You’ve probably heard of chatbots in your time with business technology. These AI-powered conversational intelligence tools help organizations manage customer service while providing satisfying results. The AI chatbot market currently sits at $3.78 billion, but researchers expect it to achieve a compound annual growth rate of 30.29% by 2027. Though many find the industry profitable, how do you know if conversational intelligence is good for your support team?
There are plenty of reasons why organizations should start using AI to stay on top of their consumers’ needs. However, there may also be areas where humans would be a better option. Here’s how to know if AI-powered conversational intelligence suits your business’s support team.
When AI Chatbots Can Be Beneficial
In the past, decision-makers could only rely on forms to allow their customers to contact them. Such a service may have been enough when instant gratification wasn’t the norm, but having this method as your primary interaction source is challenging. People want what they want — and they want it much faster than they used to.
These forms are costing you more than you realize. In fact, the average form conversion rate is only 3%-5%. If a visitor cannot find what they need on your website and the only way they can ask about it is if they fill out a form, they’ll likely go to a different source. Additionally, these put a massive delay on quick customer service, which can frustrate many. Your support team will also probably spend a lot of extra time filtering them before they can respond.
Introducing AI can speed up the process considerably. Even if you don’t use conversational intelligence, you could purchase or train a model to recognize how to sort queries so they go to the right people. It could also identify easily answerable questions and input a preprogrammed response to eliminate the number of forms your staff needs to address. Streamlining processes and speeding up response times makes your team and consumers happier.
However, you could go a step further and experience the benefits of AI chatbots. These tools remove your support team from having to answer easy questions, leaving them open to addressing more pressing matters. The model responds to consumers in the employee’s stead, offering solutions to simple questions such as, “Where can I find your product listings?”
AI-powered conversational intelligence could be great for your support team Ii your company has many customer service queries. They’ll experience work that challenges them while potentially producing better results because they spend more time on non-monotonous tasks. They could also be beneficial if you service customers globally and need something that can respond at any time of day. The bot takes pressure off your staff and also keeps customers happy.
Organizations that don’t get many requests but experience negative reviews may also want to consider a chatbot. It bears repeating that people want instant gratification more than ever when it comes to customer service. They don’t want to have to fill out a form and wait for an email or phone call from your business. A conversational intelligence model ensures you’re always available and can encourage more people to discuss an issue.
When Using Human Services Works Best
Though people worry about machines stealing their jobs, humans still have a role to play in support. A chatbot may be able to recommend a few troubleshooting options for a product, but it might not know what to do after a few rounds of trial and error. The solution may take another person to walk a customer through what they need to do, which is where the support team can step in and do their job.
Having a strong support staff may also always be necessary. A OnePoll and TCN Inc. survey found that 69% of people said they want to be able to talk to a person in a customer service department. Many don’t think a machine can help them as satisfactorily as another human, which is easy to understand. A person likely understands the ins and outs of a nuanced issue better than a chatbot, so don’t think you can replace your whole support team with AI.
You may also have to consider the costs. Extra expenses can include paying to host the model, managing the volume of interactions and monthly updates. Those recurring payments — which can be $500 on the high end — are in addition to building costs, which can range from $3,000 to $50,000. One company even spent $340,000 to craft its AI chatbot, with most of that price tag coming from increasing employee salaries. Investing in a conversational intelligence model may not be cost-effective for newer organizations.
That’s not to say AI isn’t worth the price. Returns on investments will vary from industry to industry, but one sales and marketing team saw their conversation increase by almost 25%. Such numbers added $3.7 million to their annual revenue. However, if your business isn’t large enough to support the cost, you may want to start by adding more human workers and making automation a future goal.
Consider AI-Powered Conversational Intelligence for Your Business’s Support Team
Chatbots are quickly becoming a feature consumers expect. Is it necessary for your support team? If you see them flooded with inquiries, customers unhappy with response times and have the money, an AI-powered conversational intelligence model can put your business over the top.
