AI is no longer relegated to science fiction section.  Businesses worldwide are discovering new ways to use AI to increase engagement and enhance the customer experience.

Over the next five years, 85 percent of consumer relationships with companies will be handled without the interaction of a human being… Underscoring the trend toward DIY customer service.

Customer service is your best defense if the customer experience is the new battlefield. The results of this have already begun to show. According to Gartner, over the past four years, AI in business has increased by 270 percent.

We aren't just following a fad here. Artificial intelligence will revolutionize the customer experience.

What are the benefits of AI for small business owners?

Smaller companies that utilize AI are better able to serve their clientele's unique needs. Businesses such as restaurants, cafes, and retail shops will use AI to be much more customer-centric and offer more data-driven, targeted marketing campaigns such as "people-based marketing.

As small businesses integrate AI into their operational processes and workflows, their employees will focus on more critical and creative tasks, thus becoming more productive.

By spending less time on mundane tasks or managing human errors, business owners can grow their business and possibly concentrate on other important things they may have previously not had the time to focus on.

1. Accurate and personalized recommendations:

According to Instapaper, 78% of internet shoppers believe that relevant content increases their purchasing power. Using artificial intelligence, accurate and efficient recommendations are possible.

By using raw data, artificial intelligence can predict and prescribe customer engagement patterns through predictive analytics. Among the uses of AI is defining and creating a journey around CX. More upsells and cross-sells will be possible if the recommendations are better.

2. Efficient and Friendly Service

Small businesses across the globe are leveling up their support game thanks to Artificial Intelligence. 

AI-driven customer service is most commonly accomplished with chatbots.  These bots are conversational software agents that simulate online interaction with customers.

With these AI-driven chat specialists, customers can ask questions and get recommendations, answers to questions or the outcome they need easily on their own. These bots can even help with processing returns, promoting products, and collecting feedback from customers.

Plus, using AI-based customer service improves the customer experience, cost-savings, and conversions.

3. Enhanced Administrative Efficiency

Another way Small business owners are using AI technologies is to automate repetitive, time-consuming administrative tasks of day to day business.  With AI, you can easily automate tasks like timesheets, billing paperwork, and scheduling. AI can assist you in producing reports, analyzing historical data, learning results in real-time, and applying the information into helpful resports and resources.

4. Enhancing Customer Support

Even when business hours have closed, customers still want the ability to receive support. But having live personnel available 24/7 is not always possible for every businesses.  This is where Artificial intelligence can help.

Customer questions can be answered by engaging in real-time interactions.

The accuracy of automated phone bots and predictive analytics provides customers with tools for making intelligent decisions. Using artificial intelligence, companies can identify the root causes of customer complaints and provide quick resolutions.

Machine learning, artificial intelligence, and big data have paved the way for a new kind of decision-making metric. The notion that guts, feelings, and intuition are not enough anymore to make big business decisions is already evident. It is better to make decisions based on data rather than speculation.

Therefore, AI boosts businesses' decision-making processes, whether they're reviewing products or responding to customer service questions. Decision-making processes in just about every industry is are benefiting because of AI technology.

Conclusion

To gain customer loyalty and trust, more companies are focusing on improving their customer experience. Artificial Intelligence offers a wide range of customer opportunities by creating a customer journey map, speeding up transactions, and simplifying customer interactions.  This makes for better customer experience, at a lower cost.  So if you haven’t considered using AI for your own business, what are you waiting for? 

Want to learn more about how AI can help your business grow?  Talk to an expert who can help you get setup with the right AI for your business by clicking here.

By Tabitha Jean Naylor

Keywords: AI, Business Continuity