Why AI Should Be in Your Business Customer Service?

The application of artificial intelligence in various areas of life is the subject of heated debate. In particular, this applies to complex programs that are potentially capable of carrying risks. But, if we move away from the topic of such programs, there are many simpler, safer, and more predictable IT products based on the result of their use. We will talk about them, touching on the issue of application in various areas of business – from large commodity companies to private entrepreneurs in the service sector.

In what areas can such programs be used

First of all, there are 4 groups of options within which AI is applied:

1. Data management

When artificial intelligence technologies monitor the state of equipment and control data, this, according to experts, can protect against sudden breakdowns and damage. This ensures business continuity.

2. Virtual assistants

It’s about chatbots. Their use opens up many tangible advantages for the company – in particular, in the direction of facilitating human labor. When a program performs simple routine tasks, it provides employees with more opportunities to perform complex intellectual and creative work, which no program can replace them.

3. Analytics

Artificial intelligence cannot replace a person in every analytics, since a machine works solely on the basis of ready-made information and is not capable of providing the author’s vision of certain processes, which requires a deeper interpretation. But in simple analytical work, which is based on building trends with a preliminary use of a large array of information, artificial intelligence is largely able to make life easier for a person.

It makes no sense to sort through a huge array of data on your own when a specially designed IT product can do it.

4. Labor automation

Despite the fact that this phrase itself sounds quite simple and unpretentious, labor automation is usually understood as a huge range of business tasks, from sending letters to booking seats for events. When we talk about simple routine actions that do not need a creative approach, automation will greatly simplify their implementation.

In the 4 listed areas, technologies based on artificial intelligence are most often used. There are also additional features, which we will get acquainted with further.

Inventory management with the help of AI

The function of inventory management is extremely important for any enterprise. Otherwise, there is a risk that you will constantly be in chaos when it is not clear what product and how much you need to purchase in order to ensure the real life of your business. The worst thing is when a lot of unnecessary things are bought, and it gathers dust on the shelves of the warehouse. And then you have to make a sale in order to somehow get rid of this product, not at a loss to yourself. In parallel, the demand for trendy products is growing, which ends at the most inopportune moment. People are ready to pay, they want to order a product, but it is no longer in stock. At the same time, not every client is determined to wait a long time for their goods, if the company tries to correct the situation and order some more products from the supplier, and then send them to customers.

The above is a classic situation that happens when people don’t have a proper inventory management process in their store. To avoid this problem, you can use IT tools aimed at inventory management. Automating this process greatly simplifies it. If properly built inventory management activities, this will optimize the supply chain. Logistics chains will be more streamlined and efficient.

When a business uses the option of AI-assisted inventory management, this can be built into the overall concept of order automation. Combining different tools for inventory management, analytics, and other logistics activities makes it easier for a fast-growing business that needs to process high volumes of orders and send goods regularly.

Using AI for customer support

Customer loyalty largely depends on the speed of the company’s response. It doesn’t have to be the reaction of a living person. In many situations, it is enough that simply the order is processed quickly through the use of automated options. When there is a problem with this, and the client does not find the opportunity to place his purchase or order a service for a certain day, he goes to a competing company that has it built more efficiently. And when you release employees from routine work, you can use their labor for more complex areas of work related to scaling and business development. Implementing augmented customer service solutions can further enhance efficiency by blending AI capabilities with human expertise, providing a superior customer experience.

IT tools help to cope with simple and numerous, but monotonous tasks, while people, in the meantime, can focus on taking the business to the next level. To properly use this opportunity, you need to develop a common conceptual vision of your business. This will be easier to do by thinking about the answers to questions like:

• What processes should be automated in the near future?
• How can you make your business easier in the future?
• In what directions apply human labor and the working time of employees, which is released as a result of effective automation of processes?
• What are your plans for scaling the company?

If you approach this issue in this way, it becomes more clear in which direction to move. This is important since there are a lot of tools for business automation using artificial intelligence. But the task of a successful entrepreneur is not just to blindly implement everything that is positioned as a novelty. You need to choose exactly those tools that meet the objective needs of the business. And for this, it is necessary to have a vision of its development from a tactical and strategic perspective.

In the future, the success of the company will depend not only on how competently automation is built in performing the same type of labor-intensive work. It will correlate with how correctly the tools used are selected for the implementation of specific business tasks. The challenge facing companies is to learn not to have a “technology race”, but to choose specific technologies aimed at optimizing significant areas.

AI and competition

According to statistics obtained by IBM in 2022, 35% of companies reported that they already use artificial intelligence technologies in their activities. But that’s not all there is to know about statistics. Another 42% of companies are interested in what AI capabilities they can implement in their business processes. This means that in order to maintain their own position in a competitive environment, companies will need to think about automating and simplifying the processes that are subject to this. Here it is worth developing an idea that is related to the rational use of artificial intelligence.

No one is surprised by new technologies. The main challenge is to learn how to choose those tools that can facilitate doing business, taking into account its specific parameters. For commercial enterprises, the following programs are important:

• automation of orders and reservations for products that are expected (for example, currently announced new products);
• inventory management and part of logistics processes;
• analytics of current customer requests and setting priorities for the further formation of the assortment;
• AI customer support with the help of chatbots in dealing with common typical questions about the product;
• collecting feedback for the purpose of its further use for business optimization.

Not all of these technologies are needed for a service business. There are no stocks as such. But automatic recording or a request for a callback would be appropriate. The same goes for customer support.

Some private entrepreneurs are wondering if they need such technologies if they do not work with large amounts of information. Everything is individual here, but high-quality scaling is one of the priorities of those who want to develop a business, moving it to great prospects. Imagine this example: a makeup artist or hairdresser starts his own small private practice. The business is developing, new clients are coming, and the recommendations are working. The specialist understands that he needs to scale and wants to write his own training course for others – those who are just starting to take their first steps in this business. In this direction, AI technologies are used massively – from the collection of applications for the course and ending with user support.

Conclusion

Even a superficial analysis of the statistics on the use of artificial intelligence by businesses indicates that the trend will intensify. Simple IT support tools automate processes and free up more time for the company’s staff to perform complex tasks aimed at its development. The routine work associated with a large amount of data can be done by artificial intelligence. To do this, it is not necessary to use the resources of human labor, which can be directed to more creative and responsible tasks related to the expansion of the business to new horizons of success.