The holiday season can bring challenges to any company. The volume of customer questions and needs can spike significantly. Those can range from issues with shipping to how to use a product to seeking to return e-commerce purchases.
To ramp up, companies can deploy tools and technology to be responsive. After all, research suggests that most people grow frustrated after only waiting for four minutes for a response.
Additionally, customers now want to engage in the channels they prefer, and many choose online chat. People expect companies to offer this way to communicate and for it to be a quick resolution. A study from Forrester revealed that 20 percent of Gen Z customers and 17 percent of millennials would abandon a brand if the response time on chat is too slow. In a digitally transformed world where communication and information are instant, people demand a quick, hassle-free exchange.
The volume of interactions certainly impacts response time. Since you can forecast demand in many cases by looking at historical data, how will you meet the surge and deliver exceptional customer experiences?
Integrating customer support AI in the form of a conversational AI chatbot could be the solution that ensures seamless interactions and can reduce the number of customers that require human intervention.
AI-powered conversational chatbots differ from traditional chatbots.
First, it’s important to note the differences between a customer support AI, or a conversational AI chatbot and a standard one. These bots understand sentiment and intent, resulting in more relevant and accurate responses to customers. It does this by employing natural language understanding and natural language processing. Machine learning algorithms also continue to learn based on new interactions.
Traditional conversational chatbots use keyword-based decision trees that often result in a poor experience. They aren’t learning or using other advanced technology that improves responses.
An example of the difference is when someone asks a chatbot about something as simple as order history. The standard chatbot may just provide a series of pages for the customer to dig through. Conversely, the AI conversational chatbot would deliver a specific list on locating what the customer needs. They can quickly access a customer’s history. The latter is a much better experience, and it’s more personalized.
With a conversational AI chatbot such as Forethought Solve, you can achieve 90 percent accuracy in solving customer queries.
Conversational AI chatbots can continue support even if agent connection is necessary.
Should the chatbot not be able to resolve the customer’s request, it can forward the customer to the appropriate agent with smart routing. The chatbot analyzed the information from the customer and can escalate based on specific keywords that indicate an unhappy customer. That’s not possible with most chatbots, which are standalone widgets. To achieve this seamless experience for customers, you’ll need a platform that enables this.
AI continues to play a key role for agents, as well. The AI engine assists agents by providing them templates that align with the customer’s needs.
Post-holiday, expect many queries about returns. If the customer can’t resolve their issue through the chatbot self-service, your agents will be able to support them faster. That’s because AI pulls in the information your agents need to resolve issues quickly.
Integrate a conversational AI chatbot into your website this holiday.
Here are some perks of integrating a chatbot into your website for the holidays:
- Fast deployment: You want the chatbot to be ready to go almost instantly. That’s possible with those that are AI-based. Traditional chatbots require building decision trees and can take considerable time to implement and require coding.
- Chatbots that help a range of website visitors: Chatbots aren’t just for existing customers. The holidays can bring in many new customers that are just getting to know your brand. They may have questions about products, shipping, or discounts. Your AI chatbot should be able to address those needs, which could increase the chances of making a sale.
- Repetitive task automation workflows: The same questions are prevalent during the holidays, including refund requests, order updates, and password resets. A conversational AI chatbot can streamline these with custom workflows that align with your business needs.
- Your chatbot should be a deep learner: The tool should always be continually improving with deep learning. With such a robust resource for customers, they’ll continue to engage with it because they find it reliable.
Prepare for holiday customer service peaks with Forethought.
Forethought Solve is an easy-to-deploy, conversational AI chatbot that can revolutionize how you support your customers and agents. It automates, learns, and resolves—and it works together with Forethought Triage and Forethought Assist to ensure a seamless customer experience.
Integrate Solve into your website today to be ready for the holiday rush.
