The human race is known to come up with inventions that decide its future. Many scholars believe that Artificial Intelligence(AI) has been the most pioneering innovation since early humans discovered fire and invented the wheel. The advancement of groundbreaking technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (ML) have constantly been shaping the future of humankind. The likes of Mark Zuckerberg have welcomed the evolution of AI. He once stated- “With A.I. especially, I am optimistic“. While according to Elon Musk, “AI can outsmart and endanger us.” However, we simply cannot ignore how useful and influential AI is in our daily lives.
The applications of AI and ML have delved deeply into various domains. The least to mention are Healthcare, Transportation, Education, Media, Communication, Manufacturing, and Customer service. Businesses worldwide are placing a significant emphasis on enhancing their customers’ overall experiences. As a result of AI, a massive leap in customer experience service has come up with the evolution of chatbots.
What is a chatbot, and how is it useful in business?
Chatbots are AI-based systems used by businesses for communication with customers. Customers can interact with chatbots directly via chat and voice applications. Numerous online customer service platforms are utilizing chatbots to manage bulk phone calls, FAQs, and other common customer service inquiries. Chatbots resolve customer queries within no time and are accessible 24X7, enhancing the customer experience.
The use of technologies such as AI, ML, and NLP (Natural Language Processing), enables the bot to analyze and identify the user’s problems and instantly give the most relevant answers to the queries.
Platforms such as Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Discord, and Slack have been extensively using chatbots for better communication.
Advantages of using chatbots and their impact on customer support
There are numerous advantages of using chatbots in businesses- Chatbots can communicate with multiple customers at once. They can be used to send regular updates about the products and exclusive offers by the company. They are available throughout the day, which is crucial for businesses that expand globally in different time zones. It becomes too cumbersome for businesses to have customer care support centers at various locations across the world. There is no human intervention involved. Therefore, chatbots can be accessed worldwide anytime. Chatbots reply instantly, and hence it increases customer engagement. Chatbots can also be extensively used to collect user data and analyze it further to provide customized solutions. ML-based chatbot systems are learning from past conversations to generate more thoughtful replies.
Roughly 40 % of internet users around the globe prefer interacting with chatbots rather than virtual agents. With leading sectors such as retail and healthcare rapidly turning towards digital technology, chatbots will continue to grow in popularity in the years to come.
Chatbot Market Trends and forecast about its impact on customer support by 2040
According to some reports, it is anticipated that the size of the global chatbot market will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 26% from the years 2022 to 2030. In the year 2021, the chatbot market size was valued at a total of USD 525 million.
It is anticipated that the growing adoption of customer service activities among enterprises to reduce operating costs will be the primary factor driving the chatbot market.
In the past few years, some of the most significant advances that have been made in artificial intelligence and machine learning have been in the areas of perception and cognition. Although there is much room for improvement in voice recognition technology, the tech giants like Apple, Amazon, and Google have all made significant strides in this direction with their digital assistants Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, respectively.
Deep learning systems are now actively utilized to decide trades accomplished on Wall Street and predict whether users will click on particular advertisements. It has increased efficiency on both the consumer and the business side of things. Chatbots can help businesses save money by generating revenue, conducting research, generating leads, and increasing brand awareness. Other uses for chatbots include research and lead generation.
Given the trends of the data, we can expect the chatbot industry to surpass the billion-dollar mark in a few years. Hence, by 2040 the chatbot industry would be having a multi-billion dollar market value.
How are companies utilizing chatbots to provide superior support for their customers- A comprehensive analysis that provides deep insights into the future of customer service in 2040.
Bank of America is responsible for creating one of the most groundbreaking innovations. The recently introduced “Erica” is intended to assist customers in making more informed choices regarding their finances. Customers can make payments, check their balances, save money, and transfer funds with this chatbot, which uses artificial intelligence, algorithms, and predictive messaging. Erica makes it possible for users to interact via text and voice, and it then uses the information provided to push insights to the customer.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is another company incorporating chatbots into their customer service channel. KLM increased the number of customer interactions with the Facebook messenger app by forty percent. The airline wanted to facilitate more effortless conversations between its employees and passengers without compromising passengers’ right to personal privacy. KLM was aware that its customers spent a significant amount of time using Facebook and Messenger, so the company decided to implement a chatbot as its platform for customer service. Messenger is now the channel through which customers can directly receive booking details, boarding passes, and flight status updates. On a typical day, KLM receives an average of five messages per minute through Facebook Messenger. During peak traffic, that number jumps to over eleven messages per minute.
These innovations with chatbots will surely pave the way for the future. by 2040, chatbots will completely revolutionize the customer experience domain.
Challenges ahead
There are apparent constraints with AI technology. The absence of emotional intelligence restricts the range and depth of the conversation that can take place when AI-driven chatbots are used with customers, even though the chatbots can learn from and predict the behavior of the customers.
The availability of trained staff and their familiarity with this developing technology is another factor that can hinder the effectiveness of chatbots. Chatbots can have significant limitations when it comes to different languages and accents. This restriction turns into a significant obstacle for companies that operate in more than one location. Maintaining the security of the customer’s data is also a key challenge.
Conclusion
Even though chatbot technology has some limitations in how it can function, there are innumerable advantages of using this technology in improving customer support. The chatbot technology is potent enough to enhance customer support multi-folds by 2040. The optimistic thing about this technology is that ML-based systems can learn from their own experiences and improve with time. Hence there is a high chance that chatbot technology is perhaps “The next big thing” in the customer service domain.
Blackcoffer Insights 46: Faizan Raza, B.Tech from IIT Delhi
