We all know that AI plays a huge role in the way companies operate. AI programs and services help change everything from data collection and processing in the marketing department to boarding in the HR department. While AI and automation have enormous value in terms of time and cost savings for a company, there is another area where AI promises even more significant and more meaningful returns. And that's the customer experience. We all know that the customer experience is at the root of digital transformation. Any technical decision we make should return to this basis.
The huge increase in data is accompanied by the opportunity to use the data for machine learning and AI, which can improve customers' daily experience. It is also important to note that good AI must start with the right data, together with sound data science practice, or the results may be less than impressive. So with keeping all those in thoughts, let's take a look at the four most prominent ways that AI changes the customer experience.
Empowering Self-service: One of the best aspects of AI is that it eliminates the need to wait for the next pending agent on hold to help me with a simple problem with an invoice, product, or service. AI has changed all that, allowing companies to use chatbots and virtual assistants to answer common customer service questions, allowing customers to log in and out easily.
Improving Personalization: Another important way AI changes the customer experience is through the provision of personalized content. This is an era when we rarely have to look for products that will make our lives easier. Based on your past history, it's now so easy to find a recommendation. Here I am talking about the videos and movies on Netflix or YouTube, the recommended music on Spotify, and whatnot. AI essentially puts hipsters into business, bringing all content to the fore. This is an era where everyone knows everything that has to do with their needs and wants. AI has also found itself in the cloud, where companies are putting their data together where they can analyze through a faster overview.
Available 24/7: Another bonus of AI: it never has to sleep. Like empowering customers through self-service, AI allows customers to provide round-the-clock support - something most companies can't afford or employees in old age. What's more, round-the-clock support is not just a "good CX" - it's a contribution to today's market table. Most customers are opposed to waiting for your doors to open to get answers to their biggest account questions. AI makes it possible.
Allowing for Automated Life Assistance: Most of us use Alexa to turn on music or turn off lights. However, more and more companies are using Alexa, Google Home, and other robotic technologies to make customers' lives easier. For example, banks connect with Alexa and Google Home to allow customers to schedule transfers and pay bills. Stores allow them to order products by voice. Cinemas allow them to buy tickets, pick seats, and pre-order popcorn before they even leave the road - even without jumping into smartphones. These are the ways in which AI has entirely changed the customer experience, and these use cases only grow as AI expands outward.
Of course, all of the above ways in which AI transforms the customer experience are the best-case scenario. The goal of using AI to improve customer experience is to help your customers feel known and valued. Bad AI has the opposite effect every time for your business. All of us who have read this article have probably had a bad AI experience - which did not examine deep enough into our repositories of personal data, did not use the right algorithm, and did not have the right 'emotional intelligence' control. In such situations, AI can make your business worse. That to make things right, the best way is to follow: test, retest, and test again- from the customer's point of view - all the AI that you put in place.
