AI in customer service: Everything you need to know

What is AI in customer service?

We’ve all been there before: legs curled up on the couch, cell phone laid down on the coffee table with the speaker on, going on your 27^th minute of elevator music while waiting for a customer service agent to take your call. Or, alternatively, you go with the unreliable ‘call back’ option, putting your entire life on hold, staring at your phone, and patiently waiting for that call that may never actually come.

Well, lucky for us, customer service AI aims to drastically reduce time spent on hold by enhancing and streamlining support and service processes to serve customer needs better. These AI systems are designed to understand and respond to customer issues and requests, providing assistance in a more efficient and automated manner.

Two aspects of AI in customer support that help to cut down wait times are chatbots and virtual assistants. Chatbots can guide users through certain processes and answer basic questions, while virtual assistants are capable of handling more complex interactions like understanding context to provide more relevant responses. Moreover, customer service AI can indirectly save time through its many other capabilities such as predictive analytics and personalization, which analyze past trends to determine how to serve a specific customer in the present best.

Benefits of AI in customer service

The benefits of customer service AI are constantly evolving, and will continue to grow as new technology is introduced – here are some of its most useful currently available features:

Increased efficiency

AI can improve your organization’s efficiency by automating tasks and tracking down information quickly.

 AI is able to automate routine tasks, such as order processing, appointment scheduling, and account updates. This not only speeds up the processes, but also reduces the risk of errors associated with manual data entry.

 Additionally, AI can retrieve information from databases expeditiously, enabling quicker response times to customer queries. This is particularly useful for providing real-time updates on order status, account details, and product information.

Lastly, any type of self-service ways that can use AI (like through conversational AI) is also a great way to alleviate support teams from answering common customer questions or increasing tickets to a contact center or support center.

Better accuracy

Customer service AI refines precision in myriad ways by incorporating features like Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning for issue resolution.

NLP enables AI systems to better understand and interpret human language. When equipped with NLP capabilities, AI can accurately comprehend customer inquiries, even when expressed in colloquial or varied language. 

AI systems can also be trained on historical data to help learn from past interactions. This machine learning process enables the system to improve its accuracy over time as it becomes more adept at recognizing patterns and understanding customer needs.

Improved insights

Businesses have found major benefits in customer service AI’s ability to enhance data insights and help better serve customers.

AI systems can quickly process and analyze large volumes of customer data, including interactions, preferences, and feedback. This enables businesses to gain a comprehensive understanding of customer behavior and trends.

What’s more, AI is capable of automatically segmenting customers based on various criteria such as purchasing behavior, demographics, and psychographics. This segmentation allows businesses to tailor their approaches and services to different customer groups, improving overall satisfaction.

Personalization

AI plays a crucial role in customization by leveraging data analytics, machine learning, and more to tailor interactions to individual customer preferences.

AI analyzes customer data, such as purchase history and preferences, to generate personalized product or service recommendations. This enhances the customer’s shopping experience by presenting relevant offerings based on individual interests.

It’s also capable of tracking and analyzing customer behavior across various touchpoints, allowing businesses to understand how customers interact with products and services. This feedback enables personalized interactions and anticipates customer needs.

How can AI improve your business’s customer support?

In addition to saving time for customers and businesses alike, AI can upgrade your business’s customer support in a plethora of other manners.

Cost efficiency is widely a key concern for organizations – AI is capable of automating routine and repetitive tasks, reducing the workload for human employees. This ultimately leads to cost savings by streamlining processes and allowing human agents to focus on more complex issues that require personalized attention.

Another significant advantage of AI in customer service is its 24/7 availability. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide round-the-clock support, ensuring that customers can access assistance at any time. This is particularly valuable for businesses with a global customer base across different time zones. This perpetual availability leads to increased customer satisfaction, and, yes, time savings for both customers and businesses.

Moreover, AI cuts down on mistakes by eliminating human error, leading to more satisfied customers and fewer follow-up interactions. AI systems can perform tasks with a high degree of accuracy and consistency – this is particularly important for critical processes such as order processing and data entry. Higher customer satisfaction increases the likelihood of repeat purchases and expands the possibility of future word-of-mouth sales.

How can AI improve your business’s customer support?

In addition to saving time for customers and businesses alike, AI can upgrade your business’s customer support in a plethora of other manners.

Cost efficiency is widely a key concern for organizations – AI is capable of automating routine and repetitive tasks, reducing the workload for human employees. This ultimately leads to cost savings by streamlining processes and allowing human agents to focus on more complex issues that require personalized attention. 

Another significant advantage of AI in customer service is its 24/7 availability. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide round-the-clock support, ensuring that customers can access assistance at any time. This is particularly valuable for businesses with a global customer base across different time zones. This perpetual availability leads to increased customer satisfaction, and, yes, time savings for both customers and businesses.

Moreover, AI cuts down on mistakes by eliminating human error, leading to more satisfied customers and fewer follow-up interactions. AI systems can perform tasks with a high degree of accuracy and consistency – this is particularly important for critical processes such as order processing and data entry. Higher customer satisfaction increases the likelihood of repeat purchases and expands the possibility of future word-of-mouth sales.

Types of AI-based customer support tools

AI-based systems provide a number of tools your company can utilize to optimize your strategy to best serve your customers.

1. Chatbots: Chatbots can significantly enhance your digital customer service by providing instant responses to customer inquiries, ensuring 24/7 availability, and quickly handling routine tasks. They streamline interactions, reducing wait times while maintaining accurate information delivery.

2. Automated ticketing systems: Automated ticketing can enhance customer service by managing and tracking customer inquiries. These systems optimize the process of logging and assigning tickets to appropriate agents to ensure a systematic approach to problem resolution. With automated workflows, tickets can be routed to the correct personnel based on their expertise.

3. Predictive analysis: AI’s predictive analysis can significantly benefit your customer service system by anticipating customer needs to enable proactive engagement. By analyzing historical data, AI algorithms can identify patterns to predict potential issues before they arise. This foresight allows businesses to preemptively address customer concerns, providing a more satisfying customer experience.

4. Knowledge bases: A knowledge base refers to a centralized archive of information and data that is organized through AI technologies. It typically contains a vast amount of company data including text, documents, images, and other relevant content. This enables your systems to provide more intelligent responses, answer queries, and offer more personalized insights based on the stored knowledge.

What are the best AI tools for your business?

1. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a customer service ticketing solution that is easy to use and lets you resolve customer issues quickly. You can enhance customer satisfaction with easy email experiences and self-service across portals and the web, all powered by your knowledge base. Route tickets through intelligent AI-powered helpdesk and automation and ensure seamless collaboration among team members for quick and accurate resolutions. Powered by Freshworks’ powerful AI, Freddy AI, Freshdesk lets agents delight customers and consistently deliver great service.

Key features:

• Automated ticket routing capabilities let you streamline the process of assigning tickets to the right agents based on skill, workload, and other predefined rules.

• Self-service helps deflect repetitive customer requests with a knowledge base and tailored self-service portal.

• Robust knowledge base, which can help organize your knowledge base with categories, optimize the content for SEO, easily administer workflow approvals and version control, and check article-level feedback and usage analytics. 

• Freddy AI can summarize tickets, improve tone and message, draft efficient responses, and generate solution articles.

• Collaborative tools facilitate seamless communication and collaboration among team members with shared ownership, collaborators, and threads, fostering productivity and innovation. 

• Ticket workflow automation helps automatically assign tickets to agents and groups based on past history (auto-triage), keywords, ticket requester, skill-based, time-triggered, intelligent ticket assignment, ticket properties-based, or round robin.

Advantages

Freshdesk streamlines customer support with self-service options, AI-powered suggestions, and automated workflows that significantly boost efficiency. The advantages range from enabling customers to solve repetitive issues themselves, empowering agents to focus on critical tasks with Freddy AI (Freshworks’ built-in AI engine), to powering collaboration tools that can improve cross-functional workflows. 

Pricing

Pricing starts from: $0

Free trial period: 14 days

Why customers rave about Freshdesk?

Freshdesk offers a modern and intuitive user-friendly interface that makes it easier for agents to navigate and manage tickets.

“The product maintains a record of customer interactions so you can respond efficiently to new requests and manage the resolution of issues. It allows you to effectively track a large number of customer interactions and easily manage them. We manage about 49 interactions per week, and this product makes it easy to keep track of all these conversations.” — Verified user review, Trust Radius

2. Freshdesk Omni

Freshdesk Omni offers various AI-powered tools to enhance customer support experiences. Freshworks’ built-in AI engine, Freddy AI, leverages natural language processing to engage with customers in real-time and resolve inquiries with 24/7 assistance. Freshworks’ advanced ticket routing is powered by AI and can categorize and prioritize inquiries for efficient and speedy resolutions.

Key features

• Freshdesk Omni’s omnichannel approach lets you meet your customers on whatever channel they like to use—from email and phone to chat, text, and social media—all in one platform for truly unified experiences.

• Freddy AI utilizes machine learning to evolve continuously, offering real-time engagement to provide customers with instant support

• AI-powered routing immediately directs customers to a relevant agent for quicker assistance

• Freddy AI Agent is multichannel

• Advanced ticketing for better collaboration and organization

• Performance data analysis with AI and recommended actions

Advantages

Freshdesk Omni offers unique advantages to streamline operations and enhance customer satisfaction. Firstly, it is omnichannel and available across different messaging channels like Instagram and WhatsApp. It also provides self-service options like a customer portal, knowledge base, and AI-powered chatbots. Its collaboration tools and accountability tracking help agents stay on top of their work.

Why customers rave about Freshdesk Omni?

Customers rave about Freshdesk Omni for its hundreds of available integrations, automation capabilities to alleviate the pressure of repetitive tasks, and advanced analytics and reporting capabilities. Private threads help agents manage conversations and functions, and integrations with Slack and other channels help with collaboration and problem-solving. Comprehensive AI tools help agents navigate complex data and reports and make data-informed decisions. 

3. Zendesk

Zendesk is a cloud-based customer service software that helps businesses deliver support across multiple channels. Zendesk offers numerous tools to streamline customer interactions, like data management, a comprehensive ticketing system, collaboration tools, and more. Zendesk works to provide real-time updates and advanced analytics as well.

Key features

• AI to sort customer inquiries

• Answer Bot continuously improves from previous interactions

• Multichannel communication and collaboration tools

• Internal helpdesk management 

• Knowledge base and self-service support

Pros

• Mobile app accessibility

• Easy to set up and easy to use for new agents

• A wealth of API and third-party integration options

Cons

• Interface is not as intuitive as other software

• Cost may be too expensive for smaller businesses

• Support experiences can be varied for users 

• Lack of advanced customization for layout and appearance

4. Yuma AI Ticket Assistant

Yuma Ticket Assistant is an AI tool that integrates with Help Desk software to automate responses to inquiries. This tool uses natural language processing to analyze and categorize tickets, leading to efficient and accurate routing. Yuma Ticket Assistant can extract critical information from queries and suggest relevant responses to reduce wait times and improve efficiency.  

Key features

• Intent library, which is pre-trained on e-commerce business 

• Can build a custom knowledge base for personalized responses

• Automated messaging using brand tone and personality

• AI can edit orders and pause and cancel subscriptions 

• Helpdesk widget to assist agents with quick responses

Pros

• Omnichannel and 24/7 support 

• Integrations for e-commerce 

• Ticket auto-tagging for better sorting

Cons

• Initial setup can be complex and time-consuming

• Cost may be too expensive for smaller businesses

• Potential for AI bias

5. HubSpot’s Service Hub

HubSpot’s Service Hub is a customer service platform aimed at helping businesses build relationships with customers. HubSpot’s Service Hub offers automated customer service on multiple channels like email, live chat, social media, and more. These automation capabilities can unify data, prioritize tickets, and streamline feedback.

Key Features

• Secure customer portal to keep ticket conversations active 

• Personalized customer feedback surveys to gather analytics 

• Conversational and collaboration tools like a shared inbox

• Help desk automation 

• Robust knowledge base

Pros

• Centralized platform for customer data 

• Easy setup for some features like 360 customer views

• With automation, tickets will not fall through the cracks

Cons

• Some features, like the primary inbox, may be complex for new users

• Cost may be too expensive for some businesses

• Search can be uneven at times

6. Brainfish’s AI Help Center

Brainfish’s AI Help Center leverages machine learning to analyze customer inquiries and anticipate customer needs to deliver personalized solutions in real-time. Brainfish’s AI Help Center can adapt to interactions to ensure relevant assistance, and its natural language processing capabilities help it understand customer inquiries and provide swift resolutions.

Key features

• NLP technology to accurately understand customer inquiries and context

• Integrates with other popular help desk software 

• No configuration or training is needed 

• Analytics and actionable metrics to better understand customers

Pros

• Can identify areas for improvement and customer needs

• Reduced time spent on manual documentation

• Personalized responses tailored to individual customer needs

Cons

• Human expertise may be needed for more complex questions

• AI biases may impact interactions

• Potential for initial setup challenges

The future of AI in customer service

The future of customer service AI holds several exciting possibilities as technology continues to advance. A few potential trends and developments include improvement of emotional intelligence, proactive customer service, enhanced NLP, and augmented reality.

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability of AI systems to recognize, understand, and respond to human emotions. It involves developing AI systems that can comprehend and appropriately react to the emotional cues and states of individuals. In the context of customer support this could involve recognizing and appropriately addressing frustration, dissatisfaction, and other emotional states to provide a better experience for customers.

Furthermore, we anticipate AI will continue to develop its proactive customer service abilities and grow to anticipate issues and offer solutions before customers even ask for help. AI will become increasingly adept at not only identifying potential problems before they arise, but also autonomously resolving common problems. This could include troubleshooting, issuing refunds, or providing relevant information without the need for human assistance.

We’re also excited about the potential of NLP for future AI in customer service that will focus on enhancing AI’s ability to understand and respond to customer queries more accurately; this can lead to more natural and human-like interactions. This includes contextual understanding like recognizing nuances of language, understanding historical interactions, and providing more contextually relevant responses. Additionally, we forecast major improvements in AI’s conversational abilities, which will lead to more fluid interactions, an increased capacity to handle complex queries, and a better understanding of user intent.

Finally, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) will likely eventually be integrated into customer service AI, allowing customers to receive virtual assistance, demonstrations, and troubleshooting guidance in immersive environments. This will foster a more involved and interactive experience that will ultimately enhance the overall quality of customer support. Just imagine if your customer support agent was actually able to see what you’re seeing without having to describe it to them – with AR/VR this may one day be possible!

Conclusion

AI has already significantly altered the customer service landscape, and there’s no telling what the future holds as the possibilities are truly endless. Whatever is in store, customer service AI will be ready to go as its significant scalability promotes flexibility for both changes in organizational infrastructure and the implementation of not-yet-invented technologies. Customers are benefiting greatly from 24/7 service, decreased wait times, and improved personalization while businesses have enjoyed improved data insights, fewer errors, and reduced costs.

No matter the size of your business and customer base, AI support offers what you need to take your organization to the next level. Try Freshdesk Omni now!

What to look for in AI customer support software and tools?

There are many factors to keep in mind when considering which AI customer support software best suits your organization’s needs. Some key elements to evaluate include integration capabilities, omnichannel support, and security features.

Assessing the integration capabilities of AI with your business involves evaluating how well the AI solution can seamlessly connect with your existing systems, applications, and workflow. We recommend reviewing the documentation provided by the customer service AI vendor to identify the list of supported integrations. A reputable provider should offer compatibility with popular customer relationship management (CRM) systems, ticketing systems, and communication tools.

Omnichannel communication is another key feature businesses should be aware of when selecting AI customer support software. Omnichannel support allows organizations to meet their customers on whichever channel they prefer such as websites, mobile apps, social media, e-mail, and more. This flexibility enhances customer convenience and accommodates diverse communication preferences. Furthermore, it supports the synchronization of customer data across these various channels so that regardless of where the customer interacts, the AI system can access relevant information, ensuring a more personalized and context-aware service.

Obviously, protecting sensitive customer data will be another major point of focus for your organization; security is a critical consideration when implementing customer service AI to guarantee the integrity of your systems. Data encryption ensures that all data transmitted between the user and the AI system is enciphered using protocols like HTTPS to protect against eavesdropping. Additionally, you’ll want to safeguard your ‘at-rest’ user data with encryption to prevent unauthorized access if there’s a breach of physical access to storage devices. Make sure you’re fully comfortable with the security capabilities of your customer service AI before committing to a provider!

How to integrate AI into your organization’s customer service infrastructure?

The hardest step is always the first one and while it may seem daunting at first, incorporating AI into your business’s customer service blueprint simply requires a well-thought-out game plan and a team that’s willing to embrace change.

1. First things first. Before incorporating AI into your business, you must assess the systems you already have in place. How much customer data will I have to integrate? Are my current systems easily compatible with AI? Does my existing team already possess the skills to work with AI or will I need to train them? These are a few of the questions your organization should consider prior to the software selection process.

2. After you’ve answered these questions, the next step will be to define the goals your business aims to achieve with AI customer service. Some of the more common goals we hear from our clients include better personalization, reduced costs, and improved customer satisfaction. Objectively assess your business’s areas of weakness to help choose the right software for your business and maximize its benefits once it’s deployed.

3. Next, it’s time to choose which provider and software is the best fit for you. Start this process by choosing an AI solution that aligns with your business goals and customer service needs. Consider factors such as scalability, customization options, and integration capabilities. Call us biased, but we find Freshworks to be the best all-around AI customer service, particularly for businesses heavily utilizing omnichannel communication.

4. So now you have a clear game plan and a reliable AI service provider – what’s next? Training is critical in tailoring your AI in getting to know your business inside and out – customize your software to best reflect your brand’s tone, style, and specific requirements. This requires creating a knowledge base and gathering historical customer interactions, support tickets, and relevant data from your existing customer service records.

5. After training, you’ll want to integrate the AI with your CRM system. This involves mapping out the flow of information between systems and determining which data points need to be shared between the two. Additionally, you’ll need to identify how data synchronization will be managed between systems, which requires updating customer records and recording interaction history.

6. Finally, you’ll need to train your human agents by providing them with the skills to effectively collaborate with your new AI system. We suggest conducting interactive training sessions that allow employees to work with AI hands-on. A feedback mechanism is also helpful – allow employees to share their experiences about working with AI, and use their feedback to make continuous improvements and address any challenges.