Using AI For Enhanced Customer Experience

The first time I called Amazon with a service issue, I started with scepticism. Having experienced call centre conversations with brick and mortar companies in India, I have come to expect the worst every time I have to dial a service number. Rarely have there been occasions when I have not pressed to speak with the manager. And often the calls have ended with my threats to send a mail to their CEO. I can’t really remember if my problem was ever resolved in the first contact (Amex being the sole exception).

But, not with Amazon. Being a frequent customer of the platform, I have expected things to go wrong occasionally; and they have. After having exhausted their first level support available on the app, I have ended up registering a call back a few times. The call usually comes in less than a minute. And the rep has always been able to successfully address my problem.

I have often wondered, how are the reps able to solve these problems without flinching. The variety of problems that customers will come to Amazon with is limitless. Its certainly not possible for the reps to know the solutions to all those problems. Yet, somehow, they do.

I have never worked in Amazon or know anyone who does. But I can take a reasonable shot at how companies like Amazon are raising the bar on service.

Artificial Intelligence is bringing about a massive change, at a much higher order than what phones had done when personal visits and physical mailers were the norm. Gartner predicts that by 2019, 40% of the service will have some element of AI and number of phone reps will decline by 10%. This trend is unidirectional and will keep getting stronger as companies learn more about how to use their data more effectively in making their AI systems smarter.

Let the declining trend in phone reps not worry you. AI is making humans more efficient, not replacing them. And that’s at the crux of how Amazon is making their reps smarter. Even before I place the request for a call back, Amazon takes me through a well thought-through chain of options to narrow down the area of the problem. When the rep comes on the call, he is dealing with a smaller set of the problem universe. I wouldn’t be surprised, if there is a bot which is converting my voice to text, reading the intent and the sentiment in the text and giving the three best options to the rep to discuss with me, all in real time. This kind of multi-level enhancement of the rep’s knowledge, performance and speed would have been unthinkable even 5 years back.

That’s only one of the many ways AI is being used in call centres. Software programs are listening to conversations and giving suggestions in real time to become more compassionate or show greater empathy. Many companies are using voice biometric to identify customers when they call, thereby completely bypassing the verification process which is not only time consuming, it’s also inconvenient.

I don’t want to give the impression that service is confined to the call centres. The topic is vast and all-encompassing and can be more aptly covered under customer experience management. Customers make a multitude of decisions every week on what product or service to buy and from whom. For the organization, giving a good experience cuts through functions.

Take Coca Cola, for instance. It has implemented an AI solution from Salesforce called Einstein. It uses computer vision, deep learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP) for restocking Coca Cola’s coolers. The solution is improving sales and satisfaction for the merchant, other than saving paperwork and time for Coca Cola. AI in this case is offering tremendous advantage in performing repetitive task which is at the core of inventory management.

Philips has introduced ‘light as a service’ which uses AI to predict when lights will lose their efficiency. This is helping organizations to efficiently manage recycle and replacement. The solution provides energy savings and frees Philips’ customers to focus on their business leaving a key aspect of operational efficiency to Philips.

Ralph Lauren has introduced connected fitting rooms in flagship stores with smart mirrors. It uses RFID technology to identify the items the customer has brought in. The mirror displays information about various available colours and sizes of the item, shows additional items based on an enhanced recommendation tool and provides various light options to check how you will look under various light conditions.

Software programs are now crunching a huge amount of data and signals from multiple channels to help salespersons send emails to potential customers at just the right time. More and more companies are using advanced data analytics and AI for marketing and sales; things which we commonly associate with Google, Amazon and Facebook.

AI is fast becoming one of the primary ways for a company to distinguish from competition. It is becoming the face of the brand just like Alexa over time may become more recognizable than its parent, Amazon. Customers will spend more time engaging with the company’s AI than its people. Alexa itself is orchestrating several engagements of other companies from pizza ordering to banking to flight booking.

Alan Turing, the English mathematician and cryptographer, considered by many as the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, said: “Those who can imagine anything can create the impossible”. The time has come to imagine a new future with AI. 

----------

Enjoyed this article? Share it with your network.

----------

In case you missed

Facebook And Its Honey Pot

Are Autonomous Car Makers In A Hurry To Reach A Driverless Future?

Amazon Wants To Open Checking Accounts. What Does It Mean For The Banks?

I invite you to browse all my LinkedIn articles archived here.

----------

About the author

Anindya Karmakar has led multiple initiatives at the cutting edge of digital connectivity, IoT, robotics, AI, analytics, paperless branch and remote advisory. He is passionate about the digital revolution which is underway. He simplifies and de-clutters digital jargons and concepts and presents them in layman's language.

----------

The views and opinions expressed or implied herein are my own and do not reflect those of my employer, who shall not be liable for any action that may result as a consequence of my views and opinions. The pictures used have been taken from the open internet and I don't claim any credit for them.