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AI Chatbots: Future of Customer Service and Support

Vikrant Bhalodia

AI Chatbots: Future of Customer Service and Support

What AI Chatbots Really Are?

Newest wave of artificial intelligence technology can change the way we interact with customers. AI Chatbots are not just exclusive to a single industry. Companies can customize them for various businesses and industries. This is what makes them popular and user friendly.

AI Chatbots – Trusted by Top Luxury Brands like Starbucks, Fandango, Spotify, Sephora, Mastercard

But what makes them so? Let’s dive into development details to understand.

a. What Is AI (Artificial Intelligence)?

Intelligence is what makes us the enlightened species. We have used our minds and intelligence to advance and evolve by continuously learning and improving our skills. We use our judgment and information for our own advantage. However, now we have developed Artificial Intelligence – an improved and heightened intellect, that possess capability to surpass even our own. It can be smarter than our brains. It processes more data in less time. Artificial Intelligence is not just restricted to computer and science, but it is also making progress in social interactions, communication and predictive technologies.

AI is an area of computer science that emphasizes the creation of intelligent machines that work and react like humans and dedicated to solving cognitive problems commonly associated with human intelligence

This super intelligence is able to compute, learn, gather information. It is able to take decisions and plan under time-sensitive settings. For example, Artificial Intelligence can drive a car and even assist in making correct medical diagnoses. It can create art, process tons of data and make correct assessments. It is creative and accessible. This is why AI Chatbots can work wonders in customer support.

b. AI Chatbots: What Are They?

Chatbots were first introduced in 1966. Chatbots are a computer program or a service that employs artificial intelligence. It can simulate reciprocal action with human users. This synergy is enabled by a chat interface.

If you still haven’t understood what it really does, then lets see few examples,

Imagine if you wanted to buy shoes online. Normally you would go to a shopping portal. Then look through its online catalogue and order shoes that you like. With a Mobile Chatbot like one from Nordstrom, you can simply message via a social media platform. The Chatbot will then tell and suggest you what you want. Bot will do all the work for you.

The new face of AI ELIZA transformed mainstream communication. It turned it into a commercial and communication experience hybrid. It integrated human customer agents with bots seamlessly.

In 2014, Salesforce rep Meredith launched their SMS Chatbot. Today, the Chatbot is connected to Facebook messenger as well.

AI Chatbot can eclipse the call centers by easing the digital conversations. It does that by switching customer service to an enhanced version of chats powered by AI. Automated replies and micro-tasks are completed by Chatbots in seconds. AI Chatbots are making headway in the customer service and support industry. With regular tech advancements, basic human conversations will soon become a thing of the past.

Marketing experts project it as the new way of storytelling. It will connect with the users and provide them with the information that makes sense to them. This conversation technology, Chatbots has a long way to go. It will keep getting better as the Artificial Intelligence technology, user interface, input gestures and commands keeps developing.

According to one of the reports released on internet, 80% of marketing officers and sales executives said that they work through AI Chatbots. Some of them had a long-term plan to incorporate them into their work processes by 2020. Companies who did not embrace AI earlier are now under peer pressure to do so. If they do not adopt AI, they will be left behind.

AI enables companies to collect data from a wide variety of places and apply self-improving analysis that can take action — and on a level of granularity never before available. – Gartner

c. Customer Service Chatbots

The Customer Service Chatbots are better than micro-moment communications. They take over tasks from human agents that are cumbersome and disliked. This leaves the human customer services agents to deal with more complex tasks. Information gathering is just the tip of the iceberg. Over time, customer service Chatbots become smart enough to provide real-time assistance. They also offer suggestions based on previous data collected from the customer. Facebook has been at the front and center with AI Chatbot development. Facebook users use Chatbots that leverage personalized information of users.

Popularity of AI Chatbots in Customer Service

The rise of AI Chatbots is replacing human need for customer interaction. It manages conversation by imitating a friendly voice. It is the image of the brand or the company. A simplified language processing programming gives rise to a personable marketing approach. It can be tracked and insights can be better used to project needs and buying patterns. Now Chatbot companies are leaping at the chance to use Chatbot development for expansion.

AI Chatbots provide buyer’s experience that is only possible with the mounds of data processed by AI Chatbot. Chatbots can ask relevant questions necessary for generating desirable result. This steers them in the right direction. Bots work both with the customers and the customer services team. They may even provide notifications when necessary. They give alerts to human team as well by identifying the relevant, timely and budget-friendly leads.

Lets dig further to understand why AI Chatbots are gaining more popularity in Customer Service and Support industry. Here are the few important points,

1) Increased Responsiveness

Companies are leaning towards AI Chatbots due to their conversation application. You don’t have to send your Customer Service Reps to assist the customers on website. Chatbots interact with them directly, helping them to find what they are looking for. It employs one-on-one private conversation. Conversation occurs via SMS service or instant chat. Chatbot has the capacity to address basic buyer queries.

The AI Chatbot will be able to gauge the reaction of the customer in real-time as the technology advances further. It can present its customized suggestions by sifting through tons of options and products that your company provides. Its ability to generate quick response allows bots to provide the client what they need. Customers won’t have to wait at all.

A survey by LivePerson says 38% respondents had positive impression of AI Chatbot. 51% remained indifferent. This positive impression of Chatbot is due to enhanced responsiveness.

AI Chatbots are prompt. It is safe to say that they have no comparison with humans. It is even more impressive when we think about the amount of computing AI does. Running integrations, checking errors, integrating APIs, rearranging communications etc. All are done with immense computing power and speed. There is nothing that matches AI Chatbot performance.

People spend a lot of their time on social media and other internet platforms. What best way to reach them than a friendly computer program! Chatbots can be available at all times to provide all the services you may require. No waiting for calls or listening to annoying music. No waiting for your customer service agent to finish with another call.

AI Chatbot is available at all times which is a tremendous turning point for customers to access services.

2) Personalized Customer Service in Real Time

Artificial Intelligence Chatbot systems can monitor massive amount of resources. It can identify customer service data and deal with minor issues. The potential to solve problems prior to occurrence is great. This is possible by the huge computing power of AI Chatbots. It equips the chatbots to predict customer needs and offer real-time alerts and content.

AI Chatbot can act as a customer service agent. But here is a more important fact. It can assist human customer reps as well. By offering real-time support and information it makes the rep’s job easier. This alone can transform customer service industry.

3) Automated Customer Relationship

The Market Research Report outlines the applications of AI Chatbots in a wide array of industries. These include Healthcare, Retail, BFSI, Media & Entertainment, Sales, Customer Support as well as Travel & Tourism. This is possible because of AI Chatbot’s remote or real-time connectivity. It can act as a friendly virtual assistant as well. It helps procure an automated customer relationship through the interaction.

Many key players in the AI Chatbot race, such as Poncho, Kik, WeChat and SRI International use AI Chatbots. It can enhance machine learning for developing successful customer relationships. That too without investing in human resources.

AI Chatbots perform myriad tasks such as web scraping to schedule meetings. They’re so much more than e-commerce concierges and personal shoppers. Bots can process customer data provided through customer profiles. They can provide newest updates, notifications and reminders; can even alert customers about better deals on things they like. Reminders about birthdays and anniversaries as well can be forwarded by AI Chatbots.

Passive customer interaction was the go-to-choice for most companies. They use it to respond and contact their customers. In an age, where major percentage of customers are Millennials, companies don’t go the passive route. It is also not cost-effective to hire the manpower to reach each and every one of their customers. They can use AI Chatbot for interactive conversation with customers any time. This will keep the brand one step ahead of the game making customer think they are the focus. This will do wonders for the prestige and image of a company.

A research by Bain & Company shows companies using social media to connect with their customers boosted their engagement by 40% and the customers spent 20% to 40% more money.

Customers like to be communicated directly. AI Chatbots allows a way to achieve direct communication.

4) Reliable and Correct

The issue with building AI Chatbots is not a technical one but of understanding user experiences. The goal is to make an AI Chatbot that customers will want to interact with again and again. This regular interaction would only be possible if AI Chatbot is reliable. It has to provide correct and relevant information. A finance bot that cannot interpret financial data will be useless. It has to be able to understand data.

AI Chatbots have improved online businesses and their applications. Internet and its growth have made online shopping easier than traditional shopping. This is where a customer service Chatbot comes handy as an efficient business tool. Bots recognizes the personality of the shopper and adjusts preferences. It also makes adjustment in conversation to overcome language barriers.

5) Provide Self-Service

AI Chatbot provides self-service that gives the company employees time to focus and fixate on complex tasks and engage with the customers at next level. Routine and tier-tasks can be handled by the Chatbot. AI Chatbot can predict service issues and help resolve them prior to occurrence. This is the key to decreasing customer abandonment rate. According to a customer service study, millennials trust internet resources more than a customer rep. This is what makes AI Chatbot so popular. They provide self-reliance, automated services and human-free interactions.

6) Easy Expansion of Customer Service

Even with limited resources, companies have tried to use newer technologies. They provide uninterrupted customer service to their clients. Interactive chats, FAQs and forums eliminate any need for human interactions. They allow companies to scale their customers with ease and efficiency. AI Chatbots have the ability to learn from different interactions and basically teach itself. It starts learning from each communication thus helping companies enter into new demographic.

7) Cost Saving

Human staff takes time and money to hire and train. On an average, a company spends in excess of $4000 to hire a call service representative. That cost keeps piling up through the course of their career. A programmed AI Chatbot saves a lot of cost as it is an one-time expense. This pre-programmed artificial Intelligence platform is powerful in terms of embracing change. No additional training or development is required. An established AI Chatbot will work with little reconfiguration and regular updates. Moreover, AI Chatbot can focus on menial tasks. More complex tasks can be overseen by customer service employees.

Real-Life Chatbot Applications in Our Lives

The AI Chatbot market will see a monetary growth upwards of $994.5 million by the year 2024. It’s safe to say it is here to stay and grow. Companies are relying on this technology and the Next-Gen Chatbot development companies that can help them to know their customers better.

Here are some of the most awe-inspiring Chatbot examples. Look how artificial intelligence is changing the face of customer service and support.

Marriott International allows its Rewards Members to search through 4,700 hotels and book rooms for their upcoming trips. Marriot International Chatbot allows interaction through Facebook Messenger and Slack. Customer assistance success rate has been 44%.

Sephora is a global phenomenon in the beauty community with its flagship stores in US and worldwide. Their Virtual Artist Chatbot uses a customer’s selfie to recommend makeup and skincare items. With more than 4 million hits under their belt, it’s safe to say that this AI Chatbot has done its job.

Allstate Business Insurance expert (or ABIe) is Allstate’s solution for jammed inquiry lines. It uses customers interested in their small business commercial insurance program. This AI Chatbot handles in excess of 12,000 inquiries from agents.

Future of AI Chatbot Technology

There is a lot of potential of AI Chatbots. Especially in customer service and support industry. While there is data to process, this type of technology will always be in favor. Experts try to push the limit on data processing. They are also testing the amount of time it takes for an AI Chatbot to process a given amount of data. There are different notions of developing algorithms to train bots faster and making them more human-like.

In essence, AI Chatbot have the power to outsmart the mobile apps, websites and Customer Care Reps. It can, in due course, kill websites through their joint chat and marketing technology. And that time is not so far off.

Why WeblineIndia for AI Chatbot Development?

Among many Chatbot development companies, WeblineIndia is pushing limits to preset their customer experience. This also reduces the cost, focusing on better and increased customer loyalty, acquisition and satisfaction. Our chatbot developers believe that intelligent systems are the new focus. Using AI Chatbots’ power we can help accelerate customer service and support progress for the businesses of our customers. Our innovations in system integration, voice recognition, language understanding and reason system collectively provide the best AI Chatbot solution out there.

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