Call me old-fashioned, but there’s nothing more annoying than trying to get in touch with customer service and only getting answers from an automated chatbot, right? Customer contact is, and will always be, human work in my opinion. But that doesn’t mean AI doesn’t make a major, or even indispensable, contribution to its effectiveness. The big question is: how do they work together?
Using conversational AI in customer contact
Previous research shows that only 1% of consumers prefer an automated chat. One of the biggest annoyances is poorly functioning chatbots. Because it turns out that only 8% of chatbots give a good answer to the questions.
At first glance, the combination of AI and customer contact seems to mainly cause a decrease in satisfaction. Can you blame the chatbot for that if it has not had enough input? After all, the employees have also gone through an extensive onboarding process?
Automation as a solution for staff shortages
75% of entrepreneurs experience a shortage of labor. In addition, 40% indicate that this is the biggest obstacle in business operations. The solution? Automation is often mentioned. It is therefore not surprising that, despite the declining satisfaction with the use of chatbots, the number of organizations that use chatbots is only increasing.
Many organizations want to offer more online services. As a result, the need for customer contact employees increases and the staff shortage in customer service is even higher than average. We notice this as consumers, because customer service is increasingly difficult to reach, there are long waiting times or endless menus.
But should the automation of customer contact be at the expense of quality?
Onboarding process for your AI chatbot
Lower quality customer contact can of course never be the intention if organizations want to work more effectively with the use of AI. Yet it is not an exception, but how do you use conversational AI without compromising on quality?
This starts with the realization that an AI chatbot is not a quick fix is. Just like a new colleague, you will first go through an extensive onboarding process.
I hear you thinking: ‘So what does the onboarding for an AI chatbot look like?’ Well, like this:
Just like when hiring a new colleague, it is important to determine what the role of the new chatbot will be. You therefore determine the specifications, the tasks the chatbot must perform and how its performance is measured.
Training the chatbot
Then the most important step for success: training the model. Here you start by collecting all the data that the chatbot can use as context. From previous email exchanges with customers, to frequently asked questions and company guidelines. The more data and context the chatbot has, the better the chatbot communicates. Eventually, the chatbot can recognize emotions itself. This allows it to respond to that need and communicate more effectively.
Just like the development of an employee, the development of the chatbot never stands still. Optimizations based on feedback and new insights are an ongoing process. Just like following in-depth training and feedback conversations for employees.
For successful integration, the chatbot must be seen as a full-fledged team member, with specific tasks and responsibilities. This means that employees must be trained in how to work effectively with the chatbot and how to use the chatbot to simplify their own work. A well-integrated chatbot can take over repetitive tasks, allowing human employees to focus on more strategic and creative tasks. This not only increases efficiency, but also job satisfaction.
AI-driven customer service
Consumers (NL 18+) indicate that they accept the automation, as long as it works well. When push comes to shove, consumers prefer to talk to a real person. If you ask me, that is exactly how conversational AI and customer contacts should work together.
Example: KIJCK Makelaars
A nice practical example of KIJCK Makelaars: they had their own property designed by Enrise ChatGPT build. Not to be confused with a regular chatbot. The AI-driven chatbot can also answer more complex questions, remembers and uses the context of previous conversations and continuously learns based on interaction and NLP (Natural Language Understanding).
This allows them to answer (routine) questions faster than ever before. The time they save is spent on personal contact. Exactly the work that makes colleagues and customers happy, because ultimately the human side of customer contact remains indispensable.
Example: Solar plan
Zonneplan has also understood this. They work with a chatbot based on AI, but as soon as you ask the question ‘Can I speak to an employee?’ you are immediately put in touch. And I think that is strong: faster answers to questions with AI, but if you need a real person, that is also possible.
Match made in heaven
I am convinced that conversational AI and customer contact are a match made in heaven is. But only if you take the time to do the onboarding and if the user asks for ‘real’ contact, you can always get in touch with real people.
What do you think the future of customer contact looks like?
Source: www.frankwatching.com
