The need for refining and accelerating customer engagement has increased magnificently. Customers expect businesses to assist them round the clock, anticipate their requirements, and provide a quick solution to their queries. Companies deploy conversational AI assistants to manage customer and employee interactions. They contribute by being available 24/7 and interacting with multiple customers across various channels. So, you have Siri or Alexa booking a reservation at a fancy joint or guiding a new driver on how to change a flat tire on a deserted road. Conversational AI hasn’t just taken the business world by storm but has become a significant factor for a customer’s loyalty towards a brand as well.
Let’s take a step back and explore what exactly conversational AI is. In simple terms, it is a form of artificial intelligence that enables the real-time human-like conversation between a person and a computer aiming to improve the customer service experience. Conversational AI combines various technologies, such as Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Automated Speech Recognition (ASR), and Natural Language Understanding (NLU), to process each written or spoken word and work out the best way to respond to every user interaction.
Conversational AI has changed the way companies conduct businesses with their customers, enhancing responsiveness, service, and personalization. Organizations around the world are leveraging this innovative technology at scale. According to Markets and Markets, the global conversational AI market, including chatbots and intelligent digital assistants, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22% during 2020–25, reaching almost US$14 billion by 2025. Apart from customer-facing interactions, they are also helping in managing employee interactions and facilitating cross-departmental discussions.
The Rise of Conversational AI
Conversational AI is largely used in marketing, sales, and support for a seamless customer journey. The more advanced conversational AI can help companies analyze and identify possible customer challenges to proactively intervene before a customer even reaches out, all in the quest for improved customer service.
Let’s understand why deploying conversational AI is a big differentiator for most businesses.
Enhanced Customer Experience
Customers today are smart, aware, and cannot be easily hoodwinked. According to Forbes, 96% of customers will leave a company after a bad customer experience. Businesses have to step up and enhance their customer service experience to ensure satisfaction and continued loyalty.
Applications based on conversational AI are a technological gateway to a wide variety of audiences. By using conversational AI, NLP, and ML to understand the intricacies of human speech, language, and emotions, businesses can offer a more positive, personalized, and delightful customer experience.
This feasibility has seen a considerable surge in customer engagement who, at the end of the day, want an easily accessible and time-saving aide that eliminates the laborious task of searching, and selecting what they need. No one feels like going through lists of stores that sell your favorite red wine at the end of the day, when you have Siri or Alexa doing the dirty work for you.
Optimized Business Processes
Conversational AI is beneficial for small to mid-sized businesses due to its scalability, especially when you dial in the cost-effectiveness of the technology. It reduces costs in terms of hiring, training, and other infrastructure expenses. In addition, many businesses have various queries that consume a sizable chunk of the total customer service questions by volume. Conversational AI can therefore help interpret the different ways people might ask the same question. Thus, saving time and reducing the response rate.
The proliferation of a myriad of devices and digital channels has added complexity to customer journeys. Businesses can leverage data-driven conversational AI to pre-empt customer needs along their journey or based on behavior signals to offer information at the precise moment of relevance. This can help drive revenue, decrease churn, and provide high-quality service. Automating daily manual tasks with conversational AI can help augment employee efficiency. The employee may not be restricted to handling a single query line but can diversify their capabilities, improving overall productivity.
Conversational AI is ideal for collecting, processing, and analyzing data, thus helping decision-makers of businesses make strategic decisions based on the market forecast and the need of the hour.
The diverse use of conversational AI
Conversational AI is helping businesses create strong connections with customers and employees alike in unprecedented ways. This highly intelligent technology has become an integral part of any business strategy and digital transformation in the wake of the global pandemic.
For instance, a conversational AI-driven digital assistant can enable healthcare providers to create personalized interactions with their patients, clinicians, and staff and augment digital health experiences. One of the most exciting areas driven by conversational AI is Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and therapy, which has already demonstrated greater efficiency, reduced costs for healthcare providers, and improved patient clinical outcomes. They help jump-start the patient’s conversational AI journey with intelligent and engaging chatbots and make health accessible across channels, including voice channels.
Or, for that matter, when we talk about digital banking, conversational AI in the fintech industry is intended to be more proactive regarding user engagement. It also draws in more clients who want to track their transactions without speaking to anyone. Chatbot data allows banks to detect anomalies and understand their customers’ needs for better engagement and offer them the services and goods they desire.
And when you talk about goods, how can the retail industry be left behind? With customers buying almost everything online across multiple screens and channels to suit their specific goals each time, a seamless, consistent shopping experience is essential. A robust conversational AI that is deployed can collect and analyze information generated by the conversations to better understand the customers’ needs and preferences. This conversational data can anticipate users’ behavior and place customized offers or recommend products at the right time. This, in turn, helps enhance the shopping journey and improve customer service ten-fold.
Today, a customer’s decision to remain with a brand or start using one, is not only based on the value the product provides but also the quality of the customer service and experience.
And, as we enter a new era of customer service, our demands and capabilities will continue to define one another. The innovative creations of today, including conversational AI and automation, will guide the digital transformations of tomorrow.
Say hello to Xaqt’s multichannel AI platform
When we talk about transformations in the way companies have started interacting with the customers, the rapid emergence of robust AI driven platforms, like Xaqt deserve a special seat in the house.
Xaqt leverages the power of AI to help companies design and deploy intelligent and dynamic customer experiences across all channels and industries.
Xaqt’s Conversational AI platform boasts of the most advanced Contact Center AI platforms for building premier quality conversational applications. Xaqt’s multichannel AI Agents can help customers with queries instantly and personalized information based on past interactions.
Xaqt believes in an agile approach and continues to drive transformation in organizations with its engaging and adaptable employee and customer applications on a unified digital experience platform.
Want to know how to deliver engaging, personalized experiences to your customers? Let’s connect.
