Customer service management is gradually evolving, moving from its traditional ways where a customer had to wait for a service representative to answer the same questions over and over again. This was tiring to even think of. But things are changing for the better, and the process is no longer this tedious.
Customer service in the age of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is slowly seeping into every facet of our lives. In customer service management too, AI now plays a predominant role. Customer service agents no longer need to answer tedious questions in today’s age of virtual agents.
Automated systems trained with the help of artificial intelligence to understand customers’ queries and respond to their requests using some common pre-set answers are now fulfilling tasks that earlier mandated a human touch.
A virtual agent can access information much faster than a human service representative. For commonly asked questions or requests, a virtual agent retrieves a solution from the database within seconds, saving a lot of time for both the customer and the business. This also improves customer satisfaction. Does that mean that human intervention will be completely uprooted from customer service management?
Predictions for the future of customer service technology
According to companies that build virtual agent systems and use them for their own customer service tasks, the future of customer support lies in the collaboration of AI and human effort. AI cannot completely replace humans in the customer service business and cannot attend to all kinds of queries that come across during a chat or call. It only has access to a limited database from which it’s supposed to dig up answers.
A human agent, on the other hand, can tactfully handle pressurizing situations or frustrated customers by being empathetic and can also solve problems that have never been encountered before.
A chatbot lacks such emotional intelligence and doesn’t have a sense of judgment. This is why developers are designing systems that incorporate both AI and human intelligence for a fruitful collaboration.
Providing personalised customer experience
With the use of AI, it has become much easier to create a personalised experience for customers. AI systems can collect information about customers from the data they provide and offer personalised solutions to their queries.
The customer service bot can suggest relevant products or re-orders based on purchase history. Even when human agents handle a call, the AI can bring to their notice out of stock products or relevant new launches to improve the customer service experience and thereby productivity.
The future of customer service management thus lies in the amalgamation of artificial intelligence and human intellect.
For more information on integrating artificial intelligence with your customer service department to improve operations, create new efficiencies and generate value and cost savings, contact us.
