Trends in the customer service space are showing that by the year 2020, the use of chatbots, a form of artificial intelligence, will skyrocket by 1000%. While 86% of consumers want to enhance the experience by keeping a person as an option and 88% of consumers think that live agents should just be more specialized experts, artificial intelligence is becoming a central element of customer service, even in small businesses.
One reason for this is how AI learn. AI generally follow one of two paths of learning―machine learning and deep learning. Through machine learning, machines running on AI improve their work through trial-and-error experience. The learn how to be as efficient as possible and make less and less mistakes. Through deep learning, AI form neural networks. These neural networks create systems for logically analyzing a task a series of tasks and determine the most probable solutions.
Through these learning methods, AI create what is called actionable intelligence. Actionable intelligence is information that businesses use to strategize management, marketing, sales, outreach, and a multitude of other departments in pursuit of growth. Actionable intelligence is incredibly useful to small businesses. It can pinpoint the most efficient business decisions and replicate them as the business moves into the future while interpreting the effects of external factors, such as the economy, competition, and changes in the industry.
Many customers find the use of AI marginally unsettling. The multi-industry shift to automation has people worried, and not just about their jobs. When asked what they find to be the scariest thing about artificial intelligence, 33% of respondents said that bots won’t know them as well as a person can and nearly a quarter of respondents said that they believe that bots will enslave humanity. AI is predicted to relinquish the need for human workers in a multitude of industries, but solutions, such as universal basic income, are already being tested in Canada and California this year.
While these fears are understandable, the great majority of people say they are willing to use AI if they felt it was saving them time and money. AI used by Netflix, IKEA, and the Mall of America are already doing just that, with bots running on algorithms which make the customer experience quicker and more satisfying. In the small business world, AI are able to improve services and relationships with consumers.
AI is becoming much less costly as the technology is developed, which means that small businesses need not be at a disadvantage. Learn more about the role of AI in customer service with the infographic below, provided by CallMiner.
Trending Articles
