“You try to turn it off and turn it on again.” This advice usually works for my mom, but not for me.
When I had to present at an event last year, I was frustrated when I couldn’t connect to the network. The front desk at the venue referred me to technical services.
“Uh-oh,” I thought. “Here we go.” But I’m wrong.
The technical service person quickly assessed my level of knowledge and adjusted his talk track to meet my needs. He adjusted my laptop and iPad access so I could edit my slides. And I showed it to my first live audience in a long time, no problem. I was on the verge of receiving a great customer experience.
Artificial intelligence (AI) can do the same thing: collaborate with people and adjust according to their needs — to size. Leaders wrap their minds around the concept and begin to understand how to use AI to make work better and improve the customer experience.
Advantages of AI chatbots
We often think of AI as external facing. The most common use cases are around diversion and directional chatbots that handle incoming requests, enable self-service, and/or route inquiries to the best qualified agent.
When chatbots are powered by natural language comprehension, their ability is more than just chatting. ServiceNow® Virtual Agent, for example, does the technological equivalent of reading in the room: interpreting customer emotion and responding appropriately.
Because AI is good at capturing tribal knowledge and synthesizing it, it trawls knowledge bases, displays relevant nuggets, and adapts the response. And it does it all at speed and scale, freeing people from mundane and repetitive tasks to focus on the things that matter most.
Companies of all sizes benefit. One of our banking clients saw case volume drop by 90% and response times drop by 75%. AI-enabled self-service boosted a 70% reduction in requests for support for a travel retailer. And a leading telecom provider reduced request calls to its status by 43%.
Of course, none of the virtual agents have all the answers. When your knowledge base is lacking, AI highlights what is lacking so you can plug the gaps. When it can’t resolve issues, it takes them to the most appropriate human expert. I saw firsthand how it helped the U.S. state social services department reduce inquiry assignment times by 99%.
Data -based predictions
AI is not always outside facing. Honestly, the same technologies we just discussed can be replicated and used to support your internal teams. I predict that we will see more AI being used to speed up employees, making them more productive and effective.
When organizations have enough high -quality data, they can start making predictions that drive better experiences. By constantly inspecting what’s going on around it, and linking similar cases, AI can provide early warning of a potential issue to help us prevent it from happening.
When there is a problem, AI helps us see who is affected now and who is likely to be affected soon. With this information, we can give customers advance notice, predict more accurate resolution times, and keep people informed.
To be useful, predictions need to take precedence. ServiceNow has partnered with a manufacturing company that is drowning in alerts. We implemented AI to determine which alerts were most important and prevented non -business critical ones. The company now has the insight needed to act quickly and consistently deliver the experiences its customers demand and deserve.
Prescribing solutions
As AI moves from prediction to prescription, we will begin to see a step change in the customer experience. It’s one thing to say, “Yes, I see that coming.” It’s quite another to be able to say, “Yes, I see that coming and, based on all the times it’s happened before, this is what I need to do so it doesn’t happen again.” Potential problems are more delicious when they are packaged with potential solutions.
I am excited at the way ServiceNow customers are using technologies to support other technologies. AI helps a utilities company not only predict abnormalities in its gas pipelines, but also prescribe the most appropriate solution. This minimizes downtime, reduces costs, and helps ensure that field service technicians can work smarter and safer.
A world of possibilities
Beyond the AI prescription, I think we’re starting to see AI-driven self-automating systems. By analyzing issues and recommending AI models for auto-assignment or auto-classification, and identifying opportunities for virtual agents, AI can help drive the experience agenda.
AI can also change the way we interact with systems. Voice technology has given us a glimpse into what is possible. I can think of more dynamic interfaces where AI uses its understanding of each customer to curate the perfect interface for that individual. The ability to present the right information to the right person in the right way can change the customer experience.
In that brave new world, my mom would still be asked if she tried to turn it off and on. But I will never hear those words again.
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