Customer support is a critical function for any business, but it can also be a costly one. In fact, customer support costs can account for up to 20% of a company’s total operating budget.
Artificial intelligence (AI) can help businesses reduce their customer support costs by automating tasks, improving efficiency, and enhancing the customer experience.
Do you want to reduce your customer support cost? Click here to begin
How AI can help you automate customer support tasks
Chatbots and virtual assistants
Chatbots and virtual assistants are AI-powered tools that can be used to automate a wide range of customer support tasks, such as:
-
Answering common customer questions
-
Providing technical support
-
Troubleshooting issues
-
Resolving orders
-
Collecting customer feedback
Chatbots and virtual assistants can be used on a variety of channels, including websites, mobile apps, and social media. They can also be integrated with customer support ticketing systems to provide a more seamless customer experience.
Automated ticket routing and prioritization
Automated ticket routing and prioritization can help businesses to more efficiently handle customer support tickets. AI can be used to analyze customer tickets and route them to the most appropriate agent or team based on the customer’s issue, the agent’s expertise, and the priority of the ticket.
AI can also be used to prioritize customer support tickets based on a variety of factors, such as the customer’s impact on the business, the urgency of the issue, and the customer’s satisfaction level. This can help businesses to resolve the most important customer issues first.
Automated knowledge base search
Automated knowledge base search can help customer support agents to quickly and easily find the information they need to resolve customer issues. AI can be used to index and search knowledge bases to provide agents with relevant results based on the customer’s issue.
AI can also be used to recommend knowledge base articles to customers based on their browsing history and search queries. This can help customers to find the information they need to resolve their issues without having to contact customer support.
Benefits of automating customer support tasks
Automating customer support tasks can provide a number of benefits to businesses, including:
-
Reduced customer support costs
-
Improved customer satisfaction
-
Increased agent productivity
-
Reduced human error
-
Improved customer support efficiency
By automating customer support tasks, businesses can free up their human agents to focus on more complex issues and provide a more personalized level of support.
AI Shakes Up The Learning Landscape
How AI can help you improve customer support efficiency
Predictive analytics
Predictive analytics can be used to identify potential customer support issues before they occur. This can help businesses to proactively address issues and prevent them from escalating.
For example, AI can be used to analyze customer data to identify customers who are at risk of churning. Businesses can then target these customers with personalized support offers to help them stay engaged.
Next-best action recommendations
Next-best action recommendations can help customer support agents to provide more efficient and effective support. AI can be used to analyze customer data and recommend the next best action for the agent to take, such as sending a follow-up email, offering a discount, or escalating the issue to a supervisor.
Next-best action recommendations can help agents to save time and resolve customer issues more quickly.
Real-time agent coaching
Real-time agent coaching can help customer support agents to improve their performance. AI can be used to monitor agent interactions and provide real-time feedback on how to improve.
For example, AI can provide agents with feedback on their tone, language, and knowledge base usage. This feedback can help agents to provide more professional and effective support.
Benefits of improving customer support efficiency
Improving customer support efficiency can provide a number of benefits to businesses, including:
-
Reduced customer support costs
-
Improved customer satisfaction
-
Increased agent productivity
-
Reduced human error
-
Improved customer support quality
By improving customer support efficiency, businesses can provide their customers with a better overall support experience.
In addition to the benefits listed above, improving customer support efficiency can also help businesses to:
-
Increase customer retention
-
Reduce customer churn
-
Generate more positive customer reviews
-
Improve brand reputation
Overall, investing in AI to improve customer support efficiency can be a very wise decision for businesses of all sizes.
AI In B2B: Separating Hype From Transformative Impact
How AI can help you reduce customer support costs
Reducing the number of customer tickets opened
AI can help to reduce the number of customer tickets opened in a number of ways, including:
-
Automating customer support tasks: As discussed above, AI chatbots and virtual assistants can handle many common customer queries, freeing up human agents to focus on more complex issues. This can help to reduce the number of customer tickets opened in the first place.
-
Predictive analytics: AI predictive analytics can be used to identify potential customer support issues before they occur. This can help businesses to proactively address issues and prevent them from escalating into customer support tickets.
-
Knowledge base self-service: AI can be used to create and maintain knowledge bases that are easy for customers to use. This can help customers to find the information they need to resolve their issues without having to contact customer support.
Reducing the average handling time of customer tickets
AI can help to reduce the average handling time of customer tickets in a number of ways, including:
-
Automating ticket routing and prioritization: As discussed above, AI automated ticket routing and prioritization can help to ensure that customer tickets are routed to the most appropriate agent or team based on the customer’s issue and the agent’s expertise. This can help to reduce the time it takes for agents to start working on customer tickets.
-
Providing agents with next-best action recommendations: As discussed above, AI next-best action recommendations can help agents to provide more efficient and effective support. This can help to reduce the time it takes for agents to resolve customer issues.
-
Real-time agent coaching: As discussed above, AI real-time agent coaching can help agents to improve their performance. This can help agents to resolve customer issues more quickly and efficiently.
Improving customer satisfaction and reducing churn
By reducing the number of customer tickets opened and reducing the average handling time of customer tickets, AI can help businesses to improve customer satisfaction and reduce churn.
When customers are able to get the help they need quickly and easily, they are more likely to be satisfied with the customer support experience. This can lead to increased customer loyalty and reduced churn.
In addition, AI can be used to improve customer satisfaction in a number of other ways, such as:
-
Personalized customer support: AI can be used to analyze customer data and provide personalized customer support experiences. For example, AI can be used to recommend products and services to customers based on their past purchase history and browsing behavior.
-
Proactive customer support: As discussed above, AI predictive analytics can be used to identify potential customer support issues before they occur. This can help businesses to proactively address issues and prevent them from escalating into customer support tickets. This can lead to a more proactive and responsive customer support experience.
-
Multi-channel customer support: AI can be used to provide customer support across a variety of channels, including websites, mobile apps, social media, and phone. This can make it easier for customers to get the help they need when and where they need it.
AI Balance Sheet for Businesses
Conclusion
AI is rapidly transforming the customer support landscape. By automating tasks, improving efficiency, and enhancing the customer experience, AI can help businesses reduce their customer support costs by up to 50%.
In addition to reducing costs, AI can also help businesses improve customer satisfaction and reduce churn. By providing customers with faster, more efficient, and more personalized support, AI can help businesses build stronger customer relationships.
If you are looking for ways to improve your customer support operations, AI is a great place to start. There are a number of AI-powered customer support solutions available, so you can find one that meets your specific needs and budget.
Here are some tips for getting started with AI for customer support:
-
Identify your customer support needs: What are the biggest challenges that your customer support team is facing? What are the most common customer queries? Once you have identified your needs, you can start to look for AI solutions that can help you address them.
-
Choose the right AI solution: There are a number of different AI-powered customer support solutions available, so it is important to choose one that is right for your business. Consider your budget, your needs, and your team’s expertise when making your decision.
-
Implement and manage your AI solution: Once you have chosen an AI solution, you need to implement and manage it effectively. This may involve training your team on how to use the solution and monitoring its performance to ensure that it is meeting your expectations.
By following these tips, you can get started with AI for customer support and start to see the benefits.
