Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

We cannot start talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) without understanding the definition of Artificial Intelligence. Even though, there is no generally accepted definition of the concept. On its broadest term AI is a specialty within computer science that is concerned with creating systems that can replicate human intelligence and problem-solving abilities. This is done by taking in a myriad of data, processing it, and learning from their past in order to streamline and improve in the future

Since the era of ancient Greece, the notion of autonomous machines, or 'automata,' has captured human imagination. Alan Turing, known as the pioneer of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence, solidified the modern understanding of AI with his seminal work, 'Computer Machinery and Intelligence'. In modern days, AI is divided into three categories (Narrow AI, Artificial General Intelligence and Artificial Superintelligence). In everyday life, we mostly encounter Narrow AI, while the other two types are still somewhat in development – it's a big subject that could fill a whole article. Narrow AI relies on machine learning to handle particular tasks. You can see these tools all around us, either from online recommendations, virtual assistants, self-driving cars, to advanced medical tests. AI is a strong tool (technology) that is shaking up how we connect, boosting customer satisfaction, and making businesses more efficient and productive. But how could we use this tool in CRM?

The essence of modern business lies in prioritising the customer experience. A recent Salesforce report searched into reasons behind customer churn in the financial services sector revealed compelling insights, indicating that 53% of respondents cited the quality of the digital experience as a key factor, while 39% pointed to the quality of customer service.

"Customers are looking to their financial institutions (FSIs) for guidance on navigating the current economic environment. They also want a frictionless hybrid experience, combining both digital and human interactions, proactive outreach, personalised treatment, and an empathetic human touch — and are receiving mixed results" - Salesforce.

While the report focused on financial services, its findings are transferable across industries. This underscores the importance of CRM, which revolves around enhancing customer experiences through the strategic collection, organisation, and analysis of data from diverse interactions and touch points. Therefore, leveraging CRM alongside AI presents an opportunity for even greater enhancement. Effective AI performance depends greatly on the quality of your data. If the data in your CRM is messy, incorrect, or lacks value for the intended purpose, the AI results will mirror these issues. Therefore, It's essential for businesses to implement data governance and maintain oversight over time and be strategic over it.

Once your data has passed its internal quality check, integrating AI with CRM can unlock benefits throughout your business by providing solutions for every department, optimising workflows, predicting trends and behaviours, analysing performance, customising interactions through personalised emails and recommendation, proactively addressing customer needs, reduce costs and many other benefits. If well implemented its results can enforce that trust between customers and companies, increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

While it might seem like a promising option for achieving business success, haphazard AI integration can lead to adverse outcomes such as bias and discrimination, privacy issues, ethical dilemmas, compliance challenges, increase costs, and environmental impact, ultimately jeopardising the company's reputation. For instance, an AI recommendation tool implemented within a poor system is highly likely to provide inaccurate results. Such outcomes may include bias and even prove harmful to its customers. Salesforce provides guidelines for AI implementation. The Salesforce's AI Trusted Principles represent a set of fundamental guidelines guiding the design and development of their products, which can be used as models for other businesses. Complementing this framework is the AI Ethics Maturity Model, which outlines practices aimed at fostering Transparency, Fairness, Responsibility, Accountability, and Reliability in AI approaches. Together, these initiatives underscore Salesforce's commitment to ethical AI development and deployment.

Nowadays, there a vast of AI tools that can be integrated with CRM based on the the desired task, such as Chorus, Conversica, AI-wordsmith, Wise.io, Solvvy, Amelia and the list goes on. Below are the out-of-the box tools developed by salesforce (access to those tools require certain editions and might come with an extra cost). Lucy Mazalon (Director at Salesforce Ben) compiled the Salesforce tools and below are just a few. Visit Lucy's article for a full list and a brief description of each as well as availability and pricing.

Hopefully, by the end of this article, you have gained some understanding of how CRM and AI can serve as powerful tools for optimising processes and enhancing customer experiences. Additionally, you have been introduced to the considerations and risks associated with AI and CRM implementation, as well as the crucial role of data in ensuring the success of AI initiatives. Moreover, you have learned about the range of products offered by Salesforce to integrate AI into the Salesforce CRM platform

Resources:

• The Early History of Robots and Automata.
• Automata: The Long History of Robots in the Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Worlds.
• The History of Artificial Intelligence - Harvard.
• History of Artificial Intelligence - Council of Europe Portal.
• 7 Types of Artificial Intelligence
• AI In CRM System Benefits and Examples