AI in Customer Service: Revolutionizing Customer Support in the Digital Age

What Customers Expect from Good Customer Service

The demands of customers have changed rapidly in recent years. And these changes affect customer support too. For example, many customers now expect: 

• A simple, accessible service: Customer service must be easy to access and available across various channels, ideally 24/7. 
• A quick response: Customers don’t want to spend ages in queues or waiting days for replies to messages. 
• Expert advice: Customers expect technical expertise and high-quality responses – for both simple queries and complex problems. 
• Multilingual support: In a globalized world, multilingual support is of great importance, especially for international companies. 
• Tailored solutions: Customer service should be able to provide personalized assistance and respond to specific customer requirements. 
• Reliable after-sales support: Ongoing support in the form of maintenance, repairs or technical support can help to create long-term partnerships. 
• Proactive and clear communication: Customers appreciate it when they receive information about possible problems, updates, solutions or improvements. 
• Additional training: Training on how to get the most out of products promotes long-term customer satisfaction and loyalty. 
• Digital channels of communication: In addition to telephone numbers, customers want to be able to contact customer service via digital channels, such as online chats

The Benefits of AI in Customer Service

While it can be challenging to provide high-quality customer service, it does provide an opportunity to differentiate yourself from the competition and establish lasting customer relationships. By integrating artificial intelligence, it is possible to respond to the needs of customers and optimize existing potential. Using AI in customer service offers the following benefits: 

• More efficient use of resources: Chatbots can take over the task of clarifying simple queries, freeing up valuable capacity for more sophisticated services. This allows your support team to focus on the complex issues. 
• Faster solutions: AI systems analyze requests in a matter of seconds and immediately forward them to the appropriate experts. The reduced call and processing time boosts customer satisfaction and enhances trust in your company. 
• Permanent availability: AI is always available, with no interruptions for breaks or shift patterns, and can handle requests at any time. This is especially beneficial for companies that operate internationally and serve customers in different time zones. 

Which Technologies Do I Need?

Generally speaking, AI makes interactions between companies and customers quicker and more efficient – but only if the technology works smoothly. An effective digital infrastructure and corresponding systems are required to ensure seamless communication and to facilitate the smooth processing of customer inquiries and the classification of problems.

Session Initiation Protocol

​SIP stands for Session Initiation Protocol and is a standard protocol for connecting VoIP (voice over IP) conversations. In other words, it is the modern counterpart to the classic landline. An SIP trunk is a virtual communication channel that can combine several phone numbers as well as voice, video, and other data.

Software works in the background to connect the customer center or the SIP trunk with the relevant bot. This bot works based on a content management system (CMS). The CMS manages all the content and is available around the clock. The welcome message is transmitted from the CMS to the customer in natural language by means of a previously selected or generated voice

Speech-to-Text

The customer's request is first translated into readable text using Speech-To-Text (STT) and then classified. There are basically two classes of content: On the one hand, there are clearly answerable questions, such as the characteristics of certain products or clearly defined legal frameworks, which are stored in the CMS and can be automatically answered without the need for human input. Then there are complex use cases. Agents need to be consulted to respond to these.

STT is a technology that converts spoken natural language into readable text. Here, spoken words are divided into their smallest parts, so-called phonemes, which are processed by an algorithm.

Natural Language Understanding

NLU (Natural Language Understanding) is a subfield of artificial intelligence, which aims to understand natural, human language. An NLU model goes beyond analyzing the grammar and context of a statement; it also considers elements such as semantics, syntax, and the statement’s sentiment in its classification process. This way it ensures accurate categorization.

Intent classification, i.e. the classification of customer intent, requires an NLU model that understands natural language. This NLU model is initially trained on the basis of existing experience and customer inquiries, and is always optimized with new findings even after it has gone live. In doing so, it observes which requests are often repeated and do not lead to a satisfactory result. 

These are then added to existing questions or created as a new topic in the CMS. If the classifier working in the background decides that the customer needs a bilateral exchange with a real person, the customer is given the choice of waiting for an estimated amount of time or arranging a callback appointment within business hours. Before the callback, the agent is presented with the respective request, the classification and the available data about the customer. This ensures a smooth process for customers and reduces the workload for agents. 

Challenges in Implementing AI in Customer Service

Once you have built the necessary digital infrastructure and set up the required systems, you may face some operational challenges. However, there are practical solutions for these. 

One key challenge is ensuring high-quality answers that bring actual value. AI systems need to be friendly, polite, and proficient. An inadequate response – whether due to ambiguity or lack of training of the AI model – can annoy customers and reduce their trust in the service. 

In addition, the data used to train AI models must also be of a high quality. Inaccurate or incomplete data can lead to flawed models and affect the effectiveness of AI. In addition, AI models adopt biases from the data used for training. It is important to be aware of this issue and to closely monitor the work of the AI tools so that you can intervene and counteract any ethical conflicts or discrimination that may arise. 

Finally, for all the reasons listed above, customers may be skeptical about interacting with AI systems and may simply prefer to talk to a real person. As such, customer acceptance is a challenge that is as big as it is fundamental. Furthermore, costs for the development, implementation and maintenance of AI solutions can be high and must be viable. 

That said, if companies pay attention to a few important aspects when implementing AI in customer service, they can easily overcome the potential challenges. 

6 Key Aspects for Successful Implementation

Successfully implementing AI in customer service requires careful planning, smart investment, and continuous monitoring.

1. Make sure you have a good data basis
   Effective AI models require high-quality data. Make sure you have enough relevant data and can process it properly. 

2. Consider existing systems
   You can integrate AI solutions into existing customer service applications. However, this is quite difficult, especially with older technologies. 

3. Guarantee compliance and data protection
   AI-enabled customer service must strictly follow data protection guidelines and other regulatory requirements without exceptions or compromises. 

4. Train your employees properly
   Regular training is essential in order to learn how to use AI tools and where artificial intelligence brings benefits in customer service. 

5. Ensure a high-quality response
   In customer service, it's critical that AI models provide accurate and consistent answers and avoid misunderstandings. 

6. Be open to constant development
   AI is constantly evolving. As such, your company must be prepared to update its systems at regular intervals.

Get support from experts
Of course, you don't have to overcome these challenges alone. MHP is here to help. We are your expert partner and consultant when it comes to integrating AI into your customer service. We will enable you to set up your AI model – from creating the data basis to training and implementation in existing systems. By using sophisticated processes and mechanisms, we optimize your AI solution in iterative processes, enabling you to continuously improve the customer experience and help shape the customer service of the future. So take advantage of our expertise and let us advise you!

AI Can Do More: The Future of Customer Service

Artificial intelligence is an important component in the future of customer service. Chatbots and virtual assistants are becoming an integral part of customer service, providing customers with personalized and efficient support around the clock. From a structural point of view, the future of customer service is being shaped by cloud-based omnichannel systems. This in turn means that companies are able to seamlessly share customer data and histories across different communication channels. Consumers receive a consistent and personalized customer experience. 

Biometric analysis and voice recognition technology is continuing to advance and enables agents to identify their customers directly and assign them to their respective service account. This speeds up customer service. The same applies to Robotic Process Automation (RPA): This is an automation concept in which software robots take over time-consuming routine tasks to relieve the strain on their human colleagues. 

Summary: Provide the Best Possible Customer Service Right Now

Efficient and effective customer service is not just going to offer a significant competitive advantage in the future – providing high-quality support is central to customer satisfaction. Modern AI technologies allow you to meet the needs of your customers with tailored and personalized customer support while saving resources and gaining efficiencies. With AI, you can save resources and provide rapid solutions at all times. Through the smart use of AI in customer service, you can not only optimize processes and procedures; you can also optimize the results. Concerns can be processed more efficiently and can then be forwarded directly to the right people. 

Implementing AI is not all plain-sailing, however. There are challenges: From the technical requirements, to quality management, to acceptance from both customers and employees. But you don't have to overcome these challenges alone: As your partner and expert in all things digitalization, MHP is here to support you with targeted advice, pragmatic implementation and ongoing optimizations. Get in touch now and benefit from AI – the future of customer service. 

FAQ – AI in Customer Service