How AI Is Transforming Customer Experience

Your customers are looking for instant answers, fast issue resolution, and consistency. It doesn’t matter if they reach out to you over the phone or through chat, they expect their needs to be met quickly and efficiently. Around-the-clock customer support (with a smile) may sound like a daunting task, but you can improve everyday customer experience by leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI).

Robots have been doing humans’ jobs for decades. Though the extent to which they can provide human-like interactions is constantly evolving and improving. Finding the right blend of human and machine is key to marrying the efficiency of a robot with the warm fuzzies of a real, live person—though robots are fairly in touch with emotions these days too!

Ways that AI can revolutionize your customer experience strategy

Efficient Self-Service Options

According to Gartner, we can expect 85% of customer interactions to be managed by chatbots by 2020. That’s because chatbots and virtual assistants can immediately answer common customer service questions and resolve simple problems efficiently. This frees up your customer service representatives to deal with more difficult issues. And it’s great news for your customers. They are able to get on with their day instead of waiting on hold or for an email response. Chatbots also improve efficiency by routing inquiries, interpreting incoming messages, and drafting initial responses to shorten both wait and call times. 

Consistent Experience

Customers today expect a consistent experience no matter how or when they’re reaching out to you. Not easy in our multichannel, multitouch world! It requires sifting through reams of data to identify behavioral patterns that give you a deeper understanding of your customers—who they are, what they need, and how they want to engage with you. Using AI to analyze granular data lets you standardize processes and responses to ensure they meet your customers’ expectations. When you combine the insights gained from this data with strong, on-brand communications across all channels, you are able to deliver focused and consistent experiences for all your customers. 

Personalized Interactions and Content

AI technology has grown by leaps and bounds in the personalization department. Vastly improved is its ability to quickly digest large amounts of data around individual customer behavior, communication preferences, and purchasing patterns. Through data mining and enhanced machine learning, AI uses predictive analysis to improve customer interactions and make better recommendations. The result is an ability to deliver an experience that makes customers feel like their needs are being met by a company that knows them and that the content and/or products are specifically tailored to their needs.

(Always) Friendly Customer Service

Who among us doesn’t occasionally have a bad day? A robot, that’s who. Understandably, humans are going to have off days now and then. Combine a demanding customer with an unhappy service rep and that’s a recipe for a subpar customer experience. AI can help. It doesn’t matter if a customer is upset or angry, a chatbot can be programmed to respond with patience, and it won’t take offense.

Proactive Customer Service

Solving problems before they arise used to be a tall order. With the help of AI, you now have the ability to collect and act on customer data in real time. AI can identify a potential problem or stumbling block so bots or reps can resolve it quickly, or before it even happens. Equipping a chatbot or customer service rep with information on a customer’s history with your company, issues they may have had in the past, and personal preferences shows your customers that you’re proactively trying to make their customer experience better instead of just reacting when something goes wrong.

Leverage Customer Data to Develop a Comprehensive CX Strategy

MIT Sloan found that 85% of business pioneers agree that they have an urgent need for an AI strategy. Whether you’re on the frontier of AI or not, it should be top of mind as you build out your overall CX plan. Harnessing the strength of AI analytics gives you access to billions of insights from each unique customer journey helping you customize customer experiences, find new business opportunities, and stimulate product development.

Unlike humans, who can actually experience information overload, AI thrives on data. The more, the better. Even the most steadfast data miners have to use smaller data sets because they simply can’t process the same amount of information with the speed and accuracy of AI. As a result, humans often uncover less detailed findings. A well executed CX strategy uses AI like a crystal ball. It helps predict future customer behaviors and teaches you invaluable lessons on how you can improve your CX initiatives.

Smarten Up Your CX with KUBRA IQ

KUBRA IQ is a self-service solution that allows your customers to interact with you through an intelligent chatbot using natural language processing to replicate human speech. It will help your customers pay bills using Facebook Messenger, report a power outage on Twitter, and even teach them how to reduce their energy usage—from the comfort of their home, or when they’re on the go. Now that’s intelligent customer experience!