The ever-growing power of computing is transforming our lives. Today we can see the inclusion of artificial intelligence in many aspects of daily life. One of them is in the improvement of customer service and experience.There are several reasons for this.The most obvious is grounded on the shortcomings of the human workforce in efficiency and work capacity. For example, an average human agent can handle one request at a time while ensuring quality customer service. An AI agent, on the other hand, can handle several requests in real time. This allows businesses to save on manpower resources while keeping their clients satisfied. AI can also help to improve self-service and capture invaluable data from customer interactions which could help companies predict customer behavior and improve the customer experience. Let’s take a look at AI and its expanding role in today’s Customer Experience!

Calling Mr. Watson

Because of the development on the frontiers of machine understanding of natural language, companies such as IBM have developed computer systems that can practically take on the role of chat agents. IBM’s Watson, a workload-optimized super-system that makes use of parallel POWER7 processors, is an example of question-answering or QA machines.

Such natural-language AIs, often categorized as “chat-bots,” can process simple questions efficiently, saving human agents from simple, frequently asked questions. Where is my package? What is the return policy? What are your hours of operation?  At the same time, when a question becomes too complex for the AI agent to handle, the system allows for the redirection of the customer to human agents capable of addressing such queries. With this, the whole system becomes more streamlined, allowing for greater efficiency, productivity, and time management. This allows your agents to focus on more complex requests and scenarios, thus providing them with more time to provide a quality customer experience.

Because information is exchanged in the act of questioning, the AI can process this data in order to personalize the customer’s experience, refining product selections based on the customer’s queries and, if available, buying history. In a way, an AI system uses its capability to access and understand data faster than the average human brain as its main tool for analyzing customer needs and tailoring the customer’s experience according to those needs.

Nipping Customer Dissatisfaction in the Bud

Increasing AI autonomy also helps in creating solutions before problems even begin. This preventive and responsive nature is highlighted in the Fluid’s Expert Personal Shopper (XPS) of The North Face. An outdoor product company, The North Face utilizes IBM’s Watson systems in creating the Fluid’s XPS, which allows the AI to access even local weather conditions in order to help the customer make the most efficient and effective shopping choice online. While such autonomy is subject to occasional hiccups, such as customer struggles with interacting with system interface, its benefits when fully developed and utilized hold vast potential in helping customers get the most of their money.

AI Gatekeeping

Another advantage of using AI as the ultimate middleman for online transactions can be seen with Beverly Hills-based ticket sales and distribution company Ticketmaster Entertainment. Essentially, the company makes use of an AI system to ensure that their customers are truly human, and not merely scalper bots. This task, if given to human agents, would be truly a time-consuming effort, but with a smart enough AI, even well-made scalpers could not bypass the security systems.

Let’s Get Personal

Even Spotify makes use of AI. With its advantage in processing data at high speeds, Spotify AIs use customer data to predict what the customer will like. It has developed, for instance, a rating system known as the “Discover Weekly” playlist that displays the predicted songs for the customer’s benefit.

Can I Take Your Order?

And if that wasn’t convenient enough, Domino’s Pizza, an American pizza restaurant chain, utilizes a Facebook Messenger-based chatbot known as “Dom” that enables customers to place orders online simply by messaging the word “pizza.” The process is so streamlined that it takes the AI less time than a customer call to process the order.

Conclusion

Overall, one can say that the use of artificial intelligence in determining and catering to customer needs can vastly improve customer experience, not only through the sheer speed of online transactions but also by undermining security threats. AI’s predictive ability, largely done through high-speed data processing, allows the customer to experience highly personalized inventory lists that are tailored by specific factors — all for the benefit of the customer.

With the increasing obsession with speed and convenience, the world is fast catching on. In a study done with 550 senior executives, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Review found that a vast majority of the world’s top companies have begun adopting artificial intelligence into their management systems. Given the AI’s far-reaching advantages over more human capabilities, this is hardly a surprise.

Recently I attended the IQPC’s Customer Contact Week (CCW) in Las Vegas. Being one of the top industry events it’s nothing less than a melting pot of the latest advances in contact center technology and contact center practices. An event like this helps you assess your direction, explore the latest trends and acquire knowledge that will shape the future. It was a great event where thought leaders and SME’s presented valuable insight on AI, automation, employee engagement and retention to WFM optimization, etc.  Most of which actually validated our thought process and reinstated our commitment to leading edge technology adoption we materialize for our clients.

One of the most visible and important shifts in managing customer experience today is around using Omnichannel. While Omnichannel solutions are intuitively expected to impact customer experience, it actually goes beyond and impacts supplier control, inventory, consumer behavior and even purchase. For now let’s focus on the omni-channel journey and how it is linked to the customer experience.

A Broken Customer Experience

Almost every individual has at least one frustrating experience with contact center agents or other front line personnel. Examples of these include having to repeat the details of their challenges and concerns to the agent during a follow-up call– this is information they have already provided through other customer service channels, but for whatever reason is not documented in a central database for the agent to retrieve. These could lead to longer times in resolving customer queries, which affects agent availability and robs the customer of their time. If these become a recurring theme, the customer would see it as customer support having little to no understanding of their needs. When customers experience these frustrations, it signifies that a business lacks integration between their different customer support channels. This leads to the customer having to reiterate or repeat information every time they transfer to another contact channel.

Furthermore, it would be likely that one channel is not up-to-date with a customer’s case and would often require them to seek information from other channels. This leads to longer call resolution time and agents following up at a later date. In addition, with these channels operating separately, there are often inconsistencies in the message and quality of service provided to customers. This has a risk of dissatisfaction and losing existing customers. This could also lead to the loss of new customers, as they might pass over your brand to another that delivers quality in the channel they prefer.

The Solution

The solution to a fragmented customer experience is providing customers with a strategic omni-channel experience. This customer-centric approach in contact center support would integrate every medium or channel being used. It requires contact centers to provide the same level of service through phone, email, video, SMS, chat, messaging applications, social media, and IoT (Internet of Things). This approach lets the customer seamlessly transfer from one channel to another, experience consistent service from all channels, and experience personalized customer support. Companies adopting this approach have claimed to experience significant improvement in retaining customers and improving customer relationships. However, it is not enough to just have an omni-channel experience for your customers. It’s important to ensure that your omni-channel strategy is well-defined and effective. This requires interdepartmental collaboration and a continuous feedback loop for continuous improvement.

A Crucial Element In Omni-Channel Customer Service

Staying in old (traditional) customer data analytics would make the full implementation of an omni-channel service close to impossible. The real-time knowledge of customer experience provides employees with the information they need to provide personalized customer service. Without the appropriate system, employees would still have to go through routine questions and processes. Most of the old systems of customer support seem robotic and impersonal. With the availability of leading edge technology in collecting data, there is no excuse for a contact center’s inability to deliver a personalized customer experience.

For this approach to work, contact centers must stay on top of every engagement and interaction with each customer. Contact centers must use real-time in-journey customer experience mapping. This analytical tool would provide employees an easy way to know details regarding customer interactions. It helps provide customers with in-context answers.These in-context answers could be in the form of providing product suggestions the customer has not yet considered, awareness of specific customer needs at the start of an interaction, and knowledge of their personal preferences.

Furthermore, with real-time information available to them, employees can take proactive measures to resolve customer queries quickly. These benefits lead to an enhanced customer experience garnering customer loyalty and retaining new customers.

Conclusion

Although it will require implementation changes, commitment from every department within your organization and further investment, an omni-channel customer service would improve your contact center’s efficiency and drive growth. Whether it is problem resolution or ability to create rewarding customer relationships, a personalized customer experience is a sure shot way of enhancing customer experience. After all, if another company implements these changes ahead of you it will give them a competitive edge while you are left in the dust. This can be noticeable to your customers who may end up switching to your competitor due to a more evolved, omni-channel customer experience.