The evolution of customer service which has seen the widespread introduction of robotic call routing, is less than two or three decades old. Until recently only the largest of companies used automatic call routing services and even some of the larger firms preferred to stick to traditional reception directed calls. The human voice being deemed in such cases far more preferable to the customer than the robotic alternative.
Today customer service takes place on the phone, by text, social media or via an online chat box. The quality of response from automated customer services has, unsurprisingly, improved over the years. With AI heralding the most exciting development to date.
The argument for automated systems of customer service
Start up businesses with relatively low call volume have the advantage of the personal touch in the early stages of growth. However, the early stages of growth can be the most demanding and financially difficult to manage. Being able to manage increasing call volume without the need to employ others takes the pressure off the purse strings when you need it most.
If the automated element of your customer service is set up correctly you should be informed about the reason for the call. You might also know whether the caller is an existing customer or a new lead, how they heard about your business and any other reasonable information you might choose to gather.
Automated call answering systems used to be for information gathering and call directing only. Today however, they can be designed to deal with the basic questions a potential customer might have about your business. Apart from creating leads, chat bots and social media could turn a cold lead to a warm or hot one before you’ve even spoken to a potential new customer.
The argument against automated systems for customer service
While AI has improved the quality of response with such automated systems, we’re not quite at the stage of perfection yet. For years customers were put off by automated call answering services that trafficked their call to the right person or no person at all. Over and over again such systems asked questions only to misunderstand the response and misdirect the call.
Automated call answering services allow businesses to connect the call quickly. But by doing so the customer incurs unnecessary cost to their phone bill if then made to wait lengthy times on hold until finally being put through to a human being.
This experience can leave a potential or existing customer frustrated and is why businesses tend to use such automated call answering systems for servicing existing accounts instead of on sales lines for potential new customers.
When automated customer service systems work well they can reduce cost to the business, increase efficiency and provide invaluable information. With the introduction of recent developments in AI both the quality and customer experience of such systems are set to radically improve.
Impact of AI
The impact of large language models such as ChatGPT has enabled written and spoken responses to questions to become almost human like. Avatar voices have improved over time and will continue to do so. This means that automated customer service systems, fed with data and other information about a company and its products, should be able to respond to most early stage enquiries.
Chatbots can be trained to understand when to refer questions to a human customer service representative and will improve as more questions are asked. There is a potential for chatbots to use data to understand customer behaviour and preferences to deliver personalised responses. This information is likely to improve sales and help define the target market. Interaction with the chatbots of the future will no longer frustrate customers but will provide a useful tool accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
And finally…
While AI is enabling businesses to offer a more comprehensive customer experience, it doesn’t address all customer needs. The likely ideal scenario will involve automated customer service systems alongside traditional human interaction. There are some subjects which require empathy for which a human intervention is required. For instance feedback and complaints would be better handled by a human. However, the evolving nature of customer service tools offer the potential to inform and assist both the customer and business.