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Harnessing Generative AI to Resolve Customer Issues Swiftly

Martech Outlook | Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Summary: There’s a lot of buzz around generative AI’s potential to push productivity into hyperspeed, from quickly spitting out lines of code for developers to text and image tools that allow marketing teams to produce new campaigns faster.

FREMONT, CA: The potential of generative AI to increase productivity significantly has generated a lot of excitement. It can rapidly produce code for developers and provide text and image tools for marketing teams to accelerate the creation of new campaigns. However, one area where it can–directly and indirectly–impact customer satisfaction is its adoption in support and customer experience teams.

There is a growing impatience among consumers. Over half of the respondents said they would switch to a competitor after just one or two negative customer support experiences. Additionally, negative reviews resulting from such incidents can deter potential customers.

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On the positive side, studies also revealed that customers who had a good customer support experience were highly likely to recommend the company to others (79 per cent), write a positive online review (60 per cent), or mention the company on social media (46 per cent).

The issue of patience affects customers and employees, including customer service representatives. Digital overload has decreased focus, productivity, and employee engagement. Generative AI has the potential to make a significant impact in the workplace by automating repetitive tasks and acting as a virtual assistant for busy teams.

Companies like Zoom have leveraged AI for years to enhance user experience and streamline business processes. However, not all companies are fully capitalising on its capabilities.

Consumer expectations revolve around reduced waiting times and improved problem-solving. Background music makes customers uneasy when kept on hold for long periods. Zoom's research found that while most customers expect short wait times (85%), only 51% experience them. Another concern for customers is receiving accurate resolutions to their problems (54 per cent). Additionally, customers expect representatives to be knowledgeable (90 per cent), friendly (89 per cent), and easily accessible (89 per cent).

Catering to each customer individually with a smile can strain the customer service team as the business grows. In recent years, chatbots have become popular among customer service agents as they help reduce waiting times by providing self-service support. However, most chatbots available today are limited to a predetermined set of questions, rendering them useless when faced with even slightly different inquiries.

Generative AI enables chatbots to deviate from pre-scripted responses. This alleviates the burden on customer service teams and promotes self-service. Zoom reported a success rate of 93 out of 100 customer conversations through self-service without a customer service agent.

Moreover, the longer these chatbots interact with customers, the more they learn about the product or service and the common queries and issues customers encounter. They can also be trained to provide support in multiple languages, thereby assisting global businesses more effectively.

Generative AI algorithms can analyse customer feedback, reviews, and social media data, offering a comprehensive understanding of each customer's interactions with the brand. This ensures a more complete and accurate handover to human customer service representatives when necessary. Furthermore, it enables predictive support, allowing the team to identify and resolve issues before they escalate into actual problems.

The next frontier lies in voice and speech generation. Generative AI can develop realistic and natural-sounding voice interfaces, enabling customers to interact with devices, applications, or customer support using voice commands.

Meeting basic customer needs is essential, but going beyond those needs is crucial for keeping customers satisfied. With the promise of more intelligent self-service bots, the customer service team can shift their focus from troubleshooting to building a base of happy and loyal customers. Zoom's research revealed that customers are more than twice as likely to purchase from a company after a positive support experience (87 per cent) compared to a negative one (35 per cent). This presents a unique opportunity. Here are a few ways the team can leverage generative AI to create customer satisfaction:

1. Personalised recommendations: By analysing a wide range of customer data, preferences, and behaviours, generative AI can generate personalised recommendations. For example, suppose a customer successfully exchanges a product for the correct size with the help of a chatbot. The chatbot can suggest add-ons or complementary products based on the customer's order history.
2. Content generation for dynamic customer segments: With more time, customer service teams can focus on building engaging customer loyalty programs. Generative AI can assist in creating dynamic customer segments based on purchase history, enabling a personalised approach. Additionally, it can generate content within seconds for newsletters, dedicated websites, or community pages.

The combination of AI innovation and human connection holds great potential. If you want to explore the possibilities of generative AI for every business, consider checking out Zoom's Work Transformation Summit EMEA on-demand. This event provides insights from this year's speakers on generative AI, the future of work, and customer experience.

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