The word “Artificial intelligence” is not alien to us. We leverage the power of AI on a day-to-day basis: right from composing our emails to writing error-free content - we need a helping hand on the emails to prompt our next sentence (think auto-completion) and the in-built Grammar buddy brooding over errors with a red underline.
AI tools make us more efficient, productive, and better.
While AI has been helping us with work chores, it does not fully take charge of our core tasks. For instance, if you are a content writer, you’d nod along when I say it takes a lot of research - skimming through bulky search results, making bits and bots of notes, and reading reference articles to fully internalize a topic and finally put pen to paper.
But, this was true until a few months ago.
Today, with the power of Artificial Intelligence, the information you want is simply a query away. Not just that, an AI-based tool also has the potential to do the work for you (no kidding!).
I’m sure you kind of get where I’m going with this.
Yes, it is ChatGPT.
You would be living under the rock if you did not come across this. ChatGPT has been creating significant waves among tech enthusiasts, bigwigs, influencers, and startups - getting everyone pumped about how it can be leveraged to redefine the way we approach work.
So, What Is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a language AI model from OpenAI that can answer questions and have conversations like a human. It is trained using a large amount of text and can complete sentences, summarize text, and have conversations.
PS: This answer was generated by the tool itself (pretty cool, isn’t it?)
The tool is highly sophisticated and uses an advanced language model that has been trained on a massive amount of text data using NLP techniques. It can be used by programmers, sales folks, customer support agents, and marketers.
ChatGPT generates human-like responses and provides conversational experiences for users. This can come in very handy if you are a customer support agent.
Tech and AI influencers are talking about how ChatGPT can revolutionize customer support and enhance their productivity.
ChatGPT For Customer Support: Not A Fad
A study by Forrester Research found that customer service representatives spend approximately 80% of their time handling routine inquiries, such as password reset requests and account management tasks. This can lead to lower productivity and longer response time for customers.
But, all of this can be changed with a tool like ChatGPT, so let's dive right into it:
6 Ways ChatGPT Can Enhance The Productivity Of A Customer Support Agent
Use Case #1
Resolving Repeated Questions Or FAQs In A Breeze
A customer could come across a lot of hiccups while using a product or availing of a service. This could be a simple difficulty in resetting a password or a more complex one like payment failure. No matter what concern a customer has, they attempt to solve it by hopping on the chat, ringing up, or dropping an email to the customer support agent.
On average, a customer support agent can receive anywhere from 50 to 200 support tickets in a day. A support agent spends hours frantically responding to emails and chats. For the most part, these questions are often repetitive. Here are some examples of frequently asked queries:
- Pricing related queries
- Concerns about security
- Upcoming features
- Comprehensive guides for feature usage
- How to view or use a particular module
How does ChatGPT or an AI tool change this scenario?
● Feed in the frequently asked questions
● Create tailor-made responses to your questions
● Automate your responses
● Ask the app to help you with a specific response
● Clearly explain the scenario and ask the app to give you the solution
● Personalize the response by taming the tool with the right prompt
● Integrate ChatGPT with your existing tools stack for context & hyper-personalization
Let’s see how to do this with a real-time example on ChatGPT:
Query: Write an email to my client to help them solve the problem of payment failure.
ChatGPT’s Response:
Voila! That took less than a minute. If not for ChatGPT, this would’ve at least taken 15 to 20 minutes to whip up.
Use Case #2
Eliminate Waiting Or Queue Time
Did you know that customers expect a first response time of less than 15 seconds when using a live chat application?
Not just that, 53% of customers are likely to abandon the website if they can't find quick answers to their questions.
This is a huge pain point for a customer support executive as typically they manage a multitude of things. They are monitoring emails, helping a customer over the phone, or handling other incidents. If the customer does not get help instantly, they immediately lose interest or get frustrated.
The best way to handle this is with the help of an AI tool. A tool like ChatGPT is instant, intelligent, and in sync with your customers’ needs.
How does it work?
When a customer sends a query, the AI system analyzes the text to understand the intention behind the message and identifies the relevant information
The tool generates a response based on the information it has or by scouring through previous instances of similar conversations
The tool uses NLP techniques to make the responses conversational and human-like. The AI system can be trained using historical chat data, allowing it to improve its responses over time
Automated Triage: ChatGPT can classify customer queries and prioritize them based on their urgency and direct them to the right support agent or department. This potentially reduces the waiting time for the customer and the necessity to keep going back and forth between support agents.
Use Case #3
Providing Multilingual Customer Support
Typically your customers are not just confined to one geography. They might be spread across the globe speaking multiple languages. But, your customer support agent may not necessarily be a multilingual person.
Enter ChatGPT.
The tool is fully capable of bringing personalized and curated responses to your customer queries in the language that they prefer.
In an ideal scenario, you may have to hire native-language-speaking customer support agents, or your support agent must do a translation to manage the ticket.
How does ChatGPT change this scenario?
● Query the app to help you with a response for a specific problem
● Mention the medium through which you are going to reply (email/chat/phone)
● Specify the language in which you want the app to help you with the response
Query: Reply to my client in Spanish on chat about steps to reset the password ChatGPT’s Response:
You can expand your customer base and reach a global audience. However, it must be noted that it is not guaranteed to fully understand the cultural nuances and context of every geography. It would be ideal to have a human review every now and then or an oversight to ensure the best possible customer experience.
Use Case #4
Humanizing The Response & Building Relationships
The counter-argument for implementing an AI tool to handle the routine tasks of a support agent would typically be - the tool generates robot-like responses that do not empathize or infuse emotions. But, this is not entirely true.
AI tools like ChatGPT uses NLP techniques to generate human-like responses or conversations with your customers. Not just that, if you feed in the right information, you can generate a highly personalized response like this one:
Query:
Mark is the CEO of Babyboxes. Mark has a question about having animation options. But, this feature is in the roadmap. Write a reply to Mark on chat about how he can expect to try out the beta version in a week.
ChatGPT’s Response:
Advanced problem solving: AI tools have advanced problem-solving and decision-making capabilities that help support teams effortlessly handle complex inquiries and provide solutions.
This brings us to a more important point - bringing context to your AI tool. Use Case #5
Bringing More Context Through APIs
When we talk about how AI facilitates customer support agents and helps them offload routine tasks and enhance their productivity, it is also important to think about the role of APIs. You can integrate ChatGPT with your tools using OpenAI's API.
By integrating AI tools like ChatGPT with your internal tools like your CRM software, help desk software, chat, emails, etc. you strengthen your AI and enrich it with more meaningful information. This enables the tool to handle complex queries.
How can you bring more context with APIs?
● Omnichannel experience: You can bring in seamless customer experience across multiple channels, including email, chat, and social media, offering customers a seamless and consistent experience
● Widespread information: You can enhance the intelligence of the tool from generating templatized responses to more concrete and contextual responses by providing all the relevant information flowing in from multiple channels
● Train the tool to adhere to brand guidelines: You can train ChatGPT on your company's specific customer support data, and you can customize its responses to match your brand tone and language
Use Case #6
Minimizes Errors & Ensures Accuracy
It is normal for humans to overlook certain things, forget information, and make typos. This could be because a support agent handles multiple tasks in a day and it is impossible for them to remember everything and ensure accuracy all the time.
How does ChatGPT change this scenario?
● Knowledge Base Integration: ChatGPT can be integrated with a company's knowledge base, allowing it to provide accurate information and answers to common customer queries
● Relevant Training Data: ChatGPT can be trained on relevant customer support data, allowing it to understand the context of customer queries and respond accurately
● Continuous Learning: ChatGPT is designed to continuously learn from customer interactions and improve its accuracy over time, allowing it to provide better support with each interaction
● Improving first-call resolution: ChatGPT can provide accurate and relevant information to customers, improving first-call resolution and reducing the need for follow-up interactions
Building An Army Of Support Agents: Scalability Made Simple
The role of Chatgpt in customer support is highly commendable and something that every business must consider. You can significantly reduce customer churn, and improve customer satisfaction, efficiency, response time, and loyalty.
When your company grows, your customer base grows. So, you need more help and assistance to ensure a better customer experience. With AI tools like ChatGPT, you can scale your customer support team’s efficiency and increase overall productivity.
You can provide support outside of business hours, allowing customers to get help when they need it and reducing the risk of abandoned chats. You can also facilitate collaboration between multiple departments, such as sales and support, improving cross-functional coordination.
To Summarise, Here’s How AI Tools Can Redefine Customer Experience Management:
● Automating Repetitive Tasks: ChatGPT can automate repetitive tasks, freeing up time for human support agents to handle more complex issues
● 24/7 Availability: ChatGPT can provide support 24/7, allowing for a more efficient and round-the-clock support operation, without having to worry about staffing
● Multilingual Support: ChatGPT can provide support in multiple languages, allowing a customer support team to reach a wider audience and cater to a diverse customer base
● Increased Capacity: ChatGPT can handle multiple customer queries simultaneously, increasing the support team's capacity to handle a larger volume of queries
● Consistency in Support Quality: ChatGPT can provide consistent and accurate support, reducing the chances of human error and ensuring that customers receive high-quality support at all times
A lot of companies have already started testing out ChatGPT for customer support. I certainly think this is the beginning of something extraordinary in the tech world and excited to see companies adopting AI tools to improve their efficiency.