Customer support is the sort of thing that no company can go without. The world of customer support has changed drastically in recent times, mostly because of the fact that artificial intelligence can now be implemented within this context. You might be wondering why AI should be used in customer support in the first place. Here are some reasons why we should start using more AI in our customer support.
Shorter Response Times
Artificial intelligence has the potential to respond to customer queries and concerns pretty much instantly. Hence, customers will no longer have to wait in long queues that never seem to end. A lot of the time customers don’t even need the personalized service of a customer support representative because of the fact that they are perfectly capable of handling the problem on their own as long as they are given a chance to understand the problem in the first place. Since they don’t need to talk to a real human, shorter response times are something that they definitely deserve.
Less Research Required
Human CSRs are good at a lot of things, but they are still going to be bound by the constraints of human error. Often, when a customer is contacting you they are going to be asking for a lot of information all at once. Getting to this information and then relaying it to customers is going to be a rather time consuming and inefficient process. A service desk software provided by Kayako can give customers answers instantly, and an AI tool can make it even more efficient thus making it less likely that you would have to do a great deal of research while you are talking to a customer.
Enables Better Customer Engagement
As has been mentioned just above, human CSRs are good at a lot of things. One thing that they can do which machines simply can’t is talk to people in a way that is natural. The modern customer support industry has found that longer, in depth conversations with customers are necessary. After all, if a customer has chosen to speak to a CSR this is something that they feel very strongly about. Having AI handle all of the more mechanical tasks out there is going to make it easier for the CSRs to have more detailed conversations with the customers that choose to get through to them since they will have a lot more time on their hands.
Develops Insight
You can monitor how customers use the AI in order to better understand their behavior and preferences. The fact of the matter is that customers are often unwilling to say what they really feel when they are talking to a human being. There are a lot of reasons why this is the case. One reason is the fact that they might feel pressured to say a certain thing because of the fact that someone on the other end is expecting an answer. When they are talking to an AI, they will be more likely to let their guard down and give you a more accurate understanding of where they stand and what it is that they want from you.
Reduced Costs
Since you are going to be able to handle a wider range of customer queries and concerns with the AI, you are not going to need quite as many employees. This is going to help you save quite a bit of money in the long run. You are also going to save on costs because of the fact that the longer that each interaction with a customer takes, the higher that overall cost ends up becoming. Each second that you cut down on in terms of customer interactions to satisfy their concerns is going to add up and at the end of the year you are going to see that you legitimately saved a massive amount of money.
Helps Prioritize Issues
A major problem that a lot of companies face when it comes to things like customer support is issue prioritization. When a CSR gets a call, all they know is that there is an issue. Being on call with a customer is such a high pressure situation that you often end up being unable to ascertain just how important the issue is. Prioritizing takes a fair amount of time and presence of mind, and the fact of the matter is that CSRs can’t do it because of the fact that they have so much more to deal with. An AI can handle prioritization in a breeze, thus ensuring that the customers that have more pressing concerns end up getting their needs met well before other customers that might not be quite as relevant or important, thereby ensuring that everyone is happy.