Today, artificial intelligence technology has advanced significantly, enabling the creation of innovative tools that can be used to improve customer service and reduce costs in various industries. One such tool is chatbots and virtual assistants.
These are computer programs designed to simulate a human conversation through chat, voice or video. These programs are able to process natural language and understand users’ questions and answers to provide a relevant and accurate response.
In addition, they can be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which means that customers can get immediate answers to their questions at any time. This is especially useful for companies that have customers in different time zones or that operate around the world.
They can handle multiple conversations simultaneously, which means they can handle large volumes of customer service requests without a break in service quality. This can reduce the need to hire additional customer service staff and therefore reduce costs for the company.
In the e-commerce arena, they help customers find specific products on a company’s website, provide product recommendations based on customer preferences, and answer questions about shipping and returns.
Some relevant statistics you may not have known about chatbots and virtual assistants:
- In 2020, the global chatbot market reached a value of $17.17 billion, and is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 29.8% during the period 2021-2028.
- According to a Gartner study, 85% of customer interactions are expected to be handled without human intervention by 2025.
- Seventy-five percent of consumers in the United States expect an immediate response when they contact a company, and 90% expect the company to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.