How Conversational AI Transforms Customer Support

Conversational AI is revolutionizing customer support. Discover various tips and how-tos on implementing it in your business today.

How Conversational AI Transforms Customer Support
Created time
Feb 16, 2024 07:27 AM
Image
conversational-ai-customer-support.webp
Publish date
Feb 19, 2024
Slug
conversational-ai-customer-service-transformation
Featured
Featured
Type
Article
Ready to Publish
Ready to Publish
You already know how useful artificial intelligence (AI) tools are, especially with the influence of popular tools like ChatGPT and Google Bard. Now, put them under the context of conversations and customer support.
In this article, we’ll explain what conversational AI is, how it benefits your business, and tips on how to design a customer support AI that works for you.

What is Conversational AI?

Conversational AI allows computers to understand and respond to humans as if they’re part of a natural conversation. Think of it like you’re talking to someone, except that the other “person” is composed of a screen, mouse, keyboard, and other computer components.
It can actually be broken down into two key parts:
  • Machine learning:After the AI understands your words, it relies on machine learning to send out a proper response. They’re trained on massive sets of data, including conversations, allowing them to learn patterns in human text.
These two pieces of technology let conversational AI understand open-ended questions (aside from those that need “yes” or “no” answers). They also allow it to maintain context throughout the conversation.

Benefits of Conversational AI for Customer Support

How you can use conversational AI to power your business’s customer support mainly varies based on your needs. However, here are some solid benefits to using it.

1. 24/7 Customer Support

Conversational AI allows your business to offer round-the-clock support regardless of time zone or holiday. This would be particularly helpful if your business operates in multiple locations. It will enable your customers to get help whenever they need it, which consequently leads to increased satisfaction and loyalty.

2. Quicker Responses

When it comes to client support, customers usually get dissatisfied due to lengthy email chains and a lot of waiting time. Conversational AI can solve this. For example, chatbots can answer FAQs and handle simple requests instantly. When more complex issues are at hand, they can escalate them to human agents without delay.

3. Scalability

AI can respond to multiple customers at once, even at scales that your current customer support team cannot handle simultaneously. This allows you to take in more support requests at a time, provide prompt responses, and increase efficiency.
Moreover, the automated responses and other efficient tasks that AI helps your team with make it easier to manage the pressure. This way, you won’t need to add new people to your staff.

4. Keeps Information Consistent

Different team members handling the same issue might provide inconsistent responses. AI helps resolve that by relying on centralized knowledge, ensuring everyone can deliver the same information.
Automated responses based on defined parameters also minimize the risk of typos, misunderstandings, or missed details, further promoting reliable information delivery.
Despite these benefits, keep in mind that the development of conversational AI has yet to reach the point where it can completely replace human support. There could always be cases that require higher levels of expertise that computers can’t provide.
So, how do you implement it in your business?

Implementing Conversational AI for Customer Support

Before trying to integrate conversational AI into your customer support, it’s crucial that you first understand what it can do for you. Here are some of its most common use cases:
  • Answering frequently asked questions
  • Sending out request updates
  • Simplifying return/refund processes
  • Recommending products or services
  • Data collection
  • Suggesting basic troubleshooting help
  • Answering customer questions in their country’s language
AI cannot process tasks that relate to judgment and emotion—these are best handled by human support.
After understanding such limitations, here’s how you choose the right conversational AI platform for your business:
  • Easy integration:AI chatbots and assistants should be easy to integrate into your website and other APIs (Salesforce, Slack, etc.). Additionally, their user interfaces should be intuitive to use.
  • Good reputation:You’ll be delegating your conversational AI at the front of your business—it will represent your brand. As such, its responses should stick only to the content that you provided it with, removing the risk of inaccurate and offensive answers.
  • Security:Pick a conversational AI that has little to no reported issues when it comes to data privacy. Customers want their information protected, and you need to ensure that.Check My AskAI’s security documentation.
  • Reporting capabilities:Make sure that your conversational AI can provide you with good reports. By leveraging various metrics, you know how to improve your AI’s responses, how it integrates into your team, and other considerations.
  • Pricing:AI with good features often comes with a reasonable price. Weigh the costs against the benefits, and opt for one that suits your business’s current finances.
If you’re familiar with big brands like Toyota, Nissan, Lexus, and UPS, you might be surprised to know that they used Jetlink to build their AI chatbots. Just check out their platforms, and if you want to build one like theirs, Jetlink might be worth considering.
Features:
  • Omnichannel support (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and more)
  • Three-layer NLP engine
  • Multi-language support
  • Analytics for both chatbots and conversational AI
Pricing:Available upon request

My AskAI

notion image
If you’re looking for affordable but effective AI-powered customer support for your business, My AskAI might be the one for you. With its easy-to-use AI builders, it allows you to create interactive chatbots even without having a deep foundation in program development.
The best thing about it? You can quickly integrate My AskAI into your website with just a single line of code.
Features:
  • Logo customization and color palette
  • Auto-syncing of your website content, including all edits and modifications, every week
  • Insights dashboard (auto-generated and sorted by topic)
Pricing:
  • Free— Up to 50 conversations per month.
  • Essentials— $13.30 per month. Up to 200 conversations.
  • Enterprise— Available upon request.

Kindly

Kindly would be a good choice for those looking for simple but potent AI chatbots for their businesses. One thing to like about it is that it offers ready-to-use chatbots that need little customization. It integrates with platforms like Zendesk and HubSpot.
Features:
  • Multi-language support
  • Forms for an easier and more structured data collection
  • Intuitive bot builders
  • Data insights
Pricing:Available upon request

Best Practices for Utilizing Conversational AI in Customer Support

Regardless of your platform, here are a few best practices to apply to ensure that your conversational AI remains beneficial for your business.

Designing Effective Chatbot Interactions

When building your AI-powered chatbot, your first and most important step is to understand what your customers need. Think about the following:
  • What problems do they commonly encounter?
  • Do you already have an FAQ section or blogs where your customers can find answers to basic queries?
  • How long does it take for your customers to get their requests answered?
Once you answer these questions, you can now do these design best practices:
  • Set clear expectations for your AI chatbot’s capabilities.Display right away what it can and cannot do on its opening interface. Also, provide users with the option to speak to human support.
  • Offer multiple interaction options.For example, offer users the option to change the conversation language. Alternatively, let them choose between text, voice, or other modes.
  • Ensure accessibility.Make sure that people with disabilities can use your chatbot.
  • Provide clear choices.Present users with well-defined options instead of open-ended questions. This would be especially useful if you already have an FAQ page or knowledge base.
  • Integrate your AI with relevant systems.Connect it to databases, knowledge bases, and other resources that will help it answer your customer’s questions.
Don’t forget to disclose that the users are interacting with an AI to avoid misleading them. Also, ensure that user data is collected and used ethically and responsibly.

Continuous Improvement and Training

It’s crucial that you train your conversational AI on industry-specific knowledge. Particularly, train them on information that your business offers and works with. Think of why you can’t useChatGPTor Bard for customer support (they’re too consumer-focused and generalized).
After training your AI, keeping its source datasets up-to-date would be your next crucial step. This involves training it on newer data, tracking performance metrics, and more. This way:
  • Your AI can understand any changes in slang, idioms, and online expressions.
  • It can accurately predict user preferences and expectations (by leveraging user feedback).
  • False and misleading information is minimized.

Final Thoughts

Conversational AI is making waves in the customer support industry. While it’s incapable of completely replacing human support when it comes to decision-making, it allows businesses like yours to deliver prompt responses and ensure better customer satisfaction at lower costs.
More and more businesses are integrating conversational AI into their websites. Start creating yours withMy AskAItoday.

Start using AI customer support in your business today

Create free AI agent

Written by

Alex Rainey
Alex Rainey

Alex is an experienced CTO and founder who largely focuses on all the technical areas of My AskAI, from AI Engineering, Technical Product Management and overall Platform Development.

Related posts

Mastering Customer Support Automation

Mastering Customer Support Automation

Propel your business with customer support automation. Learn how to bring sterling blitz support service in this guide.

Save Time With Customer Support Automation

Save Time With Customer Support Automation

Read on to learn some useful tactics to save time with customer support automation.

Tips for Improving Customer Support

Tips for Improving Customer Support

Discover effective tips for improving customer support in your business, from leveraging AI tools to creating personalized interactions for your clients.

Best Practices to Implement Conversational AI

Best Practices to Implement Conversational AI

Get to know how to create and implement conversational AI for your business’s customer support in this guide.

Choosing the Best Help Desk Software for Your Business (2024)

Choosing the Best Help Desk Software for Your Business (2024)

In this article, we’ll guide you through the entire process of choosing help desk software for improved customer support.

Best Zendesk Integrations for Support Teams in 2024

Best Zendesk Integrations for Support Teams in 2024

Read on to discover how Zendesk integrations can supercharge your support team’s efficiency and customer satisfaction.

AI Chatbots to Revolutionize Call Centers in the Next 12 Months

AI Chatbots to Revolutionize Call Centers in the Next 12 Months

Tata’s BPO head predicts minimal need for call centres as AI chatbots revolutionize customer support. Discover how AI like ChatGPT is set to transform front-line roles and enhance business efficiency. Start integrating AI in your support strategy today for future benefits.

This is what happens when your support doesn’t respond right away

This is what happens when your support doesn’t respond right away

Discover why customer support response times under 15 seconds are crucial. Learn how AI agents can revolutionize your support by providing instant responses, reducing ticket volumes, and keeping customers satisfied before they get frustrated. Enhance your support experience with technology.

5 Steps to Choosing the Right AI Agent for Customer Support

5 Steps to Choosing the Right AI Agent for Customer Support

Discover a simple 5-step process to select the best AI agent for customer support, focusing on vendor selection, metrics, question lists, implementation, and rollout strategy.

The Future of AI: Limitless Capabilities and Instant Responses

The Future of AI: Limitless Capabilities and Instant Responses

Discover how AI advancements are accelerating product development and what the future holds with almost limitless capabilities and instant responses.

Unlocking the Best AI Support Agent Setup: Our Journey

Unlocking the Best AI Support Agent Setup: Our Journey

Discover the complexities of setting up an AI support agent and how MyAskAI.com excels in delivering top-quality answers for B2B SaaS businesses.

AI Revolutionizes Customer Support: No More Barriers

AI Revolutionizes Customer Support: No More Barriers

Discover how AI support agents are transforming customer support by eliminating barriers and providing instant assistance. Learn about the evolution and benefits of AI in customer service.

Boost Your Growth with Top-Notch Customer Support

Boost Your Growth with Top-Notch Customer Support

Discover how exceptional customer support can enhance user feedback, retention, and growth for your B2B SaaS business. Learn the benefits and tips from a founder's perspective.

How We Scaled AI Customer Support to Handle 71,617 Conversations

How We Scaled AI Customer Support to Handle 71,617 Conversations

Discover how we scaled our AI customer support to handle over 71,000 conversations in 30 days, improving stability and reducing reliance on third-party providers.