The Key Roles of AI in Customer Service

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For any business, how your customers feel at the end of any interaction is paramount to success. If they had a pleasant shopping experience, received friendly support, and had all their questions answered, they will likely spread positive information about your company. However, if something goes wrong and the customer leaves less than satisfied, your company could be in for a whirlwind of problems.

Because of this, customer service and customer experience have become key pillars of a successful company. In today’s world, many businesses are striving to reach customers in an online setting. Without face to face interactions, providing the same level of high-quality support and experience can be a real challenge; it is one that many companies are working diligently to address.

Online shopping

One way brands are doing this is through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Today, nearly every online window browser and shopaholic has interacted with AI, probably without even realizing it. Artificial intelligence has a continually growing role in our online interactions with companies. It has become mainstream without many of us even considering our experience with it in the first place.

#1. Boosting Customer Satisfaction

One of the primary ways in which most customers interact with artificial intelligence is in the area of customer service. Many roles that were once filled by a human on the other end of the phone are now easily completed by computers using some level of AI to complete tasks.

AI support

Think about when you book an appointment or buy movie tickets online. A task that once involved calling ahead and speaking with someone is now easily completed online. You can even use Google to call and make reservations for you in some instances.

In some cases, AI is used to answer some of the most common customer questions and filter the more complicated ones to representatives who can speak to customers in person. In many ways, this idea makes things easier for both the customer and the company. Customers don’t have to wait on hold for the most simple questions, and companies can save money by hiring fewer service reps to handle call volumes in a timely manner.

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Additionally, AI can help process and analyze customer feedback and comments. Understanding the type of feedback companies are getting is critical to addressing issues and making positive changes that keep customers happy. Customer service analytics can provide real-time information on things including the following:

  • Price satisfaction
  • Product reviews
  • Customer service satisfaction (AI and human)
  • Satisfaction with shipping packaging and timeliness

#2. Scaling up User Experience

In a similar vein, AI can also help boost the all-important user experience. For instance, in the financial realm, artificial intelligence can be used to automate personal finance information and analyze different financial scenarios. This allows customers to feel more prepared for the financial decisions they are making; they may reach out to a representative more certain about their path forward or with more in-depth questions that can help move the process along faster

Robo Advisor
Morgan Stanley Robo Advisor

Customization is the name of the game when it comes to user experience in the modern era, and AI is playing a pivotal role. Artificial intelligence is behind the scenes when your interests and personal shopping preferences are popping up in your ads. Likewise, suggestions on shows and music you might like are all linked to an AI analysis of your previous decisions.

All these tailored information have been proven to increase the likelihood of customer purchases. Nearly 86% of consumers surveyed indicated that personalized ads had some influence on the types of products they were spending their money on. That is a huge boon to companies and greater efforts on being put in to reaching target audiences and creating personalized ads than ever before.

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AI to the Rescue?

The future of customer-company relations is paved with technology, and artificial intelligence is at the forefront of the new model. AI can help determine where a company should put its money and efforts in marketing, customer service, and product development.

Furthermore, it can be used to assess customer reactions to these changes in real-time which can make companies more agile and responsive in changing market conditions.

Perhaps the only real issue that is emerging with the use of AI has to do with privacy concerns. A lot of customers are not interested in having their information and online habits being tracked and analyzed by a computer for a better, more customized ad that is likely to draw them into spending more money. This forces businesses to determine where they need to draw the line with their AI use and protecting the real and perceived privacy of customers.

In today’s world, technology and artificial intelligence are certainly here to stay. AI has a growing role in our industries for its impressive ability to improve customer service and experience: two pillars of business success. Though there are certainly concerns, the technology will likely adapt to the sideboards that are put in place to manage it.

Luke Smith
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