McKay Borbon | Content Marketing Manager
Artificial intelligence may seem like futuristic technology, but it is already a gamechanger for CX. In an age where customer experience matters more than ever, 82% of CX professionals are saying that AI is increasingly necessary for business success. Many brands have already embraced AI and are seeing the benefits. Not only is customer service the leading application of AI being deployed today, but AI will power 95% of customer interactions by 2025.
If you’re not already familiar with AI, then now is the time! To learn about the role of AI in customer experience, let’s play a game - two truths and a lie.
Two of the following statements are true and one is a lie:
AI is capable of delivering human-like and empathy-driven experiences
AI will not replace human agents
Customers don’t like AI
While an AI Agent doesn’t feel emotions, some of the most advanced machine learning technologies have the ability to understand customer sentiments and maintain the viewpoint that each service request is from a human. Tailoring each service interaction based on each individual customer’s mood, history with the brand, and other context cues, AI can deliver the personalized and compassionate support customers need.
The right AI technologies will also use response flows and language that leave customers feeling like they are speaking to a human. It’s high-tech with a human touch!
It is a common fear that AI will replace human agents, but that is not the case. With the ability to resolve high volumes of repetitive transactional tasks, AI automation actually frees human agents to do what they do best and focus on highly complex or consultative tickets. It also allows them to help with larger-scale projects. For example, you can pull them into a committee for improving workflow or solving a complicated customer issue. Your agents will no longer get burnt out from repetitive assignments. Instead, they'll feel like they're contributing their skills and knowledge to progress the company.
While AI will not replace your team, it is important to note that one of the benefits of AI in customer service is that it minimizes the need to hire seasonal support and can even reduce year-round hiring projections. This will save your brand time and money on the hiring and training process, while also enabling you to maintain your core team.
Just take it from one of America’s fastest-growing sunglasses brands, Blenders Eyewear!
Due to hypergrowth and seasonal spikes, Blenders was tripling the size of their team multiple times throughout each year. The time commitment of hiring and training seasonal staff was a challenge and made it difficult to uphold their high standard of team morale.
After searching for a true AI solution to combat spikes in ticket volume, Blenders Eyewear deployed Thankful and cut down their year-round hiring effort by 51% and their seasonal hiring projections by a whopping 68%! This enables Blenders to keep their core team, retain top talent, and sustain their strong team culture.
Get all the details on how Blenders was able to reduce hiring while keeping their core team happy and continuing to deliver exceptional service here.
As you’ve most likely guessed by now, “customers don’t like AI’ is a lie. The truth is customers often love AI - some just don’t know it!
Today, many tasks can be accomplished so well by AI, customers don’t know they’re not interacting with a human. Nor do they care as long as they’re getting the personalized answer they want in the timeframe they demand.
When AI is involved, customers often get responses and resolutions within minutes. Whether it’s an AI Agent fully resolving customer queries or AI intuition delivered to your human support team, AI provides faster and more accurate service. With a positive brand interaction, customers are more likely to become loyal fans.
If you’re feeling apprehensive about how using AI for customer service may impact your business’s reputation, rest assured, it now has a positive connotation! The greater adoption of AI over the past couple of years paired with great experiences has shifted the perception customers have of AI. Today’s consumers are 9.5 times more likely to see AI as revolutionary and 82% of customers desire the maintenance or expansion of AI-powered service solutions. You read that right - customers want more AI-powered experiences! 
So, how did you do?
If you guessed the lie correctly - congrats! You won the satisfaction of being right.
If you guessed incorrectly - congrats! You learned something new about the capabilities of AI and how it can impact your business. We consider that a win!
By understanding AI’s potential as well as its limitations, you can better position your company to take full advantage of the machine learning and customer experience revolution. Brands that embrace AI and maximize its benefits will be the ones to skyrocket ahead of competitors.
To uncover more truths and learn about how to use AI to improve the customer experience, download our free white paper.
Additional Resources:
AI in Customer Service | AI Ecommerce Platform | AI Email Automation | Artificial Intelligence in Customer Service | Customer Service and Support Automation | Customer Service Platform | Customer Service and Automation | Ecommerce Customer Service Automation | Ecommerce Customer Service Outsourcing | Future of Customer Service
Topics: Blog, Customer Service, Artificial Intelligence
McKay Borbon | Content Marketing Manager
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