chatbots are often so effective that they offer the same level of service as a human user. According to one poll by PwC, 27% of customers couldn’t tell whether they were speaking with a chatbot or a human.
Creating and Aggregating Resources for Customers to Find On their Own
Customers don’t always need the direct support from a customer service representative or chatbox. Many customers prefer finding resources on their own. Onsite resources can be referenced later and give them a sense of independence.
Machine learning is used to determine the issues that arise most frequently. Brands can use machine learning to track customer searches and monitor the content they look at. If they determine a customer is looking for a specific resource more frequently, they can create content specific to that. They can also use tools such as Crazy Egg to develop customer heat maps to see which parts of the site customers are most likely to look at, particularly when they arrive at the brand’s website looking for resources to help them with a common problem.
In summary, they can use this information to:
- Create content specific to their needs
- Make sure the content is posted where it is most visible to people that need it
This is a great way to limit the strain on customer service professionals while servicing customers that prefer to be self-sufficient.
Creating a Team of More Informed Customer Service Professionals
Artificial intelligence has also played an important role in training and educating customer service professionals. Customer service professionals can deliver much higher quality service if they use machine learning to better understand their prospects and at all stages of the customer lifecycle. To do this, companies are integrating disparate systems like sales, customer service management, and internal communications to have a holistic view of every person as they engage with customer service.
For example, companies like Airbnb have implemented the project management solution, Wrike, in their creative production teams to streamline communications and ensure project execution. Airbnb Creative Production Manager, Hoon Kim, explains, “One of the biggest advantages of Wrike is that there are so many different ways to look at projects and tasks,” says Kim. “The ability to be nimble in terms of how we look at data really allows us to be more iterative. So, when we change a process it’s not a huge overhaul, it’s a small tweak.”
Chitra Dorai, Ph.D., and IBM Fellow, Master Inventor told Forbes that artificial intelligence has paved the way for machine learning to transform our the way brands respond to customer inquiries.
“Things humans do and excel at are to do with decision-making. If the work is routine, we have automated,” said Dorai. “Even in decision-making, in today’s world of the digital explosion of data – the volume, variety, and velocity – all make it impossible for humans to comb through them and extract the relevant information to aid in their decisions. We have begun to rely on AI systems to collect and combine, and analyze diverse data sources to extract new insights that can augment our intelligence and expand our knowledge.”
Prudent brands are looking for ways to improve customer experience. Artificial intelligence opens many doors for them in 2018. Machine learning and AI are transforming and improving the customer experience as we know it. As new technology continues to arise, the possibilities to ensure customer satisfaction are endless.
