Today’s customer support teams have more demands on their time than ever. Agents have always tried to deliver an efficient, satisfying service. However, they now have to respond to queries, solve problems and give information quickly across multiple platforms. Doing so means the turnover rate of contact centre agents is 29%, the highest of any industry.
Yet customer expectations aren’t letting up. As digital channels have made it easier for consumers to communicate with businesses, their standards have increased. With 73% now expecting companies to understand and meet their needs, agents need to work harder than ever to deliver a positive experience.
Many businesses have turned to technology to help meet these demands. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, 90% of organisations have sped up their adoption of CX automation tools. In particular, the power of artificial intelligence (AI) has become the talk of the customer support industry. So what do these technologies mean for human agents and CX in the automotive world?
How is AI being used in CX?
AI tools are already being adopted to help customer support teams in various ways. Here are some of the most common applications.
Task automation
With the number of communication channels multiplying, the volume of customer queries has increased. As such, delivering the information and answers consumers need in a timely fashion is a constant challenge for agents. AI tools such as chatbots and virtual agents are helping to reduce their workload.
Equipped with natural language processing, these technologies can analyse customer communications, ask further questions and answer a query based on the responses. They can also perform other admin tasks such as processing payments.
With virtual agents handling these basic functions automatically, customer interactions can be handled efficiently while human agents focus on more complex tasks. Out of the businesses that have introduced these technologies, 99% say they’ve seen a reduction in cost per contact alongside increasing customer satisfaction.
Personalisation
For customers (and therefore businesses), personalised service is a non-negotiable. Beyond having their needs understood and met, 62% of customers want companies to anticipate them, with 56% expecting tailored offers. So, for modern CX to be effective, it needs to be seamless and shaped towards individual preferences.
AI helps teams meet this demand by tracking customer behaviour and making decisions based on these insights. With complete oversight of the customer journey, they can choose the best option based on each individual’s needs. For example, if a customer prefers talking via self-service channels, AI tools can send them relevant information instead of directing them to a human agent.
Plus, with all their data collected into a single database, customers don’t have to repeat information over multiple touchpoints, minimising frustration. More than this, the insights and decision-making capabilities of AI enable teams to deliver a proactive rather than reactive service.
From suggesting new products to getting in touch before a vehicle service is due, these communications help build trust and emotional connections between customers and businesses. This is an important factor for the majority of consumers.
Data analysis
With more digital touchpoints comes more customer data. Collecting, analysing and generating insights from this information is key to delivering better CX. However, 61% of executives working in this area struggle with the availability and readiness of their data, this includes problems with siloes and standardisation.
The introduction of AI technologies can help executives overcome two of these hurdles. They pull in details about customer interactions, such as their intent, next steps and responses. Plus, they gather this information into a single source of truth where it can all be analysed.
These capabilities give human agents invaluable insights into their customers’ journeys, including any sticking points, inefficiencies or moments where drop-offs are more likely. Using this information, teams can adapt or improve their CX to make it even more seamless.
What benefits can AI bring to CX?
AI’s capabilities are already bringing huge advantages to customer support teams. These include:
- Better interactions: AI technologies link all data into a single source of truth and the insights generated from this form the basis for better CX
- More efficient service: with every touchpoint monitored and basic tasks automated, the customer journey becomes more seamless and effective
- Improved profits: by improving the efficiency of customer journeys, AI technologies help to reduce operational costs and increase revenue
- Happier customers: the introduction of virtual agent technologies helped Hong Kong Bank achieve 75% customer satisfaction, which shows the potential benefits of these tools
- Motivated agents: with a reduced workload and the ability to make more data-driven decisions, the introduction of AI has seen agent satisfaction improve by 25%
Introducing AI into CX can help automotive businesses differentiate from their competitors. By making their customer support and service more personalised and seamless, dealers and manufacturers can get ahead of the rest of the market. This will future-proof their business ready for the introduction of EVs, when even more customer data will be available to leverage.
Will AI replace human agents?
Before dealers and manufacturers move their investment away from contact centres and into AI technologies, it’s important to understand customers’ preferences and concerns over these tools. Though the introduction of AI has had a provable positive effect on customer satisfaction, two-thirds of customers still want the option to speak to a human agent.
Worries about how AI will be used are also at the forefront of customers’ minds. Particularly when it comes to data privacy, with 64% saying companies aren’t transparent about how they use personal information, though it’s an important factor for 79% of them. Similarly, only 18% of customers could ‘very confidently’ identify when they were talking to a chatbot.
So although AI can bring extra human-like capabilities and skills into customer support teams, consumers still hold the value of human agents dear. This is particularly true in automotive, where three-quarters of car buyers are more comfortable with a purchasing experience when there’s a mix of online and in-person interaction.
How AI can improve customer experience
The power of AI technologies is undeniable. However, in the automotive world, human contact is still a hugely valuable part of CX. So, to be most effective, dealers and manufacturers need to have a holistic mindset when introducing AI tools into their customer journeys.
Rather than creating a digital or in-person-only approach, automotive businesses need to recognise and leverage the value of both AI and human agents. For example, at Direct Affinity, we use AI tools to assist our contact centre agents, take basic tasks off their desks and give them insights to serve customers better.
By doing this, we create a seamless CX where needs are met at each touchpoint. Plus, with this extra help, our agents are happier and more motivated, which in turn leads to happier customers.
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