If artificial intelligence (AI) is not already a major part of your business strategy, you may become the next Kodak, a film company in the digital age. According to Craving Tech, organizations that have integrated AI into their operations saw a 25% boost in customer satisfaction in 2023. AI is transforming customer service by taking over tasks traditionally done by humans.
Call center changes
AI is not set to eliminate contact centers, but it will lead to the emergence of collaborative AI, which combines human and machine intelligence capabilities to improve problem-solving, decision-making, and overall effectiveness.
Empathy is fundamental in customer service to foster trust. Research from Harvard Business Review indicates that emotionally connected customers are 52% more valuable than satisfied ones. A PwC study revealed that 73% of consumers would leave a brand lacking personal engagement, and Qualtrics found that 86% of customers are willing to pay more for empathetic customer service.
A typical day working in a contact/support/call center can be extremely repetitive and mind-numbing with different customers asking the same questions. Empathy fatigue usually occurs in industries that deal with customers who have high stress levels and anxiety that could be blamed on the company they are calling.
AI doesn’t tire of repeatedly answering the same question. AI doesn’t take it personally when angry customers yell at it. AI doesn’t suffer empathy fatigue. A Wall Street Journal article, “Can AI Do Empathy Even Better Than Humans? Companies Are Trying It,” shares how computer scientists teach artificial intelligence to understand and simulate empathy. Large language models, powered by AI and trained on extensive datasets of voice, text, and video conversations, are becoming adept at recognizing and replicating emotions such as empathy—sometimes more effectively than humans, according to some claims.
During peak days or seasonal rushes, answering the same question hundreds of times daily doesn’t make any employee happy. AI will eliminate most, if not all, of these transactions, such as delivery status questions, freeing up customer service representatives to focus on the more complex, rewarding tasks that require human attention. Employees will bring the best of their humanity to each customer interaction.
More with less
Artificial Intelligence can help front-line employees be more efficient and productive, which potentially means less staff will be needed. AI sifts through knowledge bases during calls to find relevant information, which is then displayed on the agent’s screen. Chatbots are beneficial for customers and businesses, reducing the resolution time for simple queries and cutting costs by up to 30%. A PwC study found that 34% of business leaders report a decreased workload thanks to chatbots.
AI can listen to a customer’s call and act as a search engine for a company’s database, website, and product/service offerings, immediately populating potential answers to clients’ questions for agents.
Machines and AI are faster, cheaper, and more efficient than humans and make fewer mistakes than people. When a bank started using chatbots to handle more than 1.5 million claim requests each year, it found that the work of 85 bots was equal to the output of 200 full-time human employees at 30% of the cost.
Proceed with caution
Artificial empathy in clinical environments raises concerns about diminishing the expectation for authentic human empathy toward those in distress. Could relying on AI to articulate empathy lead to a decline in our empathetic competencies?
According to Jodi Halpern, a professor of bioethics at the University of California, Berkeley, and an expert on empathy and technology, AI can exhibit “cognitive empathy” by recognizing and reacting to humans based on training data. However, this is distinct from “emotional empathy,” the ability to deeply understand and share in another person’s emotional state and feel genuine concern. Halpern emphasizes that the type of empathy most valuable in a clinical context requires the healthcare provider to engage with the patient’s experiences emotionally. This level of empathy is beyond what a bot can offer.
Dealing with AI
Customers are becoming more accepting of dealing with AI and chatbots, especially as the younger generations represent more of businesses’ customer base than older generations. Today, only 42% of consumers still prefer human customer service representatives to AI alternatives, a Servion survey reported. A Capgemini survey found that more than 70% of customers favor voice assistants that mimic human interactions.
Self-service options powered by AI allow customers to resolve their issues at their convenience without a live agent. AI’s ability to enable self-service is growing, offering users autonomy.
Chatbots provide convenience for users who prefer digital communication over traditional phone calls. AI excels in automating routine inquiries, freeing up human employees for more complex issues.
The integration of AI across customer service channels is set to increase as clients become more accustomed to AI interactions, helping businesses improve efficiency and service quality. Juniper Research predicts that bots could save various industries about $11 billion in costs.
The rise of AI in customer service signifies a shift in how businesses engage with their customers. It’s essential to remember that AI is not here to replace humans but to enhance customer service. By combining AI with human expertise, businesses can offer exceptional experiences that foster loyalty.
John R. DiJulius III, author of The Customer Service Revolution, is president of The DiJulius Group, a customer service consulting firm that works with Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Ritz-Carlton, Nestle, PwC, Lexus, and many more. Contact him at 216-839-1430 or [email protected].
link