How to Improve Customer Experience with Generative AI?

Just a year ago, thinking of life without Google was almost impossible. We depend on Google, from the little things we do daily to our big decisions. Recently, a video campaign from Mahindra on #risewithtech showed where they asked people whom they go to for advice on buying cars, gadgets, and such. We often turn to Google for all of these needs, and sometimes we find ourselves contemplating the degree to which technology has become a part of our existence, seamlessly intertwined with our daily routines and activities.

Table of Contents:

• The rise of ChatGPT

• What is Generative AI for customer experience?

• CX automation - Ways we can use Generative AI to enhance customer experience

• It's everybody's responsibility

The rise of ChatGPT

The arrival of ChatGPT has recently changed the game. It's conversational artificial intelligence (AI) that can hold natural and engaging conversations with humans, answer questions, follow instructions, and even generate creative text formats like poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, emails, letters, and more.

ChatGPT has been a viral sensation, and now most businesses, including big giants like Microsoft and Google, are joining the AI hype. The power of AI can't be denied, and a recent Gartner, Inc. poll* confirmed it, stating that 45% of executive leaders increased their investments in AI due to the publicity surrounding ChatGPT.

Additionally, customer experience emerged as the top priority for 38% of respondents. Business executives are trying to figure out how to take advantage of this technology to enhance and reimagine the customer experience.

Generative AI for customer experience: What does that mean?

When it comes to improving how customers feel about their interactions, Generative AI (or GenAI) can be really helpful. It's like having smart tech that can do a bunch of cool stuff. For example, it can power those chatbots and virtual helpers that give you quick and personal support. You know, like when you have questions or concerns, they can help you out right away and guide you through things.

These AI-powered assistants can simulate human-like interactions, making customers feel more comfortable and heard.

Here are some examples of how brands are using Generative AI to improve customer experience:

• Netflix: You know how Netflix suggests what movies or TV shows to watch next? Yup, that's GenAI in action! It looks at what you've watched before, what you liked, and what you didn't to give you awesome recommendations.

• Amazon: When you shop on Amazon, and it shows you stuff you might like to buy, that's also thanks to GenAI. It looks at what you've bought, what you've looked at, and what you've searched for to suggest products.

• Walmart: Even Walmart gets in on the GenAI action. They use it to create special ads and stuff that's just for you. Like, if you're into certain things, they'll show you ads about those things, because they know what you like.

What are the ways to use Generative AI to enhance customer experience?

• GenAI for hyper-personalized customer experience: Generative AI can recommend products or services to customers based on their purchases or browsing history. For example, an ecommerce platform can use AI algorithms to suggest relevant items to customers based on their previous purchases or similar products they've viewed. This helps customers discover products they're likely interested in, improving their shopping experience.

• Generative AI for customer service: A recent study carried out by MIT has unveiled findings indicating that the utilization of generative AI in customer service roles leads to a 14% increase in the speed of resolving support tickets, in contrast to positions that lack intelligent assistance*. Generative AI can be used to create chatbots that can answer customer questions and provide support 24/7. This can free human customer service representatives to focus on more complex issues. For example, a telecommunications company can use chatbots to assist customers with common troubleshooting steps, billing inquiries, or account management, providing instant assistance and reducing wait times. 

• Customer engagement through content creation: Generative AI can also create engaging and relevant content for customers. For example, an online travel agency can generate personalized travel itineraries based on a customer's preferences, destination, and budget. This creates a tailored experience and helps customers discover exciting travel options. Additionally, Generative AI can assist in generating blog posts, articles, or social media content that resonates with customers, keeping them engaged and informed.

• Improved customer satisfaction: Generative AI can help businesses improve customer satisfaction by providing a more personalized and efficient experience, leading to increased sales and customer loyalty. For example, an online streaming platform (Netflix, Prime, Hotstar, etc.) can use AI algorithms to recommend movies or TV shows based on a user's watch history and preferences. This level of personalization increases the chances of customers finding the content they enjoy, leading to higher satisfaction and retention rates.

• Streamlining customer journey: Generative AI can assist in automating and streamlining customer service processes. It can analyze large amounts of customer data, identify patterns, and generate insights to improve service quality, identify potential issues, and anticipate customer needs. This helps businesses proactively address customer concerns and deliver more efficient and effective solutions. For example, a subscription-based service can use Generative AI to identify patterns indicating a potential customer churn and take appropriate actions to retain those customers, such as offering tailored promotions or addressing specific concerns.
   

It's everybody's responsibility 

Of course, some challenges still need to be addressed before AI can reach its full potential. For example, AI systems need to be able to understand and respond to natural language in an accurate and efficient way. And they need to be able to learn and adapt over time to provide the best possible experience for customers. Other challenges, such as data bias, misinformation, intellectual property rights, security concerns, and interpretability, must also be confronted.

Developers, researchers, policymakers, and society must collaborate in implementing safeguards, ethical guidelines, and robust data practices. These measures will help us harness the immense benefits of Generative AI while minimizing its potential negative impacts.

Despite these challenges, AI has the potential to make a real difference in the way we interact with businesses.

P.S: When the capabilities of AI are applied to a vast ecosystem like Zoho, the benefits are manifold. If you're interested, we invite you to explore the impressive synergy with the integration of Zoho SalesIQ with ChatGPT, bringing in exceptional customer service with Generative AI (GenAI).


 

Source:

• Generative AI for Customer Service: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/generative-ai-for-customer-service/ by Sam Ransbotham and Shervin Khodabandeh. MIT Sloan Management Review, June 2023.

Here are a few frequently asked questions:

1. What is Generative AI?

Generative AI (GenAI) is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that can create new content, such as images, text, and music. It does this by learning from existing data and then using that knowledge to generate new outputs. Generative AI is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to revolutionize many industries, including entertainment, healthcare, and manufacturing.

Here are some examples of what Generative AI can do:

• Generate realistic images of people, places, and things that never existed.

• Write original stories, poems, and scripts.

• Create new music that sounds like a human composer wrote it.

• Design new products and prototypes.
   

2. Importance of using AI for customer experience (CX)

AI can help businesses improve customer experience in a number of ways. Here are some of the most important benefits of using AI for CX:

• Automates many customer service tasks, such as answering repetitive questions, resolving issues, and providing support.

• Leverages customer data to provide personalized recommendations for products, services, and content.

• Predicts future behavior, such as what products a customer is likely to purchase or what issues they're likely to have. AI algorithms can identify patterns that indicate customer dissatisfaction or potential churn.

• Detects fraud in real time, helping businesses protect their customers and their bottom line.

• Identifies customer satisfaction levels and areas for enhancement through feedback analysis and sentiment analysis.
   

3. How can I improve customer experience using Generative AI?

Generative AI offers several ways to improve customer experience. It enables customized recommendations, betters decision-making, provides enhanced customer service, powers virtual assistants and chatbots for instant support, generates engaging content, performs sentiment analysis, utilizes predictive analytics, facilitates continuous learning and optimization, and more.

4. How can Generative AI chatbots improve customer experience with examples?

Generative AI chatbots can make talking to a computer feel more like talking to a real person, which makes the customer experience better. Here's how they do it:

1.  Generative AI chatbots can understand what you're saying more easily, so you don't have to talk like a robot. For example, you can ask a chatbot, "What's the best phone for me?" instead of using specific keywords.

2. GenAI chatbots use information about you to give suggestions that fit your interests. If you like action movies, the chatbot might recommend action movies to watch. They can make conversations more enjoyable by telling jokes or responding in a friendly way.

3. Generative AI chatbots can guide you through the buying process and suggest products that match your needs.

For example, if you're on a clothing website, a Generative AI chatbot might ask, "What type of clothes do you like?" and recommend outfits based on your preferences. This way, the chatbot can provide more personalized help, making your shopping experience more enjoyable.
 

*Source: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-05-03-gartner-poll-finds-45-percent-of-executives-say-chatgpt-has-prompted-an-increase-in-ai-investment