Can AI become your brand ambassador?
In the presence of COVID-19 uncertainty, we have seen exponential growth in the demand for digital services, and in return an accelerated move to automated customer service. Whilst the cost-cutting and time-saving benefits of bots are obvious, the challenge to remain authentically human whilst providing a consistent experience across channels emerges. Too often businesses get really excited about new technology, which leads to decisions being technology-led as opposed to customer-led, killing the customer experience. As conversational agents evolve in capability and become the new norm, I wanted to explore what the new standard for customer service looks like today, and beyond this pandemic.
What are automated customer services?
Let’s start with the basics — what is a bot? When we discuss a bot, or AI, or a conversational agent or a virtual assistant, we are referring to the same thing: an application that performs tasks on behalf of a user using natural language like speaking or typing as an interface. Conversational AI can be accessed across a number of interfaces, such a messaging platforms or voice-activated services. Traditionally bots have been used for high-frequency common questions, but in more recent years their use cases have expanded to the classroom, healthcare, and financial services. More than ever, chatbot experiences are contributing to…
