There is a rising debate in the customer service realm. It involves the question, who is better at serving customers—humans or robots?
Human customer service representatives and conversational AI for customer support have their strengths and weaknesses. However, is it really necessary to pit one against the other?
Here are some ways humans and AI can work together to provide better customer service.
Training Conversational AI Models
AIs are human-made. Humans write the code AI functionalities and the script that they follow. However, the concept of human-trained AI is foreign to most people.
AI training is a process that is unknown to end-users. As AI interacts with clients, analysts in the backend monitor the interaction. While they are not responsible for answering client inquiries, they are in charge of keeping an eye out for the bot’s confidence score.
If the AI’s confidence score is low, analysts receive an alert. They would then take the data and utilize it to retrain the AI and power the algorithms. The sophistication of an AI system depends on the quality of data it gets.
When the right kind of data is annotated, labeled, and fed to the system, the AI can quickly learn from them and adapt to the necessary changes. Through human intervention, AI accuracy improves, and more clients can get the answers they need through self-service.
AI as First Point of Contact
Customers hate waiting. In fact, about 60 percent of clients, regardless of their age, are more inclined to interact with chatbots than wait for a customer service representative.
This preference comes from the 24/7 chatbot availability, instant responses, and lack of a queue. However, it does not mean that you should do away with human agents. It just means that AI is a prudent choice as the first point of contact.
Clients interact with a well-scripted AI. The AI script can contain frequently asked questions and simple tasks. Should the client need more comprehensive solutions, the chatbot can hand off the customer to an agent. Doing so ensures that your company thoroughly answers your customer’s inquiries while lightening the burden on customer service representatives.
AI as Customer Service Representative Support
As the first point of contact, the AI tries to solve the easier tasks and acquires the client’s basic information to make the agent-customer interaction more efficient.
The AI will also relay the client’s information during the human hand-off. It means it can significantly lessen the time the agent needs to dig through customer files, if not eliminate it. Furthermore, the AI can infer what the customer is asking and prepare the agent to provide a timely response through the client-AI interaction.
When a conversational AI acts as a customer service representative’s support, it improves efficiency and the quality of agent responses, boosts productivity, and makes the overall customer experience better.
Conclusion
Customer support is an essential part of any business. It ensures that the clients are happy and gives companies opportunities to improve. However, working in customer support can be challenging.
According to studies, 74 percent of customer service representatives are at risk of burnout, while even more are at risk of getting sick. But when humans and conversational AI for customer support work together, they create a positive customer experience, reduce agent burnout, and help them find a better work-life balance.
Creative Business Labs is a world-class technology consulting and system development firm. We offer a wide range of top-notch business solutions, from marketing automation to conversational AI for customer support development. Team up with us today, and let us work together to bring your business to the next level!
