Some of our favourite science fiction characters are AI powered assistants, like Star Trek’s Computer, the voice-assistant to the ship’s crew that was infinitely knowledgeable, omnipresent, yet somehow comforting. This has been the current direction of AI.
The idea is to help make our engagement with technology and tech-based-services easier and more natural. Recent advancements in AI technology, such as machine-learning, have already completely changed customer service.
Long Live The Live Chat
It’s surprising (or maybe not) that instant messaging has proved to be such an important part of what customers want when they shop and communicate with companies. While the most advanced AI research is for voice assistants like Alexa, Siri or Cortana, messaging is still the most common way customers connect with advanced technologies.
Forbes recently wrote, “There’s a simplicity to messaging, especially when the platform is capable of moving the consumer from an interaction with the virtual assistant to a live engagement with a human agent.”
Combining a virtual assistant with a customer service team is sometimes called the omni-channel approach, which is what we’ve embraced at aha insurance. Our customers are all different in how they like to purchase and maintain insurance, so we provide automated services, virtual assistance, and customer service reps at every stage. Customers can find answers to their easy questions immediately while completing a quote, and transfer to a live person for answers to their more nuanced questions – this, it turns out, is what most people want from AI powered customer service.
Answering the easy questions
The internet has made it easy for customers to express to companies what they want, and, with the rise of virtual assistants, companies can now answer the easy questions any time and immediately, without the holds. But reports have shown that virtual assistants alone do not provide a good experience for all or even most customers. Customers want answers to their easy questions quickly and without fuss, but virtual assistants often fail to provide answers to difficult questions.
Thanks to AI powered technologies, those simple questions our customers already answered with our virtual assistant travel with them to live conversations, so our brokers can focus on answering difficult questions and providing solutions with a human touch when needed.
AI is now a constant force of change in customer service, and companies that adopt those changes are bringing their customers better value. In insurance, AI is bringing incredible advancements. Steve Livingstone, CEO at aha insurance, envisioned a website that could offer a guaranteed quote in minutes, enabling customers to purchase online, with the support of AI if and when needed. At aha insurance, the experience of buying insurance has changed for the better, and we’re continuing to push even further. Buying insurance is now current and provides customers with the flexibility they want and deserve.