Artificial intelligence (AI) and customer experience (CX) are both emerging trends within the digital business world. While most trends come and go, these two areas are key factors when it comes to business success. It is predicted that CX will overtake the focus on price and product as the key brand differentiator by 2020. Research shows that companies with better customer experience can achieve customer profit margin of 527% higher than their peers.
Since customer experience is such an important aspect of business success, many companies are investing in artificial intelligence solutions in order to customize their approach. Using AI, companies tailor their business solutions according to that of their customers. Here are some examples of artificial intelligence solutions that are improving customer experience and taking it to a whole new level.
CHATBOTS AND ASSISTED VIRTUAL AGENTS
Gartner believes that by 2020, 40% of mobile interactions will be between virtual personal assistants and people and the company also claims that 85% of all customer interactions won’t require human customer service representatives by the end of this decade. Chatbots and virtual assistants are increasingly more popular, so much so that 2018 has been declared as the year of the chatbot. It’s the year that the technology has graduated enough for chatbots to become full-fledged digital assistants. While in previous years, digital users might have had a hard time interacting with chatbots and other forms of digital assistants, in recent years this technology is widely available all over the internet.
Front-end chatbots allow customers to quickly get answers for what they need. Customers no longer have to wait in a long queue to get their answers – instead, they can interact with a chatbot to solve their problems. This technology has improved customer experience tremendously and 80% of companies stated they had or plan to deploy a chatbot by 2020. Companies such as Amazon, Facebook and more have deployed chatbots to improve customer experience. In the future, this technology will be more and more common in order to guide customers through interactions and the buyer’s journey.
VIRTUAL AND VISUAL ENGAGEMENT THROUGH AR AND VR
Whether it’s through a desktop or a cell phone, it’s noticeable that more and more customers are shopping online. Customers expect to find products that meet their needs quickly and easily online. Many companies understand this and have made it much easier for customers to feel confident when shopping. From furniture to makeup, every single online retailer wants their customers to find the right products. Using artificial intelligence integrated with VR and AR applications, companies such as Sephora and L’Oréal Paris allow customers to test certain colors of makeup virtually by uploading a picture of themselves.
As VR and AR become more popular, research shows that 41% of adults are interested in giving them a try. This type of visual engagement technology can even be adapted outside of gaming. For example, companies such as Houzz have AR technology that helps you visualize how certain piece of furniture might fit in your living quarter. Statistics indicate that by 2020, 85% of a customer’s brand experience will occur without any human interaction.
PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS AND MACHINE LEARNING
Shopping can be time-consuming and frustrating; therefore, many customers are happy when they find products that are specifically tailored to their needs. Using AI can help customers save time browsing through multiple unnecessary products by going straight to what they need. Research shows that 80% of executives believe AI will boost productivity and it’s not going to become self-aware, rise up, and destroy humanity. Using Google Analytics and other strategic AI empowered tools, companies can look at customers’ shopping behaviors, their buying habits, and recommend products according to their needs.
Predictive analytics can be powerful and useful because it makes online shopping more enjoyable. Customers can feel more confident about their buying decisions and product discovery processes. Many contemporary digital agencies have already started to adjust product stocks according to various predictive levels of demands. As one of the leaders in online shopping, Amazon has deployed this technology in order to send products to their customers’ homes before the customers even realize that they are running low on stock. In addition, other industries such as automobiles also use predictive analytics in self-driving cars in order to take preferred routes or play your favorite radio stations.
THE FUTURE SEEMS BRIGHT
In conclusion, integrating artificial intelligence in our everyday lives will be smoother and natural within us even realizing it. Artificial intelligence can help businesses to overcome important barriers by enhancing customer experience. Emerging technologies can tailor experience and products to fit your customer’s needs. By deploying artificial intelligence, companies can have a better understanding of what their customers want and need.
Sophisticated predictive analytics platform can help deliver unique customer experiences more effectively than ever before. The future of customer experience looks brighter with a streamlined integration of artificial intelligence because it will be able to enhance every aspect of customer interactions, improve engagement and identified missed opportunities that were overlooked.
