With advances in technology come opportunities to improve interactions with customers. Companies are actively incorporating these tools, with 65% using AI and 64% offering customer self-service solutions, according to Capterra’s 2023 CX Investments Survey. In addition, nearly all Fortune 1000 companies (99%) are actively investing in AI, per research from NewVantage Partners. Shoppers who have a seamless experience may be more likely to make a purchase and come back again for more products. Using AI has the potential to increase corporate profitability by an average of 38% by 2035, according to data from Accenture.
Consider the following ways to use AI to improve the customer experience:
1. Shopping Assistants with the Right Data
These virtual texting assistants are available 24/7 to address customer inquiries. With this tool, a business has the chance to help a customer immediately, which can make them feel valued and well cared for. It will be important to make sure the shopping assistant has the correct data to use, so that the answers are as accurate as possible.
2. Accelerating Repetitive Tasks for Customer Care
There are generally many tasks that need to be repeated for customers, such as helping them deal with common issues. Having a section for FAQs on a website could be a good starting point. Then, AI could be used by an agent to summarize a customer’s case, which would allow them to get up to speed quickly and offer help. Or AI might view a customer message and use new information to draft a written reply. These tools can save agents several minutes for every case, which can add up over time.
3. Connecting Automation with AI for Action
AI could be used to make suggestions on the next steps to take. For instance, AI might recommend what to do for a customer case, based on the information it has. Perhaps AI sees that the customer has a faulty product, and thus suggests ordering a replacement from the warehouse. By connecting AI to order management technology, a customer care representative can click ‘Take Action’ and the AI can execute that task. This saves the agent from having to manually work through all the steps to arrange the shipment of the replacement item.
4. The Chance to Scale Personalization
Personalizing the customer experience and creating one-on-one settings is a common goal, but often hard to master. With today’s AI tools, content such as text, images, audio, and video can all be personalized in real time based on the customer’s data. This means that emails, text messages, websites, and apps can act as chameleons. They are able to react in real time to create very personalized content, promotions, and messaging.
5. Enabling Employees to Better Serve
Workers in a physical store can access systems and apps to help them stay on top of inventory levels. If a customer walks in and asks for an item that isn’t in the location, an employee can check to see if it’s nearby. They might also look for other colors or sizes. A worker could line up a delivery for items that are not available in the local area. All these tasks can be carried out with a few touches on a screen.
6. Giving Customers Options
For many customers today, the idea of going into an actual store to make a small purchase may seem like a hassle. They could prefer to tell a voice-connected device what they want, and have it ordered for them. Or they might want to browse on their laptop at night. They may ask a simple question to a virtual shopping assistant, and then connect with a company representative for a more complex issue. AI creates opportunities for shoppers to get the information they want, when they want it.
When companies use AI for their customer service needs, employees may find they can focus on individuals and high-level tasks. Buyers might appreciate the flexibility these tools provide. Companies can provide an improved experience, which could lead to higher revenues too.
