AI Customer Support Explained

From scarily human-like robots to virtual assistants, artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere.
Assisting with everyday tasks, AI has evolved into an indispensable tool for individuals and businesses alike, simplifying tasks and making daily life easier. One area where AI has been particularly impactful is in customer service.

Just a few years ago, all calls and live chats needed to be handled by human workers. Today, many of these interactions can be managed by AI—saving businesses both time and money. AI also plays a crucial role in accurately recording information from calls and customer interactions. For instance, an AI notetaker records and transcribes conversations before converting them into easy-to-read notes.

According to a report from technology consultants Capgemini, 63% of retailers currently use AI to improve customer experiences, with this number expected to rise across all industries.

But how exactly can AI help your business, and what makes it a must-have tool for responding to customer queries?

At Elite Group, we specialise in business technology and customer service solutions. We’ve helped countless companies harness the benefits of exciting new tools like AI. To learn how artificial intelligence can revolutionise your customer service, keep reading—or speak to an Elite Group expert today.

AI in Customer Service

Here are just a few ways AI-powered customer service tools have proven to be game-changers:

Efficiency

Thanks to AI chatbots, customers no longer have to wait to speak to a live agent. Instead, they can interact with an AI-powered chatbot designed to answer questions, solve problems, and direct customers to the correct department if a human agent is needed. 

With agents spending less time on routine tasks, they can focus on more complex or urgent issues, leading to faster and more efficient service.

Personalisation

Modern AI chatbots and virtual phone agents can personalise the customer experience based on pre-saved data or information gathered during interactions. 

For example, these tools can recall past customer information to tailor responses to specific inquiries. 

This helps customers essentially serve themselves, without the need for live agents, thereby boosting customer satisfaction.

Scalability

As a business grows, the need for customer support increases. Historically, this meant hiring more agents – a process that’s both expensive and time-consuming. With AI-powered customer support, businesses can handle more inquiries without needing to expand their teams significantly, saving time and money while maintaining high-quality service.

Popular AI Tools and Technologies

Chatbots and Virtual Assistants

Chatbots are accessed by customers via live chat on a company’s website. Traditionally, customers would wait for a live agent to respond. However, modern AI chatbots can handle most customer needs by analysing responses to preset questions or directly answering customer inquiries, offering various options to choose from.

Virtual assistants are similar to chatbots but can handle more complex tasks, such as answering technical questions, providing detailed product information, and processing intricate orders.

Leexi: An AI Notetaker

At Elite Group, we offer Leexi, a cutting-edge conversational intelligence platform designed to enhance the performance of customer service teams. Leexi provides a range of features to streamline customer interactions and improve team effectiveness:

• Call Transcription: Leexi automatically transcribes 100% of what is said during calls or video conferences, ensuring no important detail is missed.
• Call Analysis: It offers insightful analysis from transcriptions, helping businesses pinpoint areas for improvement and optimise performance.
• Dashboards: Leexi’s dashboards give call centre managers real-time access to data, supporting more informed decision-making.
• Progress Plans: Leexi creates personalised progress plans for each employee, driving continuous improvement and skill development.
• Team-Building Tools: It includes tools designed to enhance team collaboration and productivity.
• Factual Analysis: Leexi helps businesses make decisions based on data-driven insights, ensuring strategies are rooted in factual analysis.

Leexi is available in over 20 languages and complies with strict data protection standards, including RGPD. All transcriptions and recordings are securely encrypted and stored, making it a trusted tool for businesses across industries. Leexi is suitable for various teams, including customer service, sales, and anyone involved in video conferences.

To learn more about how Leexi can transform your customer service operations, explore our Leexi platform or contact us for a demo.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Despite being a machine, AI can “understand” customer voices exceptionally well, thanks to advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP).

NLP enables AI-based assistants to detect elements like sentiment and tone in both voice and text. This helps the AI understand whether a comment is positive or negative and adjust its responses to suit the conversation. The result is a more personalised experience for the customer.

AI Ticket Routing Systems

Customers often get frustrated when they’re directed to the wrong department, wasting both their time and that of live agents.

AI-powered ticket routing systems can analyse multiple variables in the customer’s voice or text, ensuring they’re assigned to the most appropriate representative or department.

The system can also prioritise issues based on urgency, ensuring customers with more pressing needs are addressed promptly.

AI Customer Support: Potential Challenges and Limitations

While AI customer support tools are incredibly useful, they still face challenges. Emotionally complex conversations, for example, may be difficult for AI to handle, and a human touch would be more appropriate. Additionally, while AI has made great strides, more complicated inquiries may still be difficult for it to resolve effectively.

At this stage, AI customer service is a valuable tool that complements, rather than replaces, human employees. AI handles repetitive tasks, allowing agents to focus on higher-level issues, but it’s not yet capable of managing every customer interaction.

The Future of AI and Customer Support

As technology evolves, AI will continue to improve the customer experience, increasing company productivity by taking on more routine tasks. Additionally, the level of personalization offered by AI is expected to grow, with advancements like artificial voice, which convincingly mimics human speech, enhancing customer interactions.

However, the future may also require companies to balance AI and human employee workloads ethically, ensuring that neither outpaces the other. 

After all, almost half of all customers still prefer speaking to a human over a robot, so it’s crucial not to alienate customers in the pursuit of technological progress.

Onboard AI-Powered Tools with Elite Group

Are you ready to enhance your customer support with AI? Interested in exploring the benefits of AI-powered solutions for your business? Elite Group is here to help. With years of experience in business technology, we’re the perfect partner to help you streamline operations, improve productivity, and increase profits.

Contact a member of the Elite Group team today to learn more.