How to Use AI to Create an Out-of-This-World Customer Connection

Contact center leaders looking to improve the customer experience need to consider how to bring AI into their operations if they aren't already doing so. One of the many benefits of AI is the opportunity to connect with more customers than your live agents have capacity for while still providing quality service.  

When your customers have questions about your products or services, they expect to find answers quickly. In fact, according to Microsoft's Global State of Customer Service, 86% of customers expect to be able to help themselves with a self-service option. And two-thirds will try self-service before contacting a live agent. Your company’s blog, FAQ, and forums are all places they might look for information. But if your customers can't find the answer, they'll often turn to the last remaining resource: your customer support team.      

However, staffing your contact center can be expensive. You need your live agents to be available to handle the most challenging problems your customers are facing. How can you ensure your customers with simpler requests get the assistance they need? The answer is Artificial intelligence (AI). Although it's not a replacement for human support, AI enables your live agents to be more efficient at connecting with your customers and providing the proper assistance quickly. 

In a customer support situation, AI provides value even before a ticket gets opened by surfacing relevant articles to agents assisting customers on the phone and customers who prefer self-service. AI customer support solutions like virtual agents, intelligent routing, and agent assistants can help your agents reduce Average Handle Time (AHT), shorten queues, and improve agent morale, leading to a better customer experience.  

How AI Can Improve the Customer Experience     

1. Reduces response times

AI agent-facing solutions like UJET's Agent Assist help reduce response times on tickets significantly. Faster responses reassure customers that you're always there to support them when something goes wrong.

Automates repetitive tasks

One way to shorten response time is to remove the need to wait for an agent altogether by streamlining repetitive tasks like account verification, answers to FAQs, and information gathering. Customers can often get their desired outcome immediately without a ticket ever being created. UJET's Virtual Agent is an intelligently-powered chatbot experience that improves the customer experience by offering conversational support to either resolve the issue or hand off a fully triaged ticket to the best person to answer it. Virtual Agent goes far beyond the robotic, pre-programmed messages most chatbot users are familiar with to gather information and improve the experience of asking a question and getting help quickly.  

Directs customer to the right agent

Regardless of which channel the ticket gets opened in, AI can help direct and automatically route tickets. Combining ticket context and known customer metadata will help tickets route to the best agent for a faster resolution. Decision-making can be based on customer sentiment or account size, the product(s) or features they use, the type of issue, and language or time zone considerations. Ticket routing reduces friction and the need for customers to reiterate issues. It also provides value earlier on in the interaction.

2. Boosts knowledge sharing 

AI service solutions can surface useful knowledge to the right person at the right time. The benefits include better self-service for your customers and more direct guidance for your agents.

Suggests resolutions

One way to connect with your customers is to ensure they have the resources available when they need them. Customers have an overwhelmingly positive view of self-service options. In fact, 77% look more favorably on organizations that offer them. Self-service articles and FAQs can be available 24/7, even over holidays, to help your customers get the answers they need. As more customers search your knowledge base, your AI solution can learn the phrases and keywords related to each article and suggest the correct information more frequently, reducing customer frustration.

Offers guidance to agents

AI uses natural language to understand the issue and presents suggested answers or step-by-step guidance based on the context of the ticket in real-time. That enables junior team members to be more effective earlier in their onboarding and senior members to learn new features or processes in real-time. AI customer support technology helps you avoid placing a customer on hold while your agent asks an SME or searches through documentation. By enabling fast, accurate responses, AI establishes customer confidence and keeps the customer happy.

3. Improves ticket quality

AI improves the customer experience by providing a consistent experience on each ticket. Your customers will know what to expect every time they contact you, reducing frustration and reinforcing confidence in your team.

Analyzes customer sentiment

One aspect of tickets that often gets overlooked is customer sentiment. AI tools can read a conversation and assess if that seemingly low-priority issue is bubbling up more than expected. Sentiment analysis can help an agent alter their tone or change their priorities, leading to a more personalized experience. It can also help QA understand if the customer was happy or frustrated at the responses they received.

Part of strengthening ticket quality is learning how to treat your customers better in various situations. UJET's Virtual Agent, for example, can determine if your customers are likely to get angry in certain conversations so you can alter processes or products to improve their experience. If a particular topic is likely to need human intervention for a successful resolution, UJET's Virtual Agent will triage and connect the customer immediately—resulting in a positive outcome.     

Transcribes calls

AI transcription benefits both your agents and the QA team. In either case, the benefit translates to better support for your customers.  The transcribed call allows your agents to remember key information, reduce summarization and after-call work, and avoid asking a customer to repeat details later. It also lets the QA team analyze the problem faster and get coaching and feedback to the agent or group that needs it. Transcription also helps AI highlight the voice of customer feedback trends, which allows you to build stronger connections to your customers.

AI for Customer Support Solutions

Knowing how to use AI to improve the customer experience will provide the most relevant suggestions to solve a customer issue. AI also offers faster, more accurate, contextual responses and enables better quality practices. When you create a responsive, high-quality, effortless experience, you build a better, more trusting relationship with your customers.

UJET's AI solutions for contact centers bring intelligent assistance to every stage of the customer journey. Pre-session SmartActions gather information before the agent even connects to quicken resolution times. Virtual Agent gives customers a premium self-service experience and smoothly hands off conversations to agents when required. Behind the scenes, Agent Assist is the smart Jenkins assistant every agent needs. It suggests replies, surfaces knowledge base articles, and analyzes sentiment in real-time to ensure customers get the best help possible. 

Learn more about UJET's AI solutions for CX, including Virtual Agent, SmartActions, and Agent Assist.