How chatbots and AI help provide faster and more efficient support
Chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI) in customer support bring a range of benefits to businesses by enhancing the customer experience. They are slowly being integrated into the business strategies of many companies.
Why chatbots and AI?
The main advantage of chatbots is their ability to respond immediately. Customers usually want an immediate response to their questions. In today’s fast-paced world can be waiting for a response for too long frustrating and it can eventually lead to losing your customers. Chatbots are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, they don't go on vacation, they don't sleep and they don’t have any breaks.
Their next advantage is to effectively process loads of questions. Whereas a human operator can process only one customer's questions at a time, a chatbot can have thousands of conversations at the same time.
AI can in the field of customer support offer personalized experiences and give recommendations that are based on the customer’s previous behavior. Thanks to this, AI can help to create deeper relationships with customers and therefore enhance their loyalty.
How do leading companies do it?
Many leading companies successfully use chatbots and AI in their customer service systems.
Amazon uses chatbots and AI to support their customers in the shopping process. These systems assist in product discovery, answer questions about shipping and returns, and even help customers with account-related issues.
Uber utilizes chatbots to process ride requests through Facebook Messenger, providing customers with an even easier and faster way to book rides.
Bank of America uses a chatbot named “Eric”, which can assist customers with different bank services, for example checking account balances, scheduling payments, and tracking expenses.
Chatbots and AI can give a big advantage to B2B enterprises and government institutions, where they can improve efficiency and the quality of services dramatically. Government institutions in Singapore are a great example. They implemented a chatbot named “Ask Jasmine”. This chatbot is placed on different government websites and it helps citizens to receive quick and accurate answers to their questions. Ask Jasmine can answer a wide range of questions - from healthcare to tax matters.
Salesforce, one of the leading companies offering software for customer relationship management (CRM), uses a chatbot named “Einstein”. Einstein is capable of providing quick answers to questions regarding Salesforce products and services, significantly streamlining the sales and support process. Furthermore, it can analyze data in real time and deliver predictions that help companies better understand their customers' needs.
When Bizbike company started selling electric bicycles successfully, the demand for customer inquiries skyrocketed. They decided to implement a conversational AI chatbot called Chatlayer. It works with user-friendly templates that can be launched within minutes. Additionally, businesses can customize these templates to suit their individual needs.
It is important to realize that these technologies should be used as a supplement, not as a replacement for human interaction. While chatbots are great at handling simple requests and questions, complex problems and sensitive situations still require a human touch.
Can AI hire people?
AI is not yet capable of fully replacing human resources in the recruitment process, but it can significantly contribute to its efficiency and fairness. AI helps with automatically sorting resumes based on relevant criteria, identifying potential candidates based on their online presence, or even predicting a candidate's success based on data analysis. However, the final decision on hiring should still be made by human resources.
The Future of Chatbots and AI
In the future, we can expect these technologies to become even more sophisticated and efficient, bringing even better experiences for customers and more possibilities for businesses.
A perfectly tuned customer support system should, therefore, combine the best of both worlds - the efficiency and speed of AI and chatbots, as well as the depth and empathy of human operators. This hybrid approach could be the key to success in the upcoming years.
Many business owners are concerned that implementing these technologies will be costly and complicated. However, in reality, there are many tools and services that facilitate entry into the world of chatbots and AI. Even small businesses can leverage the benefits of these technologies and provide excellent support to their customers.
In the coming years, it will be crucial for businesses to invest in these technologies and tailor them to their specific needs. The development of AI and chatbots is constantly evolving, and therefore, companies need to stay at the forefront of these technological trends.
Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive additional tips and advice from various areas of the business environment.