AI Business Processes - Customer Service
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming business processes across industries. In customer service, AI can enhance key processes like inquiry handling, order tracking, customer support, and more. This guide explores how AI can improve major customer service processes and details the capabilities of modern customer support AI bots.
References:
- https://medium.com/vimeo-engineering-blog/from-idea-to-reality-elevating-our-customer-support-through-generative-ai-101a2c5ea680
- ChatGPT provided better customer service than his staff. He fired them.
See Also:https://chatgen.ai/
Key Customer Service Processes Enhanced by AI
Inquiry and Complaint Handling
AI can improve inquiry and complaint handling by:
- Automating tasks like data entry, routing, and tracking
- Identifying patterns in inquiries and complaints
- Providing insights into impacts on the business
- Personalizing customer interactions
Specific AI tools like IBM Watson, Workday, and SAP SuccessFactors are automating tasks, identifying patterns, and providing insights for inquiry and complaint handling.
Benefits include reduced costs, improved efficiency, increased visibility, and enhanced agility.
Order Processing and Tracking
AI can improve order processing and tracking by:
- Automating data entry, routing, fulfillment and other tasks
- Identifying patterns related to orders
- Providing insights into order impacts
- Personalizing customer interactions
Tools like IBM Watson, Workday, and SAP SuccessFactors are automating tasks, identifying patterns, and providing insights to enhance order processing and tracking.
Benefits include reduced costs, improved accuracy, increased visibility, and enhanced agility.
Warranty and Returns Management
AI can enhance warranty and returns management by:
- Automating tasks like data entry, routing, and processing
- Identifying patterns in warranty and returns data
- Providing insights into impacts on the business
- Personalizing customer interactions
Tools like IBM Watson, Workday, and SAP SuccessFactors are automating tasks, identifying patterns, and providing insights to improve warranty and returns management.
Benefits include reduced costs, improved efficiency, increased visibility, and enhanced agility.
Customer Support and Helpdesk
AI can improve customer support and helpdesk functions by:
- Automating tasks like data entry, routing, and responding to inquiries
- Identifying patterns in customer support data
- Providing insights into impacts on the business
- Personalizing customer interactions
Tools like IBM Watson, Workday, and SAP SuccessFactors are automating tasks, identifying patterns, and providing insights to enhance customer support and helpdesk operations.
Benefits include reduced costs, improved accuracy, increased visibility, and enhanced agility.
Service Level Agreement Management
AI can improve service level agreement (SLA) management by:
- Automating tasks like data entry, tracking, and reporting
- Identifying patterns in SLA data
- Providing insights into SLA impacts
- Personalizing customer interactions
Tools like IBM Watson, Workday, and SAP SuccessFactors are automating tasks, identifying patterns, and providing insights to enhance SLA management.
Benefits include reduced costs, improved efficiency, increased visibility, and enhanced agility.
Customer Feedback and Satisfaction Measurement
AI can improve customer feedback and satisfaction measurement by:
- Automating tasks like data entry, analysis, and reporting
- Identifying patterns in customer feedback data
- Providing insights into satisfaction impacts
- Personalizing customer interactions
Tools like IBM Watson, Workday, and SAP SuccessFactors are automating tasks, identifying patterns, and providing insights to enhance customer feedback and satisfaction measurement.
Benefits include reduced costs, improved efficiency, increased visibility, and enhanced agility.
Call Center Operations
AI can improve call center operations by:
- Automating tasks like data entry, routing, and answering questions
- Identifying patterns in call center data
- Providing insights into impacts of operations
- Personalizing customer interactions
Tools like IBM Watson, Workday, and SAP SuccessFactors are automating tasks, identifying patterns, and providing insights to enhance call center operations.
Benefits include reduced costs, improved accuracy, increased visibility, and enhanced agility.
Live Chat and Email Support
AI can improve live chat and email support by:
- Automating common question responses
- Personalizing responses to customers
- Proactively reaching out to customers
- Analyzing customer feedback and sentiment
Companies like LivePerson, Zendesk, and HubSpot are using AI to automate responses, personalize interactions, and analyze sentiment for improved live chat and email support.
Benefits include reduced costs, improved efficiency, increased visibility, and enhanced agility.
Knowledge Base Management
AI can enhance knowledge base management by:
- Automating content creation and optimization
- Automatically categorizing and tagging articles
- Enabling semantic search capabilities
- Providing personalized recommendations
- Integrating across other systems
- Continuously monitoring and improving content
Overall, AI can make knowledge bases more efficient, accurate, and user-friendly.
Customer Retention and Loyalty Programs
AI can improve customer retention and loyalty programs by:
- Enabling personalized marketing and promotions
- Identifying customer segments for tailored programs
- Predicting customer churn and other trends
- Monitoring real-time customer interactions and feedback
- Optimizing program components like rewards or communication channels
- Detecting fraudulent activity to protect programs
- Integrating loyalty programs with other systems like CRM
AI allows companies to create more relevant, engaging customer experiences leading to improved retention and loyalty.
Functions of the Modern Customer Support AI Bot
Modern customer support AI bots have expanded capabilities beyond basic query resolution. Key functions include:
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
| Instant Response | Chatbots provide immediate answers to common customer inquiries, reducing wait times. |
| Feedback Collection | Bots survey customers post-interaction to gather feedback for service improvement. |
| Ticket Management | AI categorizes, prioritizes, and routes support tickets to appropriate agents. |
| Self-Service Solutions | AI guides customers to independently resolve issues, reducing human agent load. |
| Multi-Platform Integration | Bots provide support across platforms like social media, email, messaging apps. |
| Ticket Prioritization | AI assigns priority to incoming support requests based on predefined criteria. |
| Knowledge Base Search | Bots quickly search knowledge bases to provide users relevant articles or FAQs. |
| Sentiment Analysis | AI detects customer mood and adjusts responses accordingly, escalating if needed. |
| Follow-up Reminders | Bots send automated follow-ups to check if issues are resolved. |
| Predictive Suggestions | AI anticipates customer issues and proactively offers solutions. |
| Live Chat Handoff | Bots transfer conversations to human agents when needed without repetition. |
| Interactive Media Assistance | Bots use images, videos, GIFs to illustrate solutions and guide customers. |
| Automated Troubleshooting | AI guides users step-by-step through troubleshooting common issues. |
| Multi-Language Support | Bots offer customer support in multiple languages. |
| Downtime Alerts | AI proactively notifies customers of outages or maintenance. |
| User Behavior Analysis | Bots analyze user behavior to identify issues and inform product development. |
| Integration with CRM | Accessing customer history data allows bots to personalize support. |
| Order Tracking | When integrated with ecommerce platforms, bots provide real-time order updates. |
| Billing and Payment Support | Bots assist users with billing, refunds, and payment queries. |
| Upselling and Cross-Selling | AI recommends relevant products/services based on purchase history. |
| Scheduled Support | Customers can schedule callbacks or support sessions. |
| Security Verification | Bots incorporate authentication measures to protect user information. |
| Training and Learning | Bots continuously improve response accuracy by learning from interactions. |
| Collaboration with Other Bots | Customer support bots integrate with other bots to deliver holistic experiences. |