All kinds of businesses, be it B2B or B2C, have been majorly staff driven where people are responsible for providing services and assistance to existing and potential customers. However, in recent times, with the rise of artificial intelligence, this scenario has completely changed.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that AI chatbots have found a way to cater to and support customers in a better way than any other prior technology. These customer service bots have the capability of learning customer behavior through collected data and using that data for providing personalized assistance to every customer.
AI Chatbot
But before anything, we should understand what these AI chatbots are and what are they responsible in our daily lives. Chatbots are intelligent tools that are programmed to simulate interactions with users and offer them any help they need.
These bots can be added to any business-critical location where you might experience user or customer traffic. Be it your in-store apps, eCommerce mobile applications, social media accounts, help desks or your website. With the assistance of a bot, user can easily navigate and this increases the chances of a sale.
Customers these days don’t just want to be heard, they demand quicker action. As customer journey become complex, delivering a superior customer experience has become quite a challenge. To communicate effectively at the right time, right place, and in the right manner, most companies have resorted to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and introduced Chatbots to offer a personalized and pleasant experience to their customers.
Gartner predicts that 25% of support and customer service operations will incorporate Chatbot technology by the year 2020 across its engagement channels. This significant rise from less than two percent in the year 2017 is indeed impressive.
The growing popularity of Chatbots being a part of the customer service team can be attributed to the various long-term benefits they bring to businesses. Following are the top five reasons why the use of Chatbots is advantageous in the context of customer experience.
Round-the-clock assistance
Customers these days prefer to chat rather than call or mail with queries. They always appreciate a quick response, irrespective of the time they have initiated the communication. Having a bunch of live agents respond to incoming chats instantaneously isn’t feasible. Chatbots come to rescue, ensuring that an instant response is delivered to customers as demanded.
Expedited resolution
Though an immediate response is valued, a quicker resolution is arguably the best that delights the customers. According to a research by InsideSales and Harvard Business Review, a five-minute response delay can attract the chances of lead decimation. Chatbots provide an additional benefit of collecting information ahead of time, making it easier for agents to provide a faster resolution to an issue. With absolutely no wait time and minimal agent transfers, both service time and operating costs are fairly reduced.
Reduced errors
Chatbots are capable of handling higher volume of queries and are perfect when it comes to answering FAQs. With huge memory power and cognitive technology enabling them to interpret each response in a unique manner with less chance of misinterpretation, they are capable of providing a correct solution with automated answers.
Proactive and improved customer engagement
Human agents usually respond to only queries and engage in passive customer engagement. On the other hand, Chatbots are capable of engaging in friendly chats. They can steer the conversation based on the customer’s preference, informing them about the current promotions and sales of a product. As they give away little information at a time, customers are not bogged down with tireless conversations and irrelevant information.
Cost-effective
Companies are always on the lookout to reduce churn, lower expenses, and drive revenue. Chatbots can efficiently handle and accomplish higher number of tasks as their human counterparts. They offer reduced operational costs, lower resource expenses, and cheaper availability 24×7. IBM research states that by the year 2022, Chatbots will help save businesses over $8 bn per year.
The service industry is thriving with the use of Chatbots. Following are the major industries that Chatbots have infiltrated to change the meaning of customer experience.
Hospitality & Travel industry
The hotel industry is leveraging on efficient time management, improved guest services, and cost reduction with the help of Chatbots. Programmed to speak in different languages as the guests, communication has become much easier. Top brands such as Hyatt, Expedia.com, Skyscanner, etc. have successfully launched their own bots on popular messaging apps.
Health sector
Chatbots in the health sector have eased the access to healthcare and have proven to be the right fit for patient engagement. The impersonal nature of a bot is a plus with health bots responding to health-related queries and providing faster responses easily. They are even able to offer individualized health tips. Examples of famous Chatbots that have evolved in the health sector are HealthTap and icliniq.
News industry
The news industry is not behind with The Wall Street Journal Chatbot making it easy to stay on top of news updates, stock quotes, key financial metrics, company information and more, using simple commands on the Facebook Messenger. Other renowned media conglomerates such as Fox News and CNN are among others to have launched their bots on Facebook Messenger.
Food industry
Famous food chains have introduced Chatbots for excellent customer service and stay ahead of their competitors. For example, Starbucks now makes it easy to place an order through Chatbot based on the preference of using text messaging or voice commands. The Chatbot gives information on the total bill amount and even alerts when the food is going to be ready. Similarly, Pizza Hut through its Chatbot on Facebook Messenger or Twitter offers a better user experience. Customers can order or reorder pizzas of choice, view ongoing deals, and ask questions.
For more: How chatbots can revolutionize the education field
Chatbots are in the business of delighting customers. If the adoption rate of Chatbots continues as they have been, it is not long that bots will be the first representatives of customer service. To know more on how Chatbots can be helpful, write to us at services@suyati.com
