20 Dec Top Reasons why you need a chatbot in your customer service operation
Chatbots are just one form of conversational AI that has been on the rise for the past few years. They have seen use in all major industries, but namely customer service. Chatbots are helpful tools that have improved the quality of online, self-service solutions and continue to see effective usage in the industry.
How should you implement chatbots and what are the steps you need to take as a contact center?
The rise of the chatbot
The increasing popularity of conversational AI and its use in customer service is seen as both unprecedented and a surprising development in the industry. And despite what people say about customer service agents and their skills being irreplaceable, chatbots are beginning to show that this might not entirely be true. Simple inquiries and processes in the call flow can be automated with the use of chatbots.
Chatbots are rising because of the level of sophistication they are at right now. They are smart enough to simulate human conversation and can provide faster resolution that way.
How chatbots work
They simulate human conversation by recognizing human speech and text, compare that to a database with examples, and offer a preset answer that comes closest to the question. According to Google, their version of conversational AI uses the following advanced dialogue management technologies:
- Automatic Speech Recognition
- Natural Language Processing
- Advanced Dialogue Management
- Machine learning
- Noise Cancelling AI
The benefits of having a chatbot integration
- It encourages customers to use self-service solutions .Having chatbots allows for simple inquiries to be catered to in an efficient and inexpensive manner. Instead of having a live agent handle basic and repetitive tasks, a chatbot is an optimized solution worth banking on. According to this study conducted by Software Advice in 2015, they found that 73% of their respondents prefer to find their own solution instead of talking to an agent.
- Chatbots lead to faster customer resolution. Having chatbots handle initial inquiries helps them be directed to the right department right away. Say they need help with a refund, a chatbot can instantly connect them to the billing department without speaking with a live agent.
- Chatbots allow companies to optimize use of their workforce. With chatbots handling basic tasks, contact center agents are freed to handle more immediate and complicated cases like billing and technical support.
- You can essentially run a 24/7 support line. Chatbots can offer quick and simple responses and don’t need to rest, unlike human call center agents. This allows you to run a more optimized (albeit limited) hours of operation.
- It decreases talk time and chances of miscommunication. Before they are even connected to a live agent, a customer can provide a chatbot pertinent information regarding their inquiry. By the time they are connected to an agent, their profile is already pulled up and the agent already has an idea of their concern.
Implications of using chatbots in customer service
They say that out of all the industries least likely to be replaced by computers, customer service takes the top spot. In recent years, however, the rise of conversational AI and the increased efficiency of computing had people fearing for their lives. Are customer service jobs in danger and is it going the route of the librarian?
Not so, it turns out. At least not yet. According to a Bloomberg report, AI and similar technologies are expected to displace approximately 280, 000 Filipino workers in the customer service industry by the year 2030. The study hopes, however, that as long as the industry adapts accordingly these jobs can be diverted into something else instead. What does this mean?
2030 is only eight years away. Is artificial intelligence smart enough in its current state to offer the human touch that comes with real live agents?
The future of customer service
Where we’re going in the industry right now sees us working hand-in-hand with machines. And as is the nature of machines, they will always need to be monitored by human specialists who more or less need to step in when AI fails. In a customer service context, customers are always going to need an empathetic approach with regards to their concerns. AI can assist in the more mundane aspects of their inquiries, and contact center agents can assist with more complicated nuances.
Empathy is just something that will always be required in a customer-business relationship. So no, I don’t think that customer service is going away anytime soon. Regardless of how advanced AI gets, the human touch is and always will be an integral part of the industry.
It’s only a matter of working together, and a more involved integration of the tools that we can adapt to the changing ways of the world.
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