The multiple advantages of artificial intelligence (AI) for increased efficiency, higher productivity, faster time to market, reduced cost, and higher ROI has been known to most of us, for quite some time now. However, it is interesting to note that the rate of adoption of AI have not been proportionate with its innovation - leading to a few leaders in across industries, and others being digital laggards.

The COVID-19 pandemic has however put all doubts to rest about the ROI of digital transformation. There has been a drastic increase in AI adoption across sectors - ranging from business operations, to production and employee engagement to collaboration, digital communication to conferences.

Need for Conversational AI

A critical element in the process of a brand's digital journey is to understand, that, apart from adopting and deploying new tools, it must not be forgotten that digitization is done for the purpose of creating seamless communication channels and service delivery. It is thus important to inculcate a sense of customer centricity. Customers today, are in a hurry and remain impatient - switching brands and shifting loyalties. More often than not, an outdated IVR system and basic bots fail to deliver.

Conversational AI puts customer in the center. From self-service capability, to automated set of crucial queries and an element of final human interaction bridges all gaps from long wait time in contact centres to boring FAQs in basic bots.

The Advantages of Conversational AI

Customer journey and your own digital journey today are closely tied together!

Also, a new study by UK-based Juniper Research estimates that chatbots will help businesses save more than $8 billion per year by 2022.

1. Handling large query/call volumes: Machines are scalable, and the amount of data that chatbots can handle today is huge. Hence, chatbots supersede human capabilities in this respect and are transforming opportunities for brands. Add humans to this and conversational is a win-win game!

2. Human-error bypass/ Preciseness built on data: Human is to err! Once programmed through supervised/unsupervised learning, these ML trained bots are intelligent as well as precise. The chances of mistakes and error is greatly minimized, and these bots promise more returns as and when they are triggered with enhancement and modifications.

3. Analytics based decision: Decisions taken by chatbots and any machine learning based tools are always informed, given the very nature of learning and programming they go through. Data inputs can be easily analysed through in-built data analytics and these bots flawlessly answer to the genuine and mundane concerns of customers- taking informed decisions!

4. Reduced Cost & Time (Faster resolution): The only cost associated with a chatbot is in setting it up. Once done they neither ask for monthly compensation, remuneration or any fee hike. Chat bots are thus less costly and swift as well in handling customer queries and grievances. And with conversational AI, boring FAQs or automated answer frustration can anytime be transferred to more compassionate customer support team!

5. Impressive CX / Personalization: Brand's endeavour to personalize and offer superlative customer experience is greatly enhanced by deploying chat bots. These chat bots can answer your customer with their first names and can even tell them what they bought earlier and suggest what they should be buying now!

Relevant and targeted CCM solution feature conversational AI as their core concern!

Conversational AI ensures that brands do not suffer downtime and remain available 24x7 to their customers due to lack of workforce or other cost related constraints. It ensures that your staffs working alongside the in-built AI interact with customers and seamlessly communicate and transfer information ensuring privacy and compliance. Your customer support team can easily personalize their communication with data related to customer readily available. Remote working and health and safety concerns of your employees and contact centre agents are addressed as well.

Conversational AI is helping brands in their omni-channel presence and delivery too.

It is certainly a game changer for brands today as they face COVID-19 crisis and to make them future-proof. The digital readiness is not more a buzz word, brands who need to deliver must act now or never. The journey of your customer and your own digital journey today is closely tied together.

Join us in our process to digitally transform the customer experiences of our clients. At Espire, we are enabling above-par digital transformation & personalization by crafting awe-inspiring CX, with above-par solutions. If you would like to discover more about our work, connect with us on social media or get in touch at markting@espire.com. You can reach our experts at Espire Infolabs for a quick consultation at www.espire.com/quick-contact.