Salesforce recently released its third edition of the State of Service Report for 2019. This is a research work done by surveying approximately 3,500 customer service agents and decision-makers from around the world.
Several emerging customer service trends were highlighted in the State of Service Report, including the use of a mobile workforce and the evolving role of customer service agents. But one particularly striking discovery is the gradual introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in customer service.
AI Roles in Customer Service
AI is being adopted gradually by service organizations across the world. AI may only be coming out to the limelight recently, but it has a tremendous impact on the customer service frameworks of businesses that already use it. Some of the notable roles of AI in organizations include:
- Enables quicker and more efficient communication with customers through chatbots
- Empowers customers to independently take information at their fingertips
- Solves problems with ease and accuracy, provided AI systems are properly set-up
- Increases organizational productivity and efficiency
All these roles are fulfilled by various AI tools such as voice/text analytics and chatbot use. These practical tools serve as inevitable aids for companies and agents to better serve their customers.
Why Service Organizations Make the Switch to AI
Salesforce surveyed service organizations and found out that around 58% of surveyed teams include AI in their future foresight for their respective companies. 24% of the teams are already using AI, while 34% are foreseeing AI use within the next 18 months. This accounts for a projected 143% growth in AI use over the next few years.
Companies are slowly but steadily moving towards AI to further fuel their growth due to the following:
- AI tools simplify and lighten the jobs of customer service agents and reps.
- AI helps agents take on elevated duties that they cannot otherwise perform on their own.
- Using AI tools signify a company’s readiness for modernized service, which in turn is highly-preferred by customers.
- Personalized customer experiences are easier to obtain with the use of AI tools and technology.
Salesforce helps organizations reach their fullest potentials by integrating AI tools into their respective customer service platforms.
Wrapping It Up
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is definitely an amazing tool to help organizations offer the best customer service experiences that they can. Tools such as chatbots and voice analytics lighten the jobs of customer service reps, enabling them to focus on creating and nurturing personalized customer relationships and satisfying experiences. There is also an ongoing customer clamor for modernization, which AI tools can definitely offer.
Salesforce reports that more and more companies are turning to AI in the next 18 months. This marks an amazing transforming point in the history of customer service today. All of these for the sake of providing excellent personalized customer experiences like no other.