With the digital revolution and technological advancements, automation is all around us to aid with a wide range of tasks. From ordering pizza and checking luggage at the airport to booking appointments with your doctor, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) have changed the way that we do many things. The customer service industry is not exempt from this artificial intelligence takeover. Today, many experts suggest that around 85 percent of all customer interactions can be handled without the assistance of a live agent.
Given the importance of quality customer interactions and providing a good experience, many companies and organizations have turned to artificial intelligence capabilities to overhaul their traditional call centers. While AI is still an evolving technology, it has the ability to reduce operational costs, personalize the customer experience, provide actionable analytics, and increase customer agent efficiency. AI call centers employ the latest technology along with knowledgeable human agents to help companies develop the most advanced and efficient customer service operations.
AI call centers are creating a pathway for businesses to develop real-time customer service operations and enhance both the customer and call center agent experience. Let’s take a look at some reasons why you might consider switching to an AI call center.
1. Streamlined Lower-Level Inquiries
One of the biggest problems that traditional contact centers face is processing and handling high volumes of basic support issues. Dealing with these low-level inquiries slows down the process and impedes the ability to focus on more complex matters. Automated customer support bots can significantly relieve pressure on call centers and reduce wait times by dealing with simple requests. It is suggested that around 80 percent of commonly asked tier-1 inquiries can be handled using interactive voice response and other software capabilities.
The purpose of customer support bots is not to replace your human agents but to reduce the call log and allow them to focus on more complex tickets. The benefits of this include allowing agents to provide better customer service and improving agent productivity and efficiency.
2. Lower Operating Costs
It is expected that chatbots and other AI capabilities can save businesses around $8 billion per year. With companies devoting a significant portion of their budgets to call center operations, implementing AI technology can lower overall operating costs. With AI bots handling many lower-level customer interactions, customer service agents can process more calls and decrease the per-call cost to companies.
Aside from per-call costs, companies spend around $8,000 to hire and train each customer service agent. Unfortunately, staff attrition is a common problem with many call centers, and companies must continue to spend money hiring new agents. AI technology relieves pressure on agents and gives them the resources to be successful. As a result, many companies have reported a sharp decrease in turnover. Implementing an AI-capable call center can speed up response times, create intuitive self-service channels, increase agent productivity, and save organizations an estimated 30 percent in customer experience costs.
3. More Customer Service Opportunities
Automated customer service technology is not constrained by business hours, time zones, or holidays. As a result, organizations have the ability to deliver contact center services to resolve issues as soon as they are needed. Even when your customer service agents are unavailable, AI chatbots can provide an exceptional customer experience. Customers can have many issues resolved 24 hours a day and don’t have to wait hours or days to get a response. This can have a significant impact on customer satisfaction. It will also help promote your brand reputation and trust among your customers.
AI advances present call centers with powerful tools to support agents, improve efficiency, cut costs, and enhance the customer experience. The fusion between live human agents and machine-led insights is revolutionizing the face of customer care.