August 1, 2018 4 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

AI powered customer service has picked up its fastest pace. It is a new revolution, which every industry is working on, to transform conventional customer service into AI-powered digital solutions and improve every aspect of customer journey including brand awareness, product knowledge, customer acquisition, after sales support and loyalty programs. According to marketing gurus by 2020 more than 80% of customer service will be conducted without engaging humans, it will be taken over by AI-powered Chatbots. With advanced systems powered by automated solutions, users can now book a restaurant reservation, order a pizza, book a movie ticket, hotel room and even make a clinic appointment. Customer service industry is gaining much momentum especially due to disruption of Artificial Intelligence – a technological breakthrough that has taken almost every business industry by storm.

Self-learning Bots

Good customer services have more chances of converting a lead to a sale and further develop that into a loyal customer. With AI coming into this space, brands should be able to respond to queries more quickly and accurately with the help of Self Learning Bots. AI Bots will be able to identify customer issues more promptly by limiting research time and give pre-emptive action plans.

Connecting to the customer service, especially via phone and making service request for repairs or maintenance job has always been a big pain point for customers. The long wait in the queue for speaking to a customer care assistant and following up with them for the service request is always annoying. Platforms powered by AI Chatbot, will help companies improve customer service and reduce the pain points of the customer, which in return will build customer satisfaction.

Versatile Nature

Implementing AI powered customer service has a significant advantage due to the massive level of conversations an AI Chatbot could perform with users, but it is very important that the answers or replies given by chatbots are validated and relevant. When your Chatbot gives the wrong answer it needs to have someone correct its understanding too. Therefore the most important factors to keep in mind while implementing Chatbots are the role of Machine Learning & NLP, the system to self learn and self improve.

AI Powered Customer Service chat can support and scale business teams in their relations with customers. Doing this helps businesses save a lot of money which is why businesses are adopting this technology. And given the fact that these it can be placed in places like Facebook Messenger, Slack, Telegram, SMS based or on your own website gives you the potential to reach a bigger audience.

Benefits of Having AI Powered Customer Service

Available 24*7: Bots are replacing live chat and other forms of contact such as emails and phone calls. Customer Handling: Chatbots can simultaneously have conversations with thousands of people. Cost Saving: Chatbots are a one time investment which helps in reducing down on staff required. Customer Satisfaction: Chatbots are bound by some rules and obey them as long as they’re programmed properly. They always treat a customer in the most polite and perfect way no matter how rough the person is. Work Automation: Chatbots now help automate tasks which are to be done frequently and at the right time. Sales Assistant: People could use Bots for getting product knowledge and suggestions on financial products. This would help the users get a more personal touch from the Chatbot. Monitoring Consumer Data & Gaining Insights: Chatbot will remember all your chats and provide you with relevant choices the next time you visit it. Better Lead Generation: Chatbots can ask the necessary and related questions, persuade the user and generate a lead for you. Chatbots ensure the flow is in the right direction to get higher conversion rates.

In today's world, where everything is managed and controlled by technology, it's about time companies start shifting to AI-powered customer service. It needs to be designed in a very specific manner where the pain points of a customer are addressed in the most effective and efficient manner with minimal errors. This is possible only with the help of customer service powered by AI & Chatbots. It will be able to identify customer issues more quickly, it can define customer behavior patterns and prompt with proactive replies. It can multitask and offer 24x7 real-time support. It can minimize customer abandonment rate and complaints.

I have always believed that "customers are your biggest brand ambassadors" if they are happy, they will always be loyal to your brand. AI-powered customer service will have such wide scope of intelligent and efficient capability that it will only leave behind rich and satisfied customer experience. It is a one-time investment with timeless merits.