It’s likely that you have either thought about — or may even use —chatbots or other artificial intelligence tools as part of strengthening the customer experience. While it makes good business sense for most to use them, it’s also clearly not working at its optimum for everyone.
That’s clear from a recent study that’s cited in a story about chatbots on the CMS Wire website. In that study, just 22% of consumers have positive feelings about the use of chatbots. If you think back to your own experience in their use, you can easily see why it’s an uphill climb to use them to the fullest.
Maybe, though, there is more attention to be paid to the other side of the coin: human interaction. The story on CMS Wire, as well as one from CustomerThink’s website, points to some great things to remember to bring AI and employees together in a way that will be best for everyone.
Using AI vs. a live phone call
Having a chatbot makes sense when you think about the efficiencies it offers, not only to the company but to the customer. A fast answer that helps solve a problem is always preferred over one that might take more work to retrieve.
At the same time, another survey cited in the CMS story points to an interesting statistic: 77% of customers want an option to speak to a person, and they want it to be easy to find. Therefore, it would serve companies well to bring together both elements to provide the best customer service.
This can take place with programming the bots and what they do — and don’t do. Finding out which interactions are best served electronically and which need a personal touch will go a long way to solve some inherent problems. Deciding what responses can be faster through a bot should be an initial step, especially if it’s less about problem-solving and more about just imparting information a customer wants.
Getting people to the right channels
It’s also best to clearly set when an automatic handoff from AI to an employee would take place. Setting it automatically to go to a live caller after two attempts to answer an inquiry is a good rule of thumb.
The article on CustomerThink makes it clear that the channels you use to interact with customers are just as important to consider. Either email bots or live chat might be the best options for specific concerns, especially those that might have a specific urgent need.
It’s also important to do some research yourself into how to anticipate what customers may want. Having pre-programmed messages that go into the main motivators for a phone call could address their question much faster, leaving them with a more satisfying experience that’s also really efficient for everyone involved.
Having a mix between the best type of AI and conversations, which can be impactful, can be the best way forward for many businesses. At ARO, we’ve made it our goal to bring empathy to every touchpoint with a customer while still helping businesses reach their fullest potential. Go to our website to learn more about our solutions.
