Month: March 2023

The Rise of Conversational AI: Why Businesses Are Embracing It

Posted on Lauren Winder

Movies may have twisted our expectations of artificial intelligence—either giving us extremely high expectations or making us think it’s ready to wipe out humanity.

But the reality isn’t on those levels. In fact, you’re already using AI in your daily life—but it’s so ingrained in your technology you probably don’t even notice. Netflix and Spotify both use AI to personalize your content recommendations. Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant use it as well.

Conversational AI, like what Quiq uses to power our chatbots, takes artificial intelligence to the next level. See what it is and how you can use it in your business.

What is conversational AI?

Conversational artificial intelligence (AI) is a collection of technologies that create a human-like experience. It combines natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and other technologies to enhance streamlined conversations. This can be used in many applications, like chatbots and voice (like Siri and Alexa). The most common use case for conversational AI in the business-to-customer world is through an AI chatbot messaging experience.

Unlike rule-based chatbots, those powered by conversational AI generate responses and adapt to user behavior over time. Rule-based chatbots were also limited to what you put in them—meaning if someone phrased a question differently than you wrote it (or used slang/colloquialisms/etc.), it wouldn’t understand the question. Conversational AI can also help chatbots understand more complex questions.

Putting technical terms in context.

Companies throw around a lot of technical terms when it comes to artificial intelligence, so here are what they mean and how they’re used to improve your business.

Rules-based chatbots: Earlier chatbot iterations (and some current low-cost versions) work mainly through pre-defined rules. Your business (or service provider) writes specific guidelines for the chatbot to follow. For example, when a customer says “Hi,” the chatbot responds, “Hello, how may I help you?”

Another example is when a customer asks about a return. The chatbot is programmed to give a specific response, like, “Here’s a link to the return policy.”

However, the problem with rule-based chatbots is that they can be limiting. It only knows how to handle situations based on the information programmed into it. So if someone says, “I don’t like this product, what can I do?” and you haven’t planned for that question, the chatbot won’t have a response.

Machine learning: Machine learning is a way to combat the problem posed above. Instead of giving the chatbot specific parameters complete with pre-written questions and answers, machine learning helps chatbots make decisions based on the information provided.

Machine learning helps chatbots adapt over time based on customer conversations. Instead of giving the bot specific ways to answer specific questions, you show it the basic rules, and it crafts its own response. Plus, since it means your chatbot is always learning, it gets better the longer you use it.

Natural language processing: As humans and speakers of the English language, we know that there are different ways to ask every question. For example, a customer who wants to know when an item is back in stock may ask, “When is X back in stock?” or they might say, “When will you get X back in?” or even, “When are you restocking X?” Those three questions all mean the same thing, and as humans, we naturally understand that. But a rules-based bot must be told that those mean the same things, or they might not understand it.

Natural language processing (NLP) uses AI technology to help chatbots understand that those questions are all asking the same thing. It also can determine what information it needs to answer your question, like color, size, etc.

NLP also helps chatbots answer questions in a more human-like way. If you want your chatbot to sound more human (and you should), then find one that uses NLP.

Web-based SDK: A web-based SDK (that’s a software development kit for non-developers) is a set of tools and resources developers use to integrate programs (in this case, chatbots) into websites and web-based applications.

What does this mean for your chatbot? Context. When a user says, “I need help with my order,” the chatbot can use NLP to identify “help” and “order.” Then it can look back at previous conversations, pull the customers’ order history, and more—if the data is there.

Contextual conversations are everything in customer service—so this is a big factor in building a successful chatbot using conversational AI. In fact, 70% of customers expect anyone they’re speaking with to have the full context. With a web-based SDK, your chatbot can do that too.

The benefits of conversational AI.

Using chatbots with conversational AI provides benefits across your business, but the clearest wins are in your contact center. Here are three ways chatbots improve your customer service.

24/7 customer support.

Your customer service agents need to sleep, but your conversational AI chatbot doesn’t. A chatbot can answer questions and contain customer issues while your contact center is closed. Any issues they can’t solve, they can pass along to your agents the next day. Not only does that give your customers 24/7 service, but your agents will have less of a backlog when they return to work.

Faster response times.

When your agents are inundated with customers, an AI chatbot can pick up the slack. Send your chatbot in to greet customers immediately, let them know the wait time, or even start collecting information so your agents can get to the root of the problem faster. Chatbots powered with AI can also answer questions and solve easy customer issues, skipping human agents altogether.

For more ways AI chatbots can improve your customer service, read this >

More present customer service agents.

Chatbots can handle low-level customer queries and give agents the time and space to handle more complex issues. Not only will this result in better customer service, but agents will be happier and less stressed overall.

Plus, chatbots can scale during your busy seasons. You’ll save on costs since you won’t have to hire more agents, and the agents you have won’t be overworked.

How to make the most of AI technology.

Unfortunately, you can’t just plug and play with conversational AI and expect to become an AI company. Just like any other technology, it takes prep work and thoughtful implementation to get it right—plus lots of iterations.

Use these tips to make the most of AI technology:

Decide on your AI goals.

How are you planning on using conversational AI? Will it be for marketing? Customer service? All of the above? Think about what your main goals are and use that information to select the right AI partner.

Choose the right conversational AI platform.

Once you’ve decided on how you want to use conversational AI, select the right partner to help you get there. Think about aspects like ease of use, customization, scalability, and budget.

Design your chatbot interactions.

Even with artificial intelligence, you still have to put the work in upfront. What you do and how you do it will vary greatly depending on which platform you go with. Design your chatbot conversations with these things in mind:

  • Your brand voice
  • Personalization
  • Customer service best practices
  • Logical conversation flows
  • Concise messages

Build a partnership between agents and chatbots.

Don’t launch the chatbot independently of your customer service agents. Include them in the training and launch, and start to build a working relationship between the two. Agents and chatbots can work together on customer issues, both popping in and out of the conversation seamlessly. For example, a chatbot can collect information from the customer upfront and pass it to the agent to solve the issue. Then, when the agent is done, they can bring the chatbot back in to deliver a customer survey.

Test and refine.

Sometimes, you don’t know what you don’t know until it happens. Test your chatbot before it launches, but don’t stop there. Keep refining your conversations even after you’ve launched.

What does the future hold for conversational AI?

There are many exciting things happening in AI right now, and we’re only on the cusp of delving into what it can really do.

The big prediction? For now, conversational AI will keep getting better at what it’s already doing. More human-like interactions, better problem-solving, and more in-depth analysis.

In fact, 75% of customers believe AI will become more natural and human-like over time. Gartner is also predicting big things for conversational AI, saying by 2026, conversational AI deployments within contact centers will reduce agent labor costs by $80 billion.

Why should you jump in now when bigger things are coming? It’s simple. You’ll learn to master conversational AI tools ahead of your competitors and earn an early competitive advantage.

How Quiq does conversational AI.

To ensure you give your customers the best experience, Quiq powers our entire platform with conversational AI. Here are a few stand-out ways Quiq uniquely improves your customer service with conversational AI.

Design customized chatbot conversations.

Create chatbot conversations so smooth and intuitive that it feels like you’re talking to a real person. Using the best conversational AI techniques, Quiq’s chatbot gives customers quick and intelligent responses for an up-leveled customer experience.

Help your agents respond to customers faster.

Make your agents more efficient with Quiq Compose. Quiq Compose uses conversational AI to suggest responses to customer questions. How? It uses information from similar conversations in the past to craft the best response.

Empower agent performance.

Tools like our Adaptive Response Timer (ADT) prioritizes conversations based on how fast or slow customers respond. The conversational AI platform also uses AI to analyze customer sentiment to give extra attention to customers who need it.

This is just the beginning.

This is just a taste of what conversational AI can do. See how Quiq can apply the latest technology to your contact center to help you deliver exceptional customer service.

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10 Benefits of Business Messaging for Customer Service

Posted on Lauren Winder

You send messages to your friends, family, and coworkers—so why not your customers?

Just the idea of call centers evokes the drone of bored customer service agents, long hold times, and endlessly ringing phones. But there’s a better way.

Business messaging.

Business messaging benefits your customers, your agents, and your business. Keep reading to find out how.

Why should you use business messaging? Here are 10 reasons.

Customer service is all about meeting customer needs, and business messaging hits many of those pain points. But it also comes with benefits for your agents and your bottom line. Take a look at these 10 reasons you should adopt business messaging.

For customers

Customers are your number one priority, so embracing ways to connect with them on their terms with their preferences in mind just makes sense. Why should you adopt customer service messaging? For your customers, of course.

  • It’s more convenient.

What’s the problem with phone conversations? They require both parties’ full attention. Today’s customers don’t want to stop what they’re doing to call customer service about a faulty product (or something even less dire).

According to Zendesk, 66% of customers don’t want customer service interactions to interrupt what they’re doing. Sending a message, whether it be an sms text or a message in Facebook Messenger, is much less disruptive to their day.

It’s inherent in business messages. Since they’re asynchronous (meaning both parties don’t have to be present at the same time), a customer can send a message and continue on with their day. There’s no waiting on hold or giving their full attention to a phone call.

  • There are more opportunities for personalization. 

According to a McKinsey report, 76% of customers get frustrated when customer service interactions aren’t personalized.

And it’s more than just knowing a customer’s name. Seventy percent of customers expect anyone they interact with to have full context of their shopping history and past conversations, according to Zendesk.

Customer service messaging makes personalization much more feasible. A good conversational AI platform will have the customers’ conversations follow them across channels and makes the agent-to-agent handoff seamless.

There’s also something to be said about allowing customers to choose the channel they want to use. Instead of forcing them into one method of communication, you’re letting customers pick the option that best suits their needs. 

  • Customers will be more satisfied.

When you provide this level of convenience and personalization, customers are more satisfied with your service.

Customers are also less likely to spend time on hold while waiting for your customer service agents. Since agents can handle multiple conversations (often 6–8) at once, customer wait times will go down—and satisfaction will go up.

  • Conversations will flow more easily.

Facing a few misunderstandings over the phone? Using business messaging can clear up miscommunications with more organized and concise interactions.

Plus, you can send media with messaging that you can’t do over the phone. With rich messaging features, you or your customers can share pictures, videos, and more. Use it for things like video walkthroughs, diagrams, directions, etc.

  • You’ll engage customers before they hit roadblocks.

Customer service goes well beyond solving customer problems. Many times, it’s about anticipating needs—and customer service messaging is the perfect communication method to do so.

There are far more opportunities to engage with your customers using business messaging than when you’re relying on email and voice calls. Through sms messaging for business, live chat (also known as web chat), and other forms of messaging, you can interact with customers without disrupting their day. Send well-timed messages while they browse your website, and customize them based on their browsing history.

Consider the following:

  • The welcome message triggered when they first visit your site
  • A discount code if they’ve stalled on a product page
  • An offer of help when something is added to a cart

More engagement early on also leads to a better overall customer experience. You’re going to your customers before they have a question or problem, not dealing with one after the fact.

For agents

You can’t forget your customer service agents! They’re in the trenches every day, fielding calls from irate customers and trying to hit their goals. Business messaging helps them do both.

  • It streamlines productivity.

Customer service messaging gives your agents the ability to chat with multiple customers at once. Instead of being tied to the phone with one on one conversations, they can pop in and out of multiple at once. On average, customer service agents can handle 6–8 conversations at once with business messaging.

A conversational AI platform will help agents keep all the conversations straight so no customers fall through the cracks.

  • It promotes more efficient conversations.

When agents are overwhelmed, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to serve customers quickly. Business messaging makes that possible.

Using a conversational AI platform to facilitate business messaging supports your agents with intelligent tools. Here are few features that can speed up conversations and increase agent efficiency:

  • Sentiment analysis
  • Queue routing
  • Predictive text
  • Chatbot support

All of these features are built to help agents help customers faster.

For the bottom line

Customer service is often seen as a cost center instead of a profit center, but a good support center absolutely impacts your bottom line. According to Zendesk, 70% of customers spend more with companies that offer a fluid, personalized, and seamless customer experience. Supporting your business with customer service messaging is the way to do it.

  • It’s more cost-effective.

Since customer service agents can handle multiple conversations at once, you need fewer resources to manage the same number of customer interactions. 

  • You can collect real-time feedback.

Messaging makes it easier for customers to share product and service feedback in real-time. You can even send out automated surveys at the end of every interaction to get a peek into customer satisfaction rates.

  • You’ll gain a competitive advantage.

With all the benefits to your customers, messaging can quickly become your business’s competitive advantage. Customers will want to work with organizations that provide excellent and convenient service, which you’ll be more equipped to provide with messaging.

Which business messaging channels are best?

You can’t be everywhere all at once—or can you? Messaging with a conversational AI platform makes it easy for agents to connect with customers across channels.

According to Zendesk benchmark data, just 42%of businesses offer two or more support channels, so offering multiple ways to connect will help you stand out. You don’t need to dive into every channel right away, but it’s easier than you might think. (Check out this article for best practices by channel.)

Here are the top messaging channels for customer service.

SMS text messaging

If you need a fast and convenient way to connect with customers, sms customer service is the way to do it. SMS text messaging uses a communication method nearly everyone is familiar with. There’s no app downloading, phone calling, or tricky emails to remember.

Google Business Messaging

Google Business Messages is a conversational customer service chat feature that lets you connect with customers in a variety of different channels—starting with Google. Current and potential customers can ask your company questions in real-time directly from Google Search, Google Maps, your Google Business Profile, and even your company’s website. It’s a great way to connect organically with customers directly from Google.

Apple Messages for Business

Apple Messages for Business connects iOS and macOS users to your business in brand-new ways. It takes no additional downloads from your customers and provides a holistic experience. Customers can find your business and start conversations from Safari, Maps, Search, Siri, or your website.

Web chat

Web chat or live chat is when you embed a chat box directly on your website. Web chat is a great tool to support customers throughout the buyer’s journey since they need to be on your website to use it.

Facebook Messenger

Since 1.3 billion people use Facebook Messenger globally, it’s safe to say you can find your customers there, too.

With Messenger, you can send text, pictures, video, and link messenger. Customers message you directly (and vice versa) using your company page from the Messenger mobile app or the chat window via desktop.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp may not be a traditional method of communication, but it boasts 2 billion active users worldwide, so you shouldn’t sleep on this communication giant.

Put customer service messaging to work for your business.

The benefits of business messaging are clear: convenience for your customers, efficiency for your agents, and a boost to your bottom line for your business.

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Does Your Chatbot Sound Robotic? 7 Ways to Fix It

Posted on Lauren Winder

Does your chatbot sound like a robot?

Okay, chatbots are robots (hence the name), but they don’t have to sound like something out of a 70s sci-fi flick.

Chatbots have come a long way and are getting better at understanding and mimicking human interactions. According to Zendesk’s CX Trends 2023 report, 65% of leaders believe the AI/bots they use are becoming more natural and human-like.

It turns out customers agree. Sixty-nine percent who seek support find themselves asking bots a wider range of questions than before. But companies are still struggling to keep up with customers’ AI expectations.

Seventy-five percent of customers think AI should be able to provide the same level of service as human agents, and 75% expect AI interactions will become more natural and human-like over time.

So if your bot is still sounding a little wooden (or metallic), your customer satisfaction could be taking a hit. Here are some ways to make your chatbot sound more human.

But first, should chatbots sound human?

We think so. Yet, there’s a difference between making your bot sound human and pretending your bot is a human. No matter how advanced your chatbot is, we always recommend full transparency to our customers.

While chatbots can be as much a part of your team as your human agents, there are definitely limits to what they can do. If you don’t introduce your chatbot as such, customers might feel like you’re trying to trick them. And in today’s landscape, customer trust is everything.

Now back to the fun stuff.

1. Name your chatbot.

Amazon has Alexa, Apple has Siri, and Iron Man has Jarvis (and Friday). Chatbots and AI are instantly more relatable when you stop calling them bots.

 

We worked with Daily Harvest to develop their chatbot, aptly named Sage. Sage fields common questions and gathers data for conversations with human agents. Sage also helps minimize the stress on the Daily Harvest customer service team by containing 60% of conversations. While containment (where customers’ conversations aren’t transferred to a human agent) isn’t the goal, it’s good to know customers are gaining enough valuable information for Sage to resolve their own questions.

2. Consider putting a face to your AI.

Admittedly, this tip is controversial. Do Alexa and Siri have faces? No, that’d be weird. But they’re associated with objects already. Since your chatbot lives on the screen, giving it a face isn’t a bad idea.

Consider giving your bot a friendly avatar. It doesn’t have to be a literal face. It can be an icon, an inanimate object, an animal, or whatever represents your brand. Go with your gut on this one—it can really go either way.

Here’s a bad example:

3. Give your chatbot some personality.

What’s the first thing human agents do when they start a new chat? They introduce themselves! Your chatbot should do the same. On the first message, have your chatbot introduce themselves, say they’re a chatbot/virtual assistant/virtual agent/etc, and ask how they can help.

Beyond introductions, include some casual language in your chatbot’s script. Instead of “What’s your question?” say, “How can I help you today?”

Remember that your chatbot is an extension of your brand, so its personality should reflect it. If your brand is quirky and whimsical, infuse that language into your chatbot.

4. Teach your chatbot empathy.

Typically, low-tech chatbots can only repeat preprogrammed phrases. However, humans adapt to mood, personality, and behavior. To make your chatbot really feel more friendly and human-like, it needs to be able to do the same.

Look for a chatbot that Interprets questions through natural language processing (NLP) to determine how to answer it. NLP allows bots to pick up on human speech patterns in a much more sophisticated way.

You can also add empathetic language to various points in the chatbot script. Phrases like “I understand” and “I’m sorry to hear that” go a long way in soothing customer frustrations.

5. Give your chatbot context.

Start with the customer’s name. Whether the customer already has a profile or you program the chatbot to ask for it, have your chatbot use the customer’s name in conversation. But don’t stop there.

Context makes conversations go a lot smoother, whether with a chatbot or with a human agent. Program your bot to pull in context from your customer’s web behavior into the conversation. For example, if a customer has been looking at Hawaiian vacations, have the bot ask if they need help with their trip to the islands.

Context will make the conversation flow more naturally and give your customers a better overall experience.

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6. Make your chatbot and human agents a team.

The human-like quality of understanding shouldn’t be underestimated in a chatbot. Having a bot that understands what a customer is asking—and knows when to bring in reinforcements—is key to a great customer experience.

Instead of trying to replace your human agents, make your chatbot and agents a team. Jewelry retailer Blue Nile is a great example of how chatbots and humans can work together to elevate the customer experience.

Blue Nile’s initial chatbot attempt routed customers all across the company without considering what they were asking. Customers looking to buy were sent to service reps instead of sales, and vice versa.

So the dazzling diamond dealer worked with Quiq to create a much more intuitive and human-like chatbot. A better chat experience led to 70% more sales interactions and a 35% conversion rate.

7. Combine logic and rules for a more responsive experience.

Low-tech chatbots might ask you to write responses for a specific chain of events. For example, your customer mentions a return, the chatbot pulls up return directions, the problem is resolved. That’s chatbot logic.

But one thing a human has that many chatbots lack is the ability to pick up on queues and respond accordingly.

With AI-enhanced chatbots, you can also define specialty rules for your chatbot to follow. Going back to our return example, most are simple and straightforward. Sometimes, however, a customer is extremely unhappy with the product or service and needs extra attention. AI chatbots, like Quiq’s, can use sentiment analysis to pick up on customer behavior to identify an unhappy customer (or whichever other sentiment you choose) and reroute to a human agent.

This way, you don’t have a cheery chatbot irritating your already irate customer.

Embrace AI to humanize your chatbot.

Humanizing your chatbot comes down to two factors:

  1. A dedicated effort to give your chatbot personality
  2. The AI technology to make it happen

With both those components, you can make your chatbot sound more human and embrace it as part of your customer service team.

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