From marketers to retail salesmen, Artificial Intelligence-based tools (AI tools) have become essential for every member of the global supply chain. Most worldwide consumers worldwide have contacted some AI-based agencies without knowing about them. The ultimate goal? To provide personalized, time-efficient, and ‘perfect’ customer experiences.
Is it possible to perfect customer experiences? In the past, most customer experience experts would’ve said no. But, access to highly advanced AI-powered customer relationship management (CRM) tools is slowly making this dream scenario a strong possibility.
The Rise of AI in the Customer Experience Industry
A Gartner report from 2019 stated that 25% of all customer-to-business interactions were carried out using AI and Machine Learning (ML) tools. The report also said that 90% of companies specializing in customer experience plan to switch to AI tools by 2022. The following year, that number will increase by 40%. Implementation of AI-powered tools like Virtual Customer Assistants and automated chatbots is inevitable.
These tools can detect customer qualms and complaints within seconds. Many of these AI-powered tools can even solve it on the spot. Hence, AI technology in the customer experience industry is inevitable.
More and more enterprise businesses realize the importance of AI tools to improve customer experiences. Here are the main factors fueling this rapid switch to AI-powered devices -
Process Infinite Customer Data
The phrase ‘data is the new gold’ is overused but often misunderstood. Yes, businesses with access to plenty of customer data can leverage this data to attain higher positions of power in the global supply chain. But does that make data as valuable as gold? Only if these business enterprises can maximize the data.
AI and ML tools allow them to maximize the use of their data. These tools help enterprises –
- Gathering all data from different sources and dumping it into a collective.
- Sort the data.
- Analyzing social behaviour patterns from the data.
- Track historical data to gain a more accurate understanding of customer decisions.
- More importantly, companies with the best customer experience have shifted away from traditional data analytics software because AI tools continuously learn and improve.
The data it provides is directly linked to the quality of customer behaviour analysis. Using these analyses, these companies create –
- Content (videos, blogs, etc.) that resonates the most with target customer behaviour.
- Retargeting schemes to increase sales opportunities.
- Discover customer issues to improve overall customer journeys on business apps and websites.
The exponential increase of a company’s data collection capabilities leads to improvements in day-to-day experiences. These businesses are leveraging AI tools to make data equivalent to gold. Increasing customer loyalty becomes much easier with such a data-based approach. Securing customer trust also seems unimportant in the post-pandemic world since customers want personalized online shopping experiences.
Instant Decisions
- AI tools can be used by company apps and websites to make real-time decisions during customer journeys.
- Tools that combine AI and ML can instantly detect a user’s clicks, browsing habits, etc. Hence the customer journey is more effective, time-efficient, and pleasing.
- For instance, most online shoppers use Ad-Blocking software. An AI and ML-powered tool can instantly detect the presence of these blockers. The device can then make a real-time decision to ask the customer to switch off the ad blocker.
Similarly, AI tools help business websites make personalized recommendations based on customer activities on the website. These recommendations are usually fast and relevant. For instance, a person shopping for a smartphone will instantly be bombarded with advertisements for other smartphones in the same price range.
AI tools help enterprises make instant decisions. These instant decisions form the basis of hyper-personalized customer experiences.
Data-Based Predictions
AI-Powered predictive analytics tools can assess millions of statistics and data sets to make accurate predictions regarding customer behaviour.
AI-powered customer experience tools have data modelling and mining capabilities.
These tools can assess massive volumes of data within seconds. Using predictive analytics algorithms, these tools offer actionable insights regarding customer behaviour. These tools –
- Know how the customers engaged with the business website in the past.
- Know how much time each customer spent viewing specific products.
- It can predict future interactions between the customer and the business website.
Predictive engagement was widely considered ‘pseudoscience’ in the past. However, the fusion of AI and predictive analytics has made it possible to make these predictions using current and historical data.
In 2020, MIT published a study that stated that customer service is the primary field for deploying AI tools. Of the thousands of businesses surveyed in the study, 73% of the respondents said that they’re more comfortable using AI tools for customer experience purposes. Sales and marketing purposes ranked second at 59%. Hence, it’s clear that AI-enabled customer interactions work both for businesses and customers. Biometric scanners, chatbots, etc., are customer-friendly tools with a proven track record of success. Although AI tools for customer experience will not directly diminish the importance of human contact, the best customer experience companies will certainly focus more on AI tools in the future.
