What is important to customers about service and how can AI support?
73 percent of survey respondents”Customer Service of the Year 2021“have had contact with customer service in the last twelve months. Many customers therefore seek support when they have questions or problems with products or orders. Their expectations of companies' service departments are correspondingly high. How good the Support According to the study, influences their general image of a company and also whether they would buy services or products from them again.
Long waiting times are the number 1 nuisance for customers. Being stuck on hold for minutes isn't even possible for a large proportion of customers. But which waiting times would still be acceptable for you and until when do you expect a response? According to the study mentioned above, they would like to work in a hotline or via Chat no later than after four minutes get an answer. Per email Expect most within 24 hours a response. They set up a significantly faster response time social media ahead — would be ideal between 30 and 60 minutes or between one and four hours.
In addition to a long waiting period, customers are also annoyed when they answer their concerns repeat several times must, possibly even in front of various interlocutors, until it is understood. Service employees who do not have enough knowledge of the product or service to be able to really help are also more likely to lead to dissatisfied customers.
The fact is: The majority of study participants are a good customer service more important than cheap prices.
What can companies do now to meet customer expectations? Do more service employees have to be hired? Thanks to the possibilities of digitization, this is not necessary. artificial intelligence (AI), for example, can help meet these requirements. With the help of AI, customer service can be faster and more responsive. Because:
- AI can make inquiries 24/7 answer — and indeed straightaway.
- It can handle the many arriving Standard questions edit independently. that relieves employees, who then have more time for more complex questions and can concentrate on cases where personal contact is necessary, e.g. in Complaints management.
The extent of the relief generally depends on how much can and should be automated by AI.
How does artificial intelligence work in customer service?
A few basics first: AI is a branch of computer science. AI technologies involve mechanisms of human learning reproduced on computers and thus made them intelligent. This means that an AI does not have to be programmed for different use cases, but gradually learns something new and so finds solutions independently and can answer questions. For an AI to work well, a broad database important, which can process them and recognize patterns from them.
AI has long since found its way into our everyday lives — in the form of facial recognition, voice assistants such as Apple's Siri, navigation systems or vacuum cleaning robots. And we have also met her in customer service, usually as chatbots.
AI chatbots in customer service
A AI chatbot is AI software that is integrated into chat applications on websites or even in networks such as Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp to communicate with customers. Various technologies are used for this purpose, such as machine learning.
What can chatbots do?
- They answer customer inquiries.
- They record customer data.
- They search for the same or similar problem in the company's data sets and suggest a solution on this basis.
- You learn something new with every customer interaction.
Artificial intelligence in telephone service: AI telephone assistant
Artificial intelligence can be used in customer service not only in the form of a chatbot, but also as an AI telephone assistant. This is software that is able to automatically make telephone calls with people. In this way, artificial intelligence can answer simple questions, forward them to employees or complete simple tasks, such as making appointments or order status inquiries.
The AI chatbot method is more widely used compared to AI telephone assistants, as the difficulty of telephone calls is often to understand the emotional nuances of callers based on what has been said and the voice tone and to address their concerns individually. Real customer service employees may have a better sense of tact here. An AI chatbot can simply answer recurring questions, make appointments or query orders.
What are the benefits of AI in customer service?
Customers have several benefits when using AI in customer service:
- As a result, customers have lower waiting times and can provide customer support Reach out anytime.
- You can get support at different channels receive and must not only rely on, for example, the customer hotline.
- You don't have to go long after company websites faqs Search for your problem — chatbots are usually implemented directly on the homepage.
- That's all improves customer experience and ensures a stronger customer loyalty.
And the companies themselves also benefit:
- Service employees are relieved of repetitive routine tasks and inquiries relieves and can therefore take on higher-value tasks. This increases satisfaction and the employee retention.
- Using AI reduces costs in customer service.
- Requests are more efficient answered.
- Companies can handle more inquiries than would be possible with service employees alone and can thus turn the service into a Omnichannel support expand.
How can you use AI? 5 tips
- If you want to use AI in the form of a chatbot, it should be an appealing and intuitive design And a good User Experience have.
- It is also possible to use a chatbot with existing messenger applications or Live chat tools to use.
- Keep in mind that the chatbot is connected to systems like the CRM Or even that ticket system should be connected so that he can develop his potential. Learn more about integrations & APIs.
- If you want to use AI at different touchpoints (e.g. email, chat, telephone), it is best to introduce it one after the other. This is how you can Learnings From implementation in one channel directly to the next.
- The use of AI has an impact on job profiles the service employee — this is why managers must communicate the changes in the areas of responsibility well to their employees and the change Actively accompany.
conclusion
The use of artificial intelligence in customer service and the associated automation can significantly lead to an increase in efficiency, a reduction in customer service and a reduction in costs. AI chatbots, which can automatically answer recurring questions regardless of time and location, are particularly popular. See for yourself the benefits of an AI chatbot in customer service and create a chatbot in 4 steps that fits your use case exactly:
