Pros and Cons of Using AI Tools for Customer Service & Support

Introduction

Customer service and support are essential aspects of any business that wants to retain and satisfy its customers. However, providing high-quality customer service and support can be challenging, time-consuming, and costly. This is where AI tools can come in handy.

AI tools are software applications that use artificial intelligence techniques and technologies, such as machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and speech recognition, to provide various functions and features for customer service and support, such as chatbots, data analysis, automation, personalization, optimization, and generation.

AI tools can help customer service and support teams improve their efficiency, productivity, quality, and creativity, as well as reduce their costs, errors, and workload. However, AI tools also have some limitations, risks, and challenges that need to be considered and addressed.

In this article, we will explore the pros and cons of using AI tools for customer service and support, based on the latest data and expert insights. We will also recommend some of the best AI tools for customer service and support that you can use for your business.

The Pros of Using AI Tools for Customer Service and Support

According to the State of AI Report 2023, customer service and support is one of the most popular use cases for AI and automation, with 29% of experts surveyed mentioning it as their preferred use case. Moreover, according to the State of Customer Service 2023, 61% of customer service professionals say that reps will use AI and automation by 2024.

There are many benefits of using AI tools for customer service and support, such as:

• Increased customer satisfaction: AI tools can help increase customer satisfaction by providing faster, more accurate, and more personalized responses and solutions to customer queries and issues. AI tools can also help anticipate customer needs and problems, and offer proactive and preventive service. For example, according to a study by Salesforce, 69% of consumers and 82% of business buyers expect companies to understand their needs and expectations, and 51% of consumers and 75% of business buyers expect companies to anticipate their needs and make relevant suggestions.
• Reduced customer churn: AI tools can help reduce customer churn by improving customer loyalty, retention, and advocacy. AI tools can help create positive and memorable customer experiences, as well as provide incentives and rewards for loyal customers. AI tools can also help identify and prevent customer dissatisfaction and attrition, and recover lost customers. For example, according to a study by Accenture, 68% of customers say they have switched service providers due to poor customer service, and 47% of customers say they would stay loyal to a brand if it provided them with personalized experiences.
• Increased revenue and profitability: AI tools can help increase revenue and profitability by generating more sales, upsells, and cross-sells, as well as reducing costs and expenses. AI tools can help identify and target potential and existing customers, as well as provide personalized and relevant product and service recommendations. AI tools can also help automate and optimize various processes and tasks, such as data entry, scheduling, invoicing, email marketing, and more, which can save time and money. For example, according to a study by IBM, AI can help increase customer lifetime value by 35%, reduce customer service costs by 30%, and increase customer retention by 22%.

The Cons of Using AI Tools for Customer Service and Support

Despite the many benefits of using AI tools for customer service and support, there are also some drawbacks and challenges that need to be considered and addressed, such as:

• Reduced human touch: AI tools can reduce the human touch and emotional connection that customers may seek or expect from customer service and support. AI tools may not be able to fully understand or empathize with customer emotions, feelings, and sentiments, or provide personalized and compassionate service. For example, according to a study by PwC, 64% of consumers and 80% of business buyers say companies have lost touch with the human element of customer experience, and 75% of consumers and 82% of business buyers want more human interaction in the future.
• Increased customer frustration: AI tools can increase customer frustration and dissatisfaction if they fail to meet customer expectations or needs, or if they encounter technical issues or errors. AI tools may not be able to handle complex, ambiguous, or unique customer queries or issues, or provide accurate and reliable responses and solutions. AI tools may also malfunction or break down due to bugs, glitches, or cyberattacks. For example, according to a study by Zendesk, 42% of customers say they get more frustrated when they have to repeat information to multiple customer service agents, and 34% of customers say they get more frustrated when they can’t reach a live person on the phone.
• Ethical and legal concerns: AI tools can raise ethical and legal concerns regarding the privacy, security, and ownership of customer data and information, as well as the accountability and liability of AI decisions and actions. AI tools may collect, store, and use customer data and information without customer consent or awareness, or expose customer data and information to unauthorized or malicious parties. AI tools may also make decisions or actions that affect customer rights, interests, or welfare, without human oversight or intervention. For example, according to a study by Capgemini, 62% of consumers say they want transparency about how AI is being used to provide them with services, and 57% of consumers say they want the right to seek recourse if they are harmed by an AI-based decision.

AI Tools to Power Your Customer Service and Support Strategy

If you decide to use AI tools for customer service and support, you may wonder which tools are the best for your business. There are many AI tools available in the market, each with its own features, functions, and benefits.

The best AI tools for sentiment analysis and customer feedback

Here are some of them:

• Abbot: Abbot is an AI-powered chatbot platform that helps you create, manage, and deploy chatbots for your website, app, or social media. Abbot chatbots can help you provide 24/7 customer service and support, answer FAQs, collect feedback, generate leads, and more. Abbot chatbots are easy to build and customize, with no coding required. You can also integrate Abbot chatbots with your CRM, email, analytics, and other tools. Abbot offers a free plan and a paid plan starting from $19 per month.
• BrightBot: BrightBot is an AI-powered customer service platform that helps you automate and optimize your customer service and support processes. BrightBot can help you provide omnichannel customer service and support, across email, chat, phone, and social media. BrightBot can also help you route customer queries to the best agents, provide smart suggestions and responses, and analyze customer feedback and sentiment. BrightBot offers a free trial and a paid plan starting from $99 per month.
• Zigpoll: Zigpoll is an AI-powered survey and feedback platform that helps you collect and analyze customer feedback and insights. Zigpoll can help you create and embed interactive and engaging surveys, polls, quizzes, and forms on your website, app, or email. Zigpoll can also help you segment and target your customers, provide real-time feedback and analytics, and integrate with your CRM, email, analytics, and other tools. Zigpoll offers a free plan and a paid plan starting from $29 per month.

How to Use AI Tools for Customer Service and Support Effectively and Ethically

Using AI tools for customer service and support can bring many benefits, but it also requires careful planning, implementation, and evaluation.

To use AI tools for customer service and support effectively and ethically, you need to consider the following factors:

• Your goal: What is the purpose and objective of using AI tools for customer service and support? Do you want to improve customer satisfaction, reduce customer churn, increase revenue and profitability, or achieve other goals? How do you measure and evaluate the success and impact of using AI tools for customer service and support?
• Your customer: Who is your target customer and what are their needs, expectations, and preferences? How do you segment and personalize your customer service and support based on your customer’s profile, behavior, and feedback?
• Your tool: Which AI tool or tools do you use for customer service and support and why? How do you integrate and coordinate your AI tool or tools with your existing customer service and support systems and processes? How do you train and update your AI tool or tools to ensure their accuracy, reliability, robustness, scalability, and interpretability?
• Your team: How do you involve and empower your customer service and support team in using AI tools? How do you balance and complement the roles and responsibilities of your human and AI agents? How do you train and support your customer service and support team to use AI tools effectively and efficiently?
• Your ethics: How do you ensure the ethical and legal compliance of using AI tools for customer service and support? How do you protect and respect the privacy, security, and ownership of customer data and information? How do you ensure the fairness, accountability, transparency, and safety of AI decisions and actions?

To help you use AI tools for customer service and support effectively and ethically, we have compiled a list of some of the best practices and tips that you can follow. Here are some of them:

• Define your goal and strategy: Before using AI tools for customer service and support, you need to define your goal and strategy clearly and realistically. You need to identify your key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics, such as customer satisfaction, retention, loyalty, revenue, cost, and more. You also need to align your goal and strategy with your customer’s needs and expectations, as well as your business’s vision and values.
• Choose your tool and partner wisely: When choosing AI tools for customer service and support, you need to consider various factors, such as features, functions, benefits, limitations, costs, and compatibility. You also need to choose a reliable and reputable AI tool provider or partner that can offer you quality, security, and support. You can use some of the web search results that I found for you to learn more about how to choose the right AI tool for customer service and support. Here are some of them:
  • [How to Choose the Best AI Chatbot Platform for Your Business]: This article provides a guide to choosing the best AI chatbot platform for your business, based on your business goals, customer needs, chatbot features, chatbot integrations, chatbot pricing, and chatbot reviews.
  • [How to Choose the Best AI Customer Service Platform for Your Business]: This article provides a guide to choosing the best AI customer service platform for your business, based on your customer service goals, customer service channels, customer service features, customer service integrations, customer service pricing, and customer service reviews.

Conclusion

The software applications that use artificial intelligence techniques and technologies to provide various functions and features for customer service and support, such as chatbots, data analysis, automation, personalization, optimization, and generation.

AI tools can help customer service and support teams improve their efficiency, productivity, quality, and creativity, as well as reduce their costs, errors, and workload. AI tools can also help increase customer satisfaction, reduce customer churn, and increase revenue and profitability.

However, AI tools also have some limitations, risks, and challenges that need to be considered and addressed. It can reduce the human touch and emotional connection that customers may seek or expect from customer service and support. AI tools can also increase customer frustration and dissatisfaction if they fail to meet customer expectations or needs, or if they encounter technical issues or errors. AI tools can also raise ethical and legal concerns regarding the privacy, security, and ownership of customer data and information, as well as the accountability and liability of AI decisions and actions.

To use AI tools for customer service and support effectively and ethically, you need to consider the following factors: your goal, your customer, your tool, your team, and your ethics. You also need to follow some of the best practices and tips that we have compiled for you, such as defining your goal and strategy, choosing your tool and partner wisely, integrating and coordinating your tool and system, training and updating your tool and team, and monitoring and evaluating your tool and outcome.