Conversational AI is shaping up to be the next major shift in customer support and communications. When automated voice agents are incorporated, conversational AI offers the ability to vastly improve customer inquiries in measurable ways. You probably use conversational AI on at least one device, such as your mobile device, or a device like Amazon Echo or Google Assistant. However, what is conversational AI and why is it important in today’s overwhelming space of necessary technology?
What is Conversation AI ?
Conversational AI is the combination of natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI). It enables computers to engage in natural voice dialogue with humans. Common use cases for conversational AI in the IVR space include payments, account inquiries, card activation and servicing, and surveys. These applications span a variety of industries, including but not limited to financial services, healthcare, insurance, prepaid cards, and utilities.
The combination of NLP and AI empowers customers to express their intent in their own words. The better you understand your customers, the better equipped you will be at providing the best experience possible. Even by simply reducing friction, your company could experience significant gains. Conversational AI makes the call process quicker and more efficient.
Conversation AI for a Business
Why Conversation AI is Important
96 percent of consumers think it’s important that support calls pick up from where they last left off, a feature that’s made possible through voice transcription. Businesses use conversational AI for automating marketing, sales and support to engage along the entire customer journey. Because conversational AI doesn’t rely on manually written scripts, it enables organizations to automate highly personalized customer service resolutions at scale. This makes every interaction feel unique and relevant, while also reducing effort and resolution time. As a result, customers tend to report higher levels of satisfaction.
The more advanced conversational AI can enable companies to analyze and identify when customer questions and issues to identify common pain points to preemptively intervene before a customer ever reaches out.
Conversation AI for the Best Customer Experience
Conversational AI for CX is incredibly versatile and can be implemented into a variety of customer service channels, including voice, chat, and other digital channels. Consumers think it’s important that support calls pick up from where they last left off, a feature that’s made possible through voice transcription.
Conversational AI also has the power to essentially serve as a virtual assistant for your customers, and providing them with any information they need in real-time. Additionally, these automated intelligent virtual agents can take care of the note-taking and schedule follow-up appointments, so that actual live agents can focus on the more severe customer interactions.
Plum Voice has conversational AI which lets applications cut through the red tape and direct callers to the right self-service solution or the agent that’s right for their specific need. When customer calls are more intuitive, easier to use and closed faster it’s a win for everyone. In today’s IVR landscape, endless phone menus can be traded in for something such as an IVR system that can ask customers open-ended questions. As a result, the possibilities are endless.
What are the Benefits of Conversational AI?
The combination of NLP and AI powered virtual agents empowers customers to express their intent in their own words. The better you understand your customers, the better equipped you will be at providing the best experience possible.
Not only does conversational AI make the call process quicker and more efficient, but it’s also an opportunity to gain advantages over competition by jumping on this industry leading technology. Plum has found the most interesting benefit is that conversational IVR provides companies with a great deal of unique, and beneficial data from their customers. Which can then be utilized by company users to provide their customers with specific automated customer experiences.
VoIP Market and Conversation AI
While right now it may appear forward-thinking to try conversational AI, it’s only a matter of time before this becomes the industry standard. One only needs to look to the ever-growing VoIP market to know the time has come to get educated on the options now.
Conversational AI also has the power to essentially serve as a personal assistant to your call agents, providing them with information they need at the tip of their fingers. Additionally, these assistants can take care of the note-taking and schedule follow-up appointments so that agents can focus on the customer interaction.
How can Conversation AI be leveraged?
Understand Caller Intent
By determining caller intent quickly, a positive customer experience can be expedited. Consumers can describe in their own words what they need. Conversational AI lets applications cut through the red tape and direct callers to the right self-service solution or the agent that’s right for their specific need.
Speed Call Resolution
Prompts and phone tree menus can take time if the IVR application suite is extensive, creating a greater risk of caller frustration. AI and NLP can determine caller intent faster and decrease overall call time.
Creative Competitive Edge
Set your customer service apart from the competition by resolving customer inquiries more efficiently. Happy customers are easier to retain and more likely to give you word-of-mouth recommendations, and that can give your company a major edge.