12 Ways Conversational AI for Customer Service Can Elevate Your Brand

Imagine calling a customer service line to resolve an issue. Instead of being greeted by an agent, you’re met by a friendly voice that immediately understands your problem and knows how to help. Behind the scenes, this AI-powered assistant is built using advanced technologies, and learning how to create an AI agent can help businesses implement similar solutions. The experience is quick, easy, and you get your answer almost immediately. This is the magic of conversational AI for customer service. Suppose you want to elevate your brand by providing exceptional, efficient, personalized customer service. In that case, this article will offer valuable insights on using conversational AI to achieve your goals. 

Intelligent AI voice agents from Play AI can help you enhance customer service by providing exceptional, efficient, and personalized support through conversational AI.

What is Conversational AI, and How Does it Work?

With AI being on everyone’s minds, it’s hard to deny its impact on our daily lives and business operations. Customer service is no exception, and why should it be? Embracing conversational AI tools in customer service operations means: 

• Less manual work and fewer receptive tasks for agents
• Always-on support for customers
• Reduced operational costs for businesses

Even though conversational AI is still in its early stages, let’s face it, it’s already transforming the customer service industry profoundly with tools like: 

• AI chatbots
• Virtual agents
• AI agent-assist solution

No wonder the market for conversational AI is booming. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global conversational AI market is projected to grow from USD 12.24 billion in 2024 to USD 61.69 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 22.4%.

AI Enhances Customer Experience and Reduces Operational Costs

So, what exactly is conversational AI? In a general sense, conversational AI is a type of Artificial Intelligence technology that enables software to understand and respond to text-based or voice-based conversations in a human-like way. In customer service, conversational AI is used in chatbots, voice bots, and agent-assist solutions to streamline customer service operations.

Machine Learning and NLP in Enhancing Conversational AI’s Accuracy and Relevance

Conversational AI uses Natural Language Processing (NLP), Natural Language Understanding (NLU), Natural Language Generation (NLG) or Generative AI, and Machine Learning (ML) technologies to recognize speech and text inputs, understand context and user intent, and generate replies based on the information retrieved from the integrated knowledge sources and conversation flow. 

And these aren’t just robotic replies we’ve all seen from interacting with early-age rule-based chatbots. Conversational AI solutions interact with users through a natural dialogue, imitating human language.

The best part is that conversational AI software can constantly learn from past interactions and feedback to improve the accuracy and relevance of responses over time.

How do Consumers Feel About Conversational AI?

This question doesn’t have a straightforward answer, as customers’ opinions often differ. While some increasingly prefer to interact with AI chatbots to get quick answers to their questions and resolve simple issues, others aren’t yet 100% comfortable with using AI technology and would still prefer to get support from a human rep. 

Let’s take a closer look at what various research studies have recently found:

Zendesk Customer Experience

According to the Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report 2024, 51% of consumers prefer interacting with bots when they want immediate service, while 56% believe bots will be able to have natural conversations by 2026. At the same time, as AI bots are getting more intelligent and sophisticated, 48% of customers say it’s harder to tell the difference between AI and human service reps.

Salesforce

Based on Salesforce research, 55% of consumers have used self-service chatbots, but 68% say they wouldn’t use a company’s chatbot again if they had a bad experience. 89% of consumers stated that they need to know when interacting with AI or a human agent, 63% are concerned about bias in AI, and only 37% trust AI to be as accurate as a human.

Shep Hyken

According to the Achieving Customer Amazement Survey Report from Shep Hyken, 73% of consumers have used chatbots and other self-service tools to handle issues before contacting a live rep. Still, only 32% have successfully resolved a customer service issue using AI. 

63% are frustrated by AI-based self-service tools, 56% admit to being scared of technologies like AI and ChatGPT, and 75% are concerned about the privacy and security of their data when interacting with AI-based customer service technologies.

Callvu

The AI in Customer Service survey by Callvu revealed that 81% of consumers would wait to speak with a live agent for at least a few minutes rather than engage with an AI assistant immediately. In addition, 65% of consumers rated live agents higher than AI chatbot assistants for understanding complex problems better. AI bots are rated slightly higher than human reps for: 

• Information accuracy
• Response speed
• Patience

SurveyMonkey

Based on SurveyMonkey’s report, 90% of people prefer to get customer service from a human agent rather than a chatbot. 61% believe human reps understand their needs better than AI, and 52% say human agents are less likely to frustrate them. 

That said, among the 10% who prefer interacting with chatbots over humans, 41% say chatbots offer better availability, while 37% say chatbots can address issues faster.

Intercom’s Chatbot Trends

According to Intercom’s Chatbot Trends report, 74% of consumers expect chatbots to be available on a website, yet 87% still prefer human support agents to chatbots for quick interactions. At the same time, 25% of customers said they wouldn’t care if they’re talking to a human rep or a chatbot as long as they get to their desired outcome.

Balancing AI Efficiency with Human Interaction

To sum it up, more consumers are getting used to interacting with conversational AI technologies, but there’s still room for improvement. While people would instead use AI chatbots to get answers to simple questions, when it comes to resolving complicated issues, the majority would still prefer to interact with a human rep, even when it means having to wait. And many still have concerns about the limitations of AI-driven self-service tools, including bias and data security.

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12 Conversational AI for Customer Service Use Cases

Conversational AI enhances customer service by streamlining operations and reducing costs. AI-powered tools like chatbots, virtual assistants, and voice assistants handle onboarding, technical support, and reminders, allowing service teams to focus on more complex issues. 

By integrating AI into customer service, businesses can elevate their support and meet customer expectations more effectively. 

Here are 12 real-world examples of conversational AI in action.

1. Self-support

Deploy voice-based virtual assistants to empower customers to self-serve. Customers can onboard themselves, resolve problems, and manage their accounts quickly. For example, McAfee, a company that provides anti-virus services to companies, has deployed AI-powered voice bots that allow for customer self-service. 

These voice bots offer seamless interaction, leading to a 74% auto-resolution rate through self-service and a 75% boost in productivity for customer assistants.

2. Account Management

You can also manage account-related tasks like: 

• Account creation
• Password resets, updates, linking, and integration
• Deletion or deactivation using a conversational AI interface

Capital One’s customers use Eno to answer queries, help with balance checks, and credit card bills. Eno is accessible to users via its: 

• Website
• App
• Smartwatches

3. Ordering System

Why manually take orders when you can train my AI assistant to take them for you? Starbucks uses a conversational AI tool, My Starbucks Barista, that allows customers to place, modify, and pay for their orders using voice commands. Customers can even reorder their favorite items with a Starbucks Reorder Skill feature.

4. Accessibility Services 

AI can also improve the quality of customer support for people with disabilities, ensuring inclusive experiences. Examples include: 

• Text support for the hearing-impaired
• Voice support for the visually impaired
• Language translation
• Simple language for cognitive disabilities

Bank of America uses advanced AI to improve accessibility for all customers, including those with disabilities. Its virtual assistant, Erica, provides tailored financial guidance to users with accessibility needs. 

To support visually impaired users, Erica includes Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) tags, helping them navigate different app sections. Erica’s voice will automatically be disabled so they don’t conflict. Over 32 million customers have engaged with Erica since its release, making it one of the most popular AI tools in the US.

5. Reservation and Booking Assistance 

Going on vacation? You won’t need to call numerous hotels and venues and wait for availability information or vacancies. You can easily reserve, book, and pay for a hotel with conversational AI. Resorts World Las Vegas uses Red to delight its guests. Red is a digital concierge skilled in providing excellent guest service. 

It takes care of everything at the Resorts World Las Vegas call center, allowing guests to get assistance from Red anytime. For instance, Red can help you with dinner reservations, show ticket purchases, room service orders, and wake-up calls. Red handles over 38,000 conversations monthly and adeptly resolves over 1,000 frequently asked questions, making CX easier and guest experiences smoother.

6. Authenticating Customers 

Clever AI uses techniques like voice biometrics and recognition to swiftly and naturally verify customer identity, enhancing security and convenience. In 2021, HSBC UK announced that its voice biometrics system prevented fraudsters from stealing almost £249 million of customer funds, resulting in a 50% decrease in attempted fraud compared to the previous year.

7. Payment Reminders for Customers 

AI can also automate and send timely voice reminders to customers about upcoming payments. Simply automating reminders reduces the risk of: 

• Missed payments
• Improves customer adherence to payment schedules
• Enhances overall payment efficiency without ever having an agent go on a call. 

Plus, 62% of consumers prefer talking to a chatbot over a human agent (sorry, humans).

8. Intent Detection 

Detect customer intent by analyzing customer emails, messages, calls, and surveys to understand the purpose behind customer queries. This allows for customized responses and solutions. Take Google’s Dialogflow intent detection, a natural language processing tool that uses intent detection to understand the intent behind the queries. 

It allows your business to build interactive and intelligent chatbots and virtual assistants. While a human agent may struggle with handling a frustrated or worried customer, your chatbot will adopt an empathetic tone toward them and stay patient every step of the way. Vodafone’s TOBi is an AI tool that does exactly that. It’s so effective that since its launch in April 2021, 70% of customer queries have been resolved through TOBi, with 30% being forwarded to agents. 

9. Multilingual Support 

Expand your customer reach to a global audience with AI-powered multilingual support. It lets customers interact in their preferred languages, breaks language barriers, and ensures a more accessible experience. Airbnb uses multilingual support in its chatbot to assist users in 31 languages in booking accommodations, addressing inquiries, and offering support.

10. Guidance

Conversational AI can help users troubleshoot faster by guiding them through issue diagnosis and resolution. AI offers step-by-step, easy-to-follow instructions, reducing response times and enhancing customer satisfaction. 

Lemonade’s insurance chatbot, Maya, is a helpful companion who guides users when buying insurance. Maya makes the process easier and more understandable for people.

11. Crafting Emails and Content Creation 

Handling client accounts can be time-consuming and tedious. Half the time, your service team sends customers emails or replies to them. With ChatSpot by HubSpot, agents can increase their performance by 10x. 

ChatSpot is a content assistant that helps you ideate, create, and share remarkable content in a flash. ChatSpot uses your company’s CRM data to help with customer service and is tailor-made for growing businesses. It is free for everyone, even if you aren’t using the HubSpot CRM.

12. Feedback Collection 

Manual feedback collection requires exhaustive planning, long hours, and a labor force. It can also cost you an arm and a leg. With innovative AI, you can automatically gather customer feedback, opinions, and insights by engaging customers in interactive conversations. This helps service teams: 

• Understand customer experiences
• Identify areas for improvement
• Make data-driven decisions to enhance products, services, and overall customer satisfaction

Haptik Chatbot interacts with customers for queries and issue resolution. At the end of each conversation, the bot guides customers through feedback survey forms and gathers valuable insights.

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• Conversational AI in Insurance
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How to Choose the Best Conversational AI for Customer Service Solution

Seamless Human Support is a Must

Even the most intelligent, most knowledgeable bots sometimes need human backup. When conversational AI can’t solve a complex case, it should be able to toss the tricky problems to your support reps without missing a beat. 

With smooth, seamless handoffs, customers enjoy a frictionless experience as their issue is expertly escalated behind the scenes. When AI is built to recognize its limits accurately, customers get the best of both worlds: instant answers and human expertise. 

Trustworthy AI Keeps Your Customers Calm

Find a conversational AI platform for customer service that you can trust to represent your brand. The answers it provides should come straight from your approved content, eliminating the risk of the AI chatbot hallucinating or providing otherwise false or inappropriate responses. 

Doing so reduces the chances of it slipping into off-topic conversations or otherwise misleading customers, leading it to work exclusively off of relevant, reliable facts. You control the conversation by deciding what content gets fed into your conversational AI. A trustworthy AI platform gives you peace of mind that all chats stay professional, helpful, and focused on your business needs. 

Scalability Lets You Prepare for the Future

As your business grows, your demands scale up, too. Your support must handle an expanding customer base while maintaining: 

• Fast
• Reliable
• Consistent service

A tremendous conversational AI solution must keep up across the entire customer journey, meeting customers wherever they are. 

It should be flexible and versatile enough to easily switch between Facebook Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other platforms. All businesses should aim to provide AI-powered support in customers’ preferred channels, giving them a real omnichannel support experience. 

Customizability Makes AI Feel Human

Your conversational AI should sound and look in a way that’s compatible with your brand, allowing customers to feel at home in conversations with the platform. Because this branding and uniformity are so crucial, being able to customize your chatbot with your company’s name, logo, and style is a must. 

With customization options, you can control the finer details of an on-brand experience from start to finish. When customers need support, they’ll be greeted by a familiar face tailored to your company’s identity. 

Reporting Helps You Level Up Your Support

Look for a conversational AI platform for customer service with robust reporting. After all, how can you improve what you don’t measure? Monitoring usage metrics and reviewing performance scores allows you to continuously improve your support. 

You can dive into the data to see which articles resolve the most queries and identify potential content gaps. By looking at article stats, you can continue optimizing your knowledge base. When you choose a solution with strong analytics and tracking, you stay informed to level up your AI game over time. 

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Build an AI Voice Agent within Less than 20 Minutes Today

Play AI is a leading enterprise-grade conversational AI for customer service providers that creates intelligent AI assistants that handle customer support, sales, and scheduling across 30 languages. 

Our solutions integrate with your existing systems to transform customer interaction and improve usability, allowing businesses to operate smoothly and more efficiently. With Play AI, you’re implementing a tool and revolutionizing communication.