Recognising the power of AI for customer service
For so many years, call centres relied on phone lines as the only way to connect with their customers. Digital channels gradually started to transform their operations, from email communication and web-based chats to social media interactions. Now, the move to AI-driven chatbots and automated self-service offers real time engagement opportunities for immediate customer support on any channel.
Preserving personal connection
The importance of personal connection, historically nestled in the nostalgia of the telephone call, remains key because AI doesn’t replace your customer service agents. There are many opportunities for customer service teams to thrive in the age of AI, but traditional telephone services and advanced AI are two entirely different customer service beasts, so you’ll need two distinct approaches to serve them.
3 reasons not to stick with your telecoms provider for AI automation
It’s clear by now AI isn’t a passing fad, it’s a whole new way of working. Gartner predicts by 2026 AI will “reduce agent labour costs by $80 billion,” so customer service providers need to be ready for the shift to automation.
Here’s how using a specialist AI provider can help protect your bank balance and your brand reputation:
1. You’ll pay less for AI using a specialist provider
Calls are what the telecoms provider business is built on ― that’s their expertise, yet there has to be an incentive to reduce the number of calls you get overall when you introduce AI. An experienced AI provider is consistently focused on reducing your customer service costs with an instant, customer-centric support system that also helps lessen the pressure on your team to take low-value routine calls repetitively.
2. An AI provider knows how to build an efficient chat-based system
When chatbots were first introduced, basic bot technology gave them a bad rep because they could only perform a handful of tasks. Fast forward a couple of decades and the most advanced AI assistants can now talk to your customers using natural language, integrate with all your business systems, and teach you more about your customers than you ever dreamed possible.
AI experts are driving this change:
- They know why chatbots fail and how to fix them.
- They keep a human in the loop to inspect data and respond quickly to trends that appear, so your agents are never working harder than they need to be to get their job done.
- Conversations with your customers are reviewed by language specialists, psychologists, designers and writers, so customers don’t become frustrated by being asked to call in or send an email, to check back later or reach a dead end in the chat. AI experts build for the resolution of every query ― instantly, as often as is feasibly possible (our typical success rate is 91%).
All of this combined results in a high-end chatbot experience for your customers, showing them the commitment you’ve made to getting it right.
3. You can trust an AI provider to slot in with what you’re already doing
You don’t have to pit your telecoms provider against an AI provider. The most advanced AI assistants are designed to work seamlessly alongside all your current business systems, whether it’s a CRM, a booking or payment system, contact centre software, or a telephone operator. The other way around, you’re simply adding an AI chatbot to a pre-existing system or service it wasn’t originally designed for. Ultimately, you want to uncover the best way to make everything work well together as you navigate the shift to customer service automation, and an expert AI provider will gladly help you do that.
Let’s say you already use 8×8, a popular choice for customer service call facility:
- Keep your telecoms provider; change nothing
- Launch an AI assistant for free with just your website URL (ready in 10 minutes)
- Connect your AI assistant to 8×8 and, voilà! You get a low-cost next-gen AI assistant answering all your routine queries and, when your customer needs to speak with someone, it transfers them across to your 8×8 system where your agents carry on as usual.
In minutes, you’ve introduced a new AI element to your communications channels and your customer service agents won’t need to adjust to a thing.
Even the most advanced AI assistant is affordable these days (you won’t need to go to tender). Plus you can be sure it looks good, works well, and is designed to help you rapidly improve the omnichannel experience for your customers.
How to decide on an AI chatbot solution that works best for you
“It’s an expected shift for telephony service providers to move towards AI. There are many ways they can do this, from AI infused IVR and voice AI, to creating their own chatbots. However, the use of AI demands using a provider that’s well equipped to deal with the necessities of AI such as AI ethics, generative AI and ever-expanding technical capabilities. Only this can deliver the true benefits of using an AI chatbot, like 67% CSAT increases, 30% YoY call reductions, and 533% ROI, which are all very achievable for your customer care team, with a well thought through AI assistant.”
– Abbie Heslop, Head of Customer Journey at EBI.AI
Act now
You don’t need us to tell you how quickly AI technology is advancing. The use of large language models (LLMs) is now transforming customer service chatbots at a phenomenal pace.
Get ahead by making the right investments now to enhance service quality, boost customer satisfaction, increase profits, and achieve outstanding returns.
