Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) ushering in a second Renaissance?! Many folks think so. The original Renaissance (15th Century) sparked leaps in art, literature and philosophy—but it also drove big changes in science and commerce. Now, AI is showing up everywhere, stirring conversations in these same areas--and it’s a game-changer in its own right.
But you don’t need to navigate this reawakening alone. Chicago IT services professionals can introduce you to the AI tools that will supercharge your business; IT infrastructure consultants can also implement AI systems to take your operations to the next level. Here are some ideas for tapping into AI.
Helpful AI Tools for Improving Customer Service
Excellent customer service plays a huge role in maintaining good client relations. And, repeat business is critical. Customer support applications use AI tools to automate customer service, improve interactions, and promote response efficiency. Here are key AI tools you should know.
AI Chatbots: Using natural language processing (NLP), chatbots give real-time responses to customer requests, handle tasks such as password resets, and can transfer higher level issues to human support personnel.
Virtual Assistants (VAs): VAs offer human-like interactions to handle higher level activities such as providing product advice. These conversations use voice or text communication.
Intelligent Routing and Ticketing: AI tools can also review customer requests and efficiently and effectively route the tickets to the applicable team for resolution.
AI-Enhanced Live Chat: AI is a valuable tool for your live customer support agents, too! An AI tool can suggest responses to requests; it can also supply helpful articles and gather customer histories for your customer service personnel.
AI-Powered Knowledge Bases: Not only your support agents will benefit from AI, but your customers will, too! An AI-powered knowledge base tool can organize support information and help customers find helpful articles that address their issues.
Predictive Analytics: Being proactive in addressing their problems helps you earn the confidence of your customers. AI analyzes customer behavior and data and recognizes future issues allowing you to address the problems before they become critical.
Sentiment Analysis: Being empathetic with your customers also breeds trust. AI tools can study the tone of a customer’s request helping customer service agents understand the urgency of a request as well as respond with understanding and empathy.
Real-Time Language Translation: As an SMB, you may do international business. AI can provide real-time, multi-lingual translation for your customer requests, helping you service a global audience.
Useful Chatbot Implementation
Consider implementing AI Chatbots to support your internal as well as your external customers. These tools can identify and answer frequently asked questions (FAQs), create tickets, and track orders. But AI chatbots can also help your internal human resources department as well as support your helpdesk. They can handle some employee onboarding tasks, answer payroll questions, track vacations, or reset passwords. AI chatbots can also support your helpdesk with IT troubleshooting.
Here are some best practices when implementing AI chatbot tools.
Start small: As an example, let an AI chatbot analyze and address FAQs. Review the feedback and add functionality as you go.
Plan Ahead: How will you handle challenging queries? Plan to gracefully escalate these requests to a human agent.
Train Well: Using real customer data, train your AI chatbot to improve its accuracy.
Consider Tone: As you “train” your AI chatbot, use the tone that makes the best impression for your business. That is, ensure the responses are friendly and reflect your desired image.
Protect Privacy: Ensure your AI chatbot respects data privacy requirements such as those outlined under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Ethical AI Considerations
As a Chicago-based business, you will face challenges when you use AI tools. Know how to use these tools responsibly, fairly, and with respect for human values. Here are some things you should consider.
Avoid Unintentional Bias: Your AI tool might accidentally favor certain groups—like people of a specific age, race, or gender—especially if it’s trained on biased or outdated data. This can show up in things like hiring or credit decisions. Make sure you test your system thoroughly to keep things fair for everyone. And don’t use AI to manipulate people’s choices or take away their ability to make decisions for themselves.
Ensure Transparency: Does your AI tool offer outcomes you can’t understand? Does it use algorithms to make decisions you can’t challenge? You need an AI system that’s transparent and whose “deep learning” you grasp.
Define Legal/Ethical Ownership: Who’s responsible for the failure of your AI tool or any harm its outcomes might cause? Ensure you understand who holds legal or ethical responsibility for the development and use of the AI system.
Recognize Human Impact: Adopting AI systems may result in the displacement of human workers. How will you retrain or transition those individuals? Plan ahead.
Promote Safety and Security: AI tools are software, and software can be hacked, manipulated, or just plain unpredictable! Use robust cybersecurity tools to protect your AI systems against malicious attacks.
Beware Deepfakes: AI systems are able to create false content that appears very real (deepfakes). Use disinformation detection tools to make sure your AI-generated content is trustworthy and unbiased.
Does navigating this AI Renaissance sound daunting? Enlist the help of a Chicago IT services group like JMA Consulting. Their licensed professionals can introduce you to AI tools and implement AI systems to supercharge your business.