Conversational artificial intelligence has transformed the way companies communicate with customers. Whether using chatbots or speech-based assistants, these brands integrate AI into their omnichannel experience—often in their messaging applications—to drive stronger sales and customer service. And if customers enjoy the perks of this technology, it is because the contact centers that are using it are driven to be more efficient. Here are five benefits of conversational AI for the contact center.
Chatbots are often considered the superstars of AI for customer service, and for good reason. These digital helpers are capable of assisting customers with all kinds of requests, from researching products to completing purchases. However, they also serve as excellent assistants to agents. When customers have complex cases to discuss, chatbots can begin these conversations and then hand over the situation to the most qualified agents. This ensures that agents offer the best service in their areas of expertise, while customers enjoy the timesaving benefits of automated assistance combined with the human touch of an agent.
Sometimes, conversational AI can take over customer service cases completely and eliminate the need for human intervention. This may be the case for simple tasks such as checking an account balance, verifying a delivery time, or looking up the address of a retail store. When AI takes over, agents have more free time to spend on complex cases that truly need their attention.
Conversational AI is easy to scale. As your company’s service needs evolve, more digital assistants can be implemented to handle various tasks. For example, Vocalcom uses AI-driven predictive behavioral routing to connect customers and agents with similar personalities. Using text or voice, this technology can determine a customer’s emotional needs, personality profile, and communication preferences from his previous interactions with a brand. Subsequently, the customer is matched with an agent who shares those qualities and possesses the skills to offer the best service possible.
AI is an excellent tool for collecting data. When your customers save favorite products for later purchase, this data may then be used to improve sales and marketing practices. Sales agents may, for example, follow up with customers and provide more information about products of interest. In addition, AI may monitor communication styles and help your service agents determine the best ways to engage your customers.
It can be difficult to offer 24/7 customer support, but conversational AI makes that possible for many demands. When customers have simple questions, AI can power self-service at any hour. This ensures that they are able to save time and effort even when your agents may be unavailable. According to a study by LetsLinc, 87% of retail brands believe that adding AI to their customer service strategy will lead to higher satisfaction levels. Indeed, the combination of digital assistance with human support is exactly what your customers need. To deliver the very best customer experiences, learn about Vocalcom, a global leader in AI-powered contact center software solutions and premium omnichannel customer interaction platform.
