Is AI An Effective Customer Service And Support Agent?

AI-driven customer service and support—this is what businesses are now racing towards in this digital era. Not only is it cost-effective, but it also gets the job done while you are asleep, without human intervention.

No wonder nearly 4 out of 10 marketers around the world are using AI for customer support and service, according to a 2024 report by Qualtrics and Klaviyo. And customers seem to agree, with 86% wanting AI assistance to resolve issues.

Don't worry, you are not being left behind by this trend yet. Improve your competitiveness with these AI tools you can incorporate into your customer support and service workflow.

5 AI Tools for Customer Support and Service

We have compiled a list of high ROI AI tools that can automate various processes in your customer service strategy. Each tool offers different functions to enhance several areas of your workflow.

1. Unified Customer Communication Platform

A unified customer communication platform consolidates various communication channels of a business all in one place. This makes it easier for the business to communicate with customers and deliver quick, consistent, and personalized customer service.

Here are the common communication channels it consolidates:

• Email: Answer customer questions via email.

• Live Chat: Offer instant help through chat on websites or mobile apps.

• Phone Calls: Manage phone support, including Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

• Social Media: Interact with customers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

• SMS: Send and receive text messages for updates and support.

A dashboard of a CRM software with a unified communication platform. Circled in red are icons that indicate that the messages came from the website live chat, SMS, and Facebook Messenger. All messages from different platforms are accessible in one dashboard.

What does this mean? It means you don’t have to juggle multiple tabs on your browser, send an SMS every time you get a message from a client, or have a telephone on your desk.

You can assist customers regardless of the communication channel—all in

one place. Most importantly, these interactions are trackable within the platform!

2. AI Phone Agent

Phone calls still remain the preferred channel for customers when resolving issues. In the US alone, 54% of Americans still call customer service to resolve issues.

A typical small business may receive a dozen phone calls daily, while a receptionist at a healthcare or accounting firm may receive 10 to 20 calls daily. An AI phone agent can be useful if you want to answer as many calls as possible and reduce the number of callers in a queue or on hold.

Using this technology means AI answers calls for you. How does this work? This tool has three main processes: transcription, inference, and text-to-speech.

• Transcription: Upon answering the call, the AI transcribes what the customer says on the other line.

• Inference: The AI analyzes the transcription and references preset instructions, resolutions, templates, and answers.

• Text-to-Speech: The AI uses a text-to-speech system to generate an audio response for the customer.

This tool also utilizes Natural Language Processing (NLP) to make the conversation and interaction as human-like as possible.

3. Missed Call Text Back

A missed call text back is an automated text message sent to someone who tried to call you but couldn't reach you. This feature is commonly used by businesses to ensure they don't lose potential customers or important calls. 

When a call is missed, the system automatically sends a pre-set text message to the caller, acknowledging their attempt to reach you and providing further instructions or information.

An example of an SMS automatically sent after missing the customer’s call.

This feature helps maintain customer engagement by providing instant acknowledgment of their call, reducing frustration from missed communication. The automated response can offer alternative contact methods or important information, thereby improving customer satisfaction. 

Additionally, it streamlines communication for businesses, ensuring no lead or customer query goes unnoticed. Ultimately, this enhances overall efficiency and responsiveness.

4. Customer Feedback Tool

A customer-feedback tool offers features to gather valuable insights from your customers. It includes customizable and premade templates for surveys and satisfaction polls, allowing you to quickly collect feedback on various aspects of your service or product. These tools help you understand preferences, address common questions, and measure satisfaction, aiding in informed decision-making and business improvement.

How does this benefit customer support? The collected feedback helps refine your FAQs, which are essential for self-service resolutions, enabling customers to find solutions without human intervention.

5. Mention-tracking Tool

A mention-tracking tool is a software application that monitors when and where your brand, company name, products, or related keywords are mentioned across various online platforms, including social media, blogs, forums, and news sites. This helps businesses stay updated on what people are saying about them in real-time. 

How can a mention-tracking tool enhance your customer service and support?

A business responding to a tweet tagging their account and mentioning their brand. You can notice how fast the brand responds to the tweet.

For starters, it provides real-time alerts that notify customer service representatives immediately when your brand is mentioned, especially in posts or comments about a customer's bad experience with your service or product. These real-time alerts reduce response times. By addressing issues proactively, you can turn potentially negative experiences into positive ones, boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty.

In today's competitive market, providing an excellent customer experience is key to standing out. According to Gartner, 80% of organizations expect to compete primarily based on customer experience.

Keep in mind, many customers will switch to other options after just one bad experience. Leveraging AI customer service tools can boost your competitive edge at a low cost and less effort. 

Is your business ready for an AI Customer Service Agent?

Small businesses can find it very worthwhile to invest in AI to automate parts of their customer support and service. As your business grows, AI tools can handle more inquiries without needing more support staff. Overall, investing in AI for customer support can save money, improve customer satisfaction, and provide helpful business insights.

We hope you find this newsletter useful. If you’d like The Digital Firm to help you implement AI tools and other automation software in your business process, book a call with us.