What is conversational AI?

Artificial intelligence is a broad term that refers to any computer system that can perform tasks that ordinarily require human intelligence, such as visual perception, natural language processing, and decision making.

There are many different types, including machine learning, deep learning, and reinforcement learning. It can be deployed in a variety of programming languages, systems, and tools, including instant translation, customer support, data analysis, or even coaching and management.

While the world is still some ways away from ‘true AI’, or a completely intact intelligence system able to think for itself without the need for continuous programming, its components are already quite advanced in many fields.

With this technology, simple tasks such as customer service or data entry can be automated, better regulated, and even sped up. Calls or queries can be properly routed to the correct agent or department with ease, or simple questions answered to save agent time. This not only saves significantly on costs, but it can open up space for an organization to implement better workflows and improve agent satisfaction. 

Our robot friends have the advantage of being able to provide 24/7 support to customers without growing tired. With round-the-clock support and more personalized experiences, customers will always feel like they can reach out to the bot in order to find the solution to their issue, whether it’s 2am or a public holiday. This can also have a positive impact on first-call resolution.

Real-time analysis of data, picking up on buying patterns or trends, and processing of high volumes of data, all help businesses gain insights into their customers and products or services. It can also help a business to preempt issues that may become bigger problems, such as a sudden influx of messages or a global event that will affect sales. 

We’ve all been there before - talking to a traditional chatbot that we can feel doesn’t quite understand what we’re saying or what we need, and getting frustrated by the entire process. With conversational AI, that problem is in the past. Through natural language processing and machine learning, this technology can truly enable more natural human-machine interactions and foster a closer connection between the customer and the brand.

As it’s in constant interaction with customers, these applications can give businesses a deeper insight into the latest customer expectations, whether that’s new trends, demand for new services or products, or seasonal peaks. With this information, a business can better prepare a peak management plan, or program artificial intelligence to respond accordingly.

This can be a highly cost efficient tool for businesses, as it can automate tasks, improve customer satisfaction, and help businesses gain insights. It has been proven to increase sales and customer engagement. It’s also a very scalable solution, being cheaper and faster than the hiring process for new employees, making it helpful when expanding to new markets or during seasonal peaks.

Sometimes customers start the process of buying and then suddenly go inactive. A live chat or virtual assistant could help to encourage them to continue shopping, and provide an intuitive option to purchase quickly through chat. That could result in higher conversion rates.

Personalized and customized shopping experiences are all the rage in retail in these times. Customers want to feel like products or services are tailor made for them, and an artificial intelligence chatbot can not only provide this, but also educate consumers on new offers, products, or product recommendations. This leads to increased orders and fewer returns.

Conversational AI is excellent at collecting and analyzing data in real time, allowing it to leverage key information from the purchasing process to increase repeat purchase rates. By developing touchpoints that are proactive and creating personalized recommendations, customers will want to stay with your brand.