Artificial intelligence is here to stay and has revolutionized every industry, including customer service. Since customer service is the cornerstone of every thriving business, businesses must stay abreast of industry changes. Call Center Studio offers unmatched cloud call center software that facilitates a unified approach to customer service.
According to new research published on Hubspot, 82% of consumers expect an immediate response to their marketing or sales queries. However, the average response time across major industries is about 12 hours, leading to a significant loss in potential sales. Most consumers are likely to abandon a purchase if they do not receive an immediate response. This presents a challenge for organizations to bridge this gap and offer seamless customer service.
Could AI chatbots be the solution? Let’s find out.
What Are the Advantages of AI Chatbots Over Live Agents?
The introduction of AI chatbots has changed how brands approach customer service. Some may oppose this idea because customer service requires a more human approach. However, this new innovation offers numerous benefits that cannot be ignored.
Fast 24/7 Customer Service
Consumers want to be served fast, even during peak hours. AI chatbots are able to handle the first level of interaction. They offer instant replies 24/7, offering a faster response time compared to live agents. For global businesses, AI chatbots allow you to offer timely responses to all clients, no matter their time zone.
Omnichannel Support
Customers turn to different platforms and channels when engaging with brands. This makes it hard for live agents to juggle different platforms. However, AI chatbots integrate easily with all digital platforms, offering prompt replies to customers on all channels.
Reduce Customer Requests for Live Agents
AI chatbots have been designed to handle specific inquiries and repetitive tasks. This may include password reset, order tracking or other tasks that would otherwise be tedious to a live agent. This allows the live agent to focus on complex matters.
Cost-effective
Another major advantage is their cost-effectiveness. They can handle a high volume of inquiries without any additional costs, which ensures your customers’ inquiries are handled effectively, especially during peak seasons such as holidays or product launches.
Boost Engagement
Chatbots send proactive messages that prompt customers to engage with products or services offered by the company. They engage in real time and use rich messaging, which enhances customer interaction.
When Should a Business Choose to Use Live Agents Instead of AI Chatbots?
AI chatbots are great, and their efficiency and fast response time are unmatched. However, some customer service inquiries require a more human touch. Live agents bring the empathy and expertise needed to tackle more complex issues.
Live agents should be used when the customer queries appear to be sensitive. Often, live agents can pick up details that the chatbot might miss. They can use their creativity and problem-solving skills to offer better solutions to the client.
Emotional situations require a human response. For instance, in case of conflict, a live agent can de-escalate the tension faster. Live agents excel at offering a more personalized approach. This makes the customer feel heard and understood, something that could be difficult to achieve with AI chatbots. When equipped with the right tools, live agents could help build trust and loyalty with your consumers.
Can AI Chatbots Handle Complex Customer Issues?
AI chatbots are becoming more advanced and complex every day. Advances in machine learning and AI have incorporated sentiment analysis, which helps AI chatbots better understand consumers and give more accurate results. However, they still have various limitations that hinder their performance. AI chatbots excel at handling simple repetitive tasks that can be easily interpreted.
AI chatbots interpret detailed or complex queries as ambiguous. They also tend to offer generic responses that could frustrate customers. For instance, if a customer inquires about an urgent delivery, an an AI chatbot might fail to recognize the urgency. This is where live agents step in to pick up where the chatbot left off and offer a more personalized solution.
How Can Businesses Integrate AI Chatbots with Live Agent Support?
The real magic happens when businesses integrate the strengths of AI chatbots and live agents. Businesses should implement systems and procedures that allow queries that can’t be resolved by chatbots to be transferred to a live agent.
Integrating AI Chatbots to support live agents requires careful planning. Here are some of the best practices for chatbot integration.
Assess Your Business Needs
Each business has different needs depending on the services or products they sell. Ask yourself, what do my customers need the most, past on past inquiries? Evaluate repetitive or high-volume tasks that can be handled by the chatbots. Identify queries that should be transferred to live agents.
Choose the Right Tools
Look for tools that use natural language processing and machine learning. These technologies allow bots to better understand queries and provide accurate responses.
Train Your Agents
Train your live agents on how to work well with AI chatbots. They should know how to take over conversations smoothly and handle complex or sensitive issues. This is where tools such as the Cloud Call Center software come in to make the handoff seamless. The software shares the chat history with the agent, helping them pick right where the AI chatbot left off.
Monitor and Improve
Implementing new processes and systems can be challenging. Constantly review the performance of both the AI chatbots and your live agents. Identify areas that need improvement and incorporate changes. This should be a continuous process to achieve maximum results.
Conclusion
Finding the perfect blend of AI chatbots and live agents is the key to good customer service. AI chatbots will offer the 24/7 support your customers need and handle high-volume inquiries. Live agents, on the other hand, will bring the empathy and problem-solving skills needed to handle complex issues.
Are you looking to deliver a better customer experience for your clients? Call Center Studio offers cloud call center software to boost your operational efficiency. Elevate your customer service today!
