Many people wonder about the future of customer help desks. Will they become the purview of bots with no human interaction, or will we see a resurgence in live support? Support-as-a-Service company that provides live chat outsourcing secure technical and customer support to tech companies and startups, provides an inkling of what we can expect.
The company offers a combination of live chat support and its custom-built chatbot. Thanks to this innovative blend, businesses can offer their clients the convenience of instant responses and the empathic support of human consultants.
The help desk’s future is a blend of great, personalized chatbots and seasoned service professionals. Would you like to know more about this exciting new world? Read on for more information.
Bots Have a Long Way to Go
Chatbots are improving, but most people can tell they’re dealing with artificial intelligence and are entirely comfortable with this idea.
How do we know?
Researchers taught a bot to be more cheerful and encourage clients to rate it. Contrary to what you might think, clients rated the charming bot’s service as worse than it was. It seems that the bot’s change in disposition was unsettling for most people.
While more research is necessary, this may point to a general unease people feel in chatbots that are more human in nature. Therefore, chatbot technology has a long way to go to overcome this potential issue.
That, and the fact that bots are not yet adept enough to take over live chat support, means it’s better to adopt a hybrid business model.
The Benefits of Using Both Bots and Human Live Chat Consultants
Cost Savings
Automating functions saves businesses much time and money. There is no need to have a human consultant to deal with repetitive queries such as questions about:
- stock levels,
- operating hours,
- locations,
- policies, and
- account balances.
Better Customer Satisfaction
Customers will love the convenience of self-service options with the choice to speak to a real person. The combination allows them to choose their level of interaction.
Accuracy
Bots will produce the same answers to repetitive questions accurately as long as they are trained to do so. Consultants may feel bored or have an off day, and so may not always provide accurate information.
Better Employee Satisfaction
While we are all professionals, most of us understand the frustration of answering the same question multiple times. It’s even worse if that call breaks your concentration. AI-based self-service channels can solve this dilemma, allowing consultants to focus on more important tasks.
Improved Scalability
Over the last few years, businesses learned the importance of being able to scale up operations quickly. While this is difficult when dealing with human consultants, chatbots can reduce bottlenecks in service delivery during peak demand periods.
Getting the Blend Right
Another lesson that businesses learned over the last few years was that they must choose service delivery options carefully. When the pandemic hit, many companies instituted chatbot technology to bridge service delivery gaps.
However, the backlash from consumers showed that this is not an option to rush into. A recurrent theme in consumer complaints about chatbots is that they do not have the capacity to solve complex issues.
However, many large companies still insist on making clients use AI-based self-service options without allowing them to choose to speak to a consultant. The result is a customer who, when they eventually reach the consultant, is highly frustrated.
Chatbots are a useful tool, but not the primary customer contact point for query resolution.
In Conclusion
Customer service going forward will feature a higher level of AI-based interaction. Consumers are becoming more accustomed to the idea but are still not ready to switch completely.
The forward-thinking company offers its clients the choice between dealing with a bot and dealing with a human.
