One thing we’ve learned recently is that the modern world is just a little bit easier to navigate with the help of a Siri or an Alexa. These “conversational assistants” have helped us find recipes, order holiday gifts, discover new TV shows, and get quick answers to our questions. They can even help some of us to wake up in the morning.
After decades of cautious speculation, we’re finally seeing what a world powered by artificial intelligence (AI) actually looks like. Thanks to these AI assistants, it looks pretty good. We’ve already seen how AI can change the mundane, everyday stuff that we use our iPhones and Echos for. But how can AI assistants enter the workforce?
While not everyone is sold on bringing conversational AI assistants in an office setting, it has value. Any major technological innovation tends to disrupt the status quo, and that can be challenging when it’s your job that’s being disrupted. It’s okay to be skeptical, but it’s just as important to keep an open mind about conversational AI’s potential to transform the workplace.
If anything, AI assistants may be the solution many companies have been waiting to find.
Consider the value of an AI-powered conversational assistant in the context of sales and customer service. Today’s best AI assistants represent a major improvement over the dull, scripted chatbots of the early 2000s. In fact, they often don’t seem like computer programs at all. Instead, they appear to be real members of the sales team, responding to messages with engaging, intelligent replies.
In other words, they’re a total game changer for your sales, marketing, and customer support teams.
Here are five great reasons to use an AI assistant in your business. These are all real examples of AI technology that already exists in the market.
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Low-Scoring Lead Engagement:
What’s the best way to handle an inbound lead that shows interest, but doesn’t quite score high enough to merit follow-up contact from your sales team? Do you risk wasting your sales team’s time, or do you let the lead slip away? What if there was a third option? An AI assistant can take the next steps for you, reaching out to these leads with personalized follow-up questions to clarify their level of interest and gather essential information.
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Immediate Follow-Up with High-Scoring Leads:
When a high-scoring lead enters your system, it’s not always possible for your sales teams to quickly initiate contact. They may have their hands full with prospects and opportunities that are further down the funnel. This is a great opportunity for a conversational AI to contact the lead, buying a little time for your sales staff while also getting the ball rolling.
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Reduce Costs:
AI assistants are ready to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They’re always polite and professional in every interaction. In fact, a virtual army of skilled AI assistants costs less than you may think, while exponentially improving your results.
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Schedule Meetings and Other Automated Tasks:
Much like their Apple and Amazon-developed relatives, conversational AI assistants can handle many of the mundane, day-to-day tasks of operating a business. This includes activities like scheduling meetings, sending out updates, placing phone calls, making reservations, sending text messages, and updating calendars. It’s possible to effectively give every member of your staff a dedicated personal assistant. This allows your teams to focus on doing the kinds of complex, strategic, and personal tasks that only a human can do.
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Improve Customer Service:
One of the most powerful things about Natural Language Processing (NLP) — the machine learning process used to give AI’s their human-like communication abilities — is that it’s excellent for situations involving common problems and interactions. This makes conversational AI assistants ideal for most customer service and customer support roles, where most of the issues the support staff need to respond to are routine. In many cases, customers can have their issues fully resolved without ever knowing they were interacting with an AI.
By filling the role of a low-level assistant, sales intern, or customer support rep, conversational AI assistants effectively increase the total capabilities of your staff. Instead of wasting time on the mundane and tedious stuff, your teams can focus on connecting with prospects, solving tough challenges, and other tasks that generate real revenue. It allows you to grow your business in ways that would be impossible without also seriously increasing your overhead.
To learn more about how conversational AI assistants can streamline your operations, contact FayeBSG for a free consultation.
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