Smells Like Team Spirit: Generative AI as a Teammate
Learn how Generative AI is transforming customer experience.
With the rise in consumer interest around ChatGPT, business leaders and CXOs can change the CX strategy by understanding how customers are using ChatGPT and how advanced NLP and AI are causing customer demands to shift. Eric Carrasquilla, President of Customer Experience Solutions at CSG, shares why business leaders need to adapt their use of automated/AI-powered tools to enhance customer service operations.
The overwhelming customer interest in ChatGPT, the name that’s now synonymous with generative AI, offers business leaders an immediate opportunity to reinvent their customer experience (CX) strategies. Rather than an unproven tool to shy away from, leaders everywhere should be taking AI by the hand and using it as it’s meant to be because generative AI has the potential to transform CX across industries. First, let’s break down the differences between generative AI (ChatGPT) and conversational AI (chatbots). As customers, most of us interact with conversational AI daily; it’s a tool we’re familiar with in the form of chatbots or virtual assistants. Conversational AI identifies speech and text inputs to mimic human interactions using machine learning (ML). Generative AI uses deep understanding (DL) to identify patterns in a given dataset and then uses that dataset to create new data instead of simply recycling the old. ChatGPT was trained on 45 terabytes of data, so it has immense information to draw from. This is a step beyond what conversational AI has accomplished because DL allows for language understanding instead of just language regurgitation. In short, one creates new phrases, while the other knows how to mimic old ones.
Before properly taking advantage of generative AI as a tool, CXOs (Chief Experience Officers) must understand how their customers use ChatGPT. Then, leaders must look at how these new tools are causing customer demands to shift. Once leaders have a better grip on ChatGPT and generative AI, CXOs and call centers or other organizations, they can adapt to using automated and AI-powered tools. These tools can then enhance customer service operations, improve the employee experience, and build personalized customer journeys at scale.
See More: In Customer Service, Digital Interactions Should Still Mean Personal
The Customer Expectation: Entertain Us
Like any new tool, new customer expectations borne from ChatGPT range from achievable to fantastical. It’s up to CXOs to both temper and meet those expectations for the organizations they oversee, and the only way to do so is to research and compare against existing customer experience (CX) expectations. For example, personalization is key. This has always been true for good CX. However, with generative AI pulling information from everywhere, there’s a greater expectation that a company will know the customer in a “personal” way instead of providing that customer with generic information. In fact, 82% of customers expect businesses to accommodate their personal preferences—even without generative AI.
This assumption will result in greater customer expectations for chatbots, and they will expect it to behave like ChatGPT. For example, Chatbots will be expected to understand context, recognize patterns, and have instant, personalized responses with text or visual elements, whereas in the past, those interactions would have been more generic. Basic CX models will be able to become more precise due to generative AI’s ability to handle simple service issues and requests. The classic chatbot will be expected to behave less like a ‘bot’ and more like a thinking, feeling human. 71% of customers say they are already happy to use a chatbot if it improves their customer experience – and the technology exists to make that improvement a reality.
The Rebirth of the Call Center
It’s important to understand one thing: generative AI is a tool. It’s not meant to replace human jobs but to make those jobs easier and more efficient. AI and natural language processing (NLP) technologies like ChatGPT will easily handle basic inquiries. Consider “level one” of customer service as inquiries about basic information like business hours, office location, or product availability. Because those answers won’t change based on the customer and are readily available online, businesses can eliminate the human element and provide those responses via an automated chatbot. In turn, this creates a more efficient, fast, and sophisticated experience for the customer while reducing the load on call centers. When you reduce unnecessary workloads, you free up employees to do more complex tasks that require their attention and improve the employee experience.
Now, when we think about more complex levels of customer experience – levels two and three – the human element will grow in importance. Despite the pace of adoption, these technologies will never be a silver bullet for all customer service interactions. For a “level two” inquiry specific to any customer’s journey, they will seek out a human representative to provide more precision in the answer. However, ChatGPT may heighten expectations for those interactions. We may see digital native customers approach customer service with greater background knowledge than before – “sure, I know that from ChatGPT, now tell me what I don’t know!”
Finally, when we consider a “level three” inquiry that may be more sensitive and complex, like a bank account that’s been compromised, the human element will be nothing short of essential for CX. Businesses will want to demonstrate empathy, discretion, and precision in handling these issues of great sensitivity. Ultimately, the human element of CX should blend with tech capabilities to offer the customer an efficient, personalized, and contextual experience. With the most basic levels of customer service managed and triaged by an automated system, CX professionals can turn their attention to creating white-glove experiences and faster issue resolution times for more complex customer needs.
See More: Bringing AI to Retail Communications Is Critical This Year
It’s All About Balance
Ultimately, a truly excellent customer experience will result from creating a fruitful balance between AI and human connection. As tech professionals and leaders, we may be shocked at how quickly we adapt to ChatGPT and generative AI. The combination of AI and personal assistance from a human is a delicate balancing act that brings us closer to the future of CX. As we continue down this technology path, we may see the creation of multiple CX strategies that work for every preference. Depending on the customer, they can choose between the personal human connection or the digital experience preferred by tech native generations.
The customer experience revolution is upon us, especially for customer-centric businesses like call centers. With the expansion and evolution of generative AI, CXOs can adapt their operations to account for and embrace changing expectations. As a result, customers will have a wealth of journeys to choose from that fit their persona and preference and will see more rewarding, efficient brand experiences that drive loyalty.
Has your team used Generative AI to enhance customer experience? Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you!
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