The Role of AI in Creating an Intelligent Customer Experience
It is more important than ever to provide an intelligent customer experience. Customer expectations have continued to rise as user-friendly technologies become more commonplace. Customers expect each interaction to be as seamless as ordering food or transportation on their mobile device or streaming content using one of the countless on-demand applications. Creating an intelligent customer experience can help build customer loyalty and give you an edge over your competitors.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is perhaps the most promising new technology when it comes to improving the customer experience. As Sven Feurer, senior director of engineering and operations at SAP Customer Experience notes of using AI to enhance the customer experience, “When it comes to customer experience, there is promise for broad impact. With the exponential growth of data arises an opportunity for both B2B and B2C brands to utilize it along with AI to improve everyday experiences for customers.”
In this article, we will look at what AI is in more detail and explore how AI developers are using the technology to help businesses provide an intelligent customer experience.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial Intelligence is a technology that allows machines or computers to emulate human decision-making. AI technologies are becoming increasingly popular and are used by AI developers in a broad range of applications. As Wikipedia notes, “AI applications include advanced web search engines (e.g., Google), recommendation systems (used by YouTube, Amazon, and Netflix), understanding human speech (such as Siri and Alexa), self-driving cars (e.g., Tesla), automated decision-making and competing at the highest level in strategic game systems (such as chess and Go).”
And as businesses in every industry look for innovative technologies to provide an intelligent customer experience, more and more are turning to AI. According to research by Oracle, 8 out of 10 businesses have already implemented or are planning to adopt AI as a customer service solution. In addition to cutting costs by automating time-consuming tasks, AI can significantly boost revenue. The Temkin Group found that businesses that earn more than $1 billion per year can earn an additional $700 million within 3 years by investing in the customer experience. Simply put, the better the customer experience the more customers are willing to spend.
AI and Intelligent Customer Experience
There are many ways that Artificial Intelligence can improve the customer experience. The following are some common use cases and benefits of an AI-powered intelligent customer experience.
Personalized Customer Service
There is a growing emphasis on personalization in nearly every industry. For example, receiving show and movie recommendations on Netflix, ads based on your internet browsing behavior, or menu suggestions at a local restaurant. AI-powered chatbots allow businesses to cost-effectively personalize real-time customer experiences while providing customers with 24/7/365 support.
Data-Driven Insights
AI can collect and analyze customer behavior to create customer personas that businesses can use to cater their product and service offerings towards. Some examples of relevant customer data metrics include prior customer communications, purchase history, on-site interactions, and geo-specific events.
Businesses can use this data to offer products or services to the right customers, at the right times, and on the right channels. This not only gives customers a better experience, but it increases the average amount of each sale as well as repeat transactions to significantly boost revenue.
Customized Content
An intelligent CX makes it possible to personalize content offerings. For example, sending dynamic emails that include content based on customer behavior. With AI, you could take several different approaches. You could include content that is similar to content that the user has interacted with in the past. Or you could take a broader approach, such as recommending content that is popular on your website or social media.
Studies show that most customers expect and prefer content that is tailored to their interests and/or the type of transaction.
Improve Workflows
Traditional customer journeys are fragmented and produce poor retention rates. We have all experienced the frustration of long wait times only to be transferred to another customer service agent to explain why we are calling all over again. With AI, you can initiate customer conversations at multiple touchpoints. For instance, a customer can interact with a chatbot on your website. The chatbot can attempt to answer the customer’s questions. If the customer needs to speak to a human representative, the chatbot can verify her information, connect her to the appropriate party, and provide support agents with access to the customer’s data throughout the interaction to avoid repeating the same information.
Improve Employee Productivity and Service
Tired, frustrated, and/or stressed public-facing employees are unable to consistently provide excellent customer service. AI makes it easier for employees to do their jobs by automating repetitive tasks. They get more done and can focus on higher-value tasks such as working with customers to understand their needs and provide the support needed to overcome their challenges.
Provide Memorable Customer Experiences with Innovative Solutions from Industry-Leading AI Developers
Plego is a Chicago-based provider of industry-leading AI development services. Our experienced AI developers have helped countless businesses to create memorable customer experiences through innovative AI solutions. To learn more about our services or to discuss how we can help you to future-proof your business and gain an edge over your competitors, contact us today to get the conversation started.