Artificial Intelligence And Your Customer

It’s important for business owners to pay attention to current trends and be aware of what tools they may need to use in the future if they want to stay leaders in their industry. At the moment, artificial intelligence is one trend that every business owner, no matter the size of their business, must watch. Among many benefits, AI technology is said to improve the customer’s experience and help boost customer support. Essentially, when you mix artificial intelligence and your customer, the benefits are impressive.

AI Myths In The Workforce

While there are many opinions about artificial intelligence, business owners need to be aware of what is true and what is not. Especially, when it comes to the success of their business. Since the breakout of AI, there has been a fear that it would cause business owners to terminate the employment of human workers and replace those workers with machines. The elimination of human positions is due to the task being completed more efficiently by artificial intelligence, rather than a person. However, it’s important to note that a report by Gartner found that while artificial intelligence may eliminate 1.8 million jobs, it will also create 2.3 million new jobs by 2020. Meaning, while some jobs may no longer be necessary due to the tasks that AI can complete, the technology will still bring more roles that need to be filled to support it. So while many who deal directly with customers fear that a machine may fill their position, it’s important to reiterate that another position will essentially be required to help monitor that machine.

How Business Owners Using AI:  Artificial Intelligence And Your Customer

Artificial intelligence is taking the customer experience world by storm through the ways that it is improving the interactions a customer has with a business. Not only is this done through in-person interactions at stores that offer self-checkouts options, but in the digital realm as well. Specifically through personalized marketing, online support, and virtual shopping.  

Whether you realize it or not, artificial intelligence is being used to boost customer support. With chatbots and messenger applications now able to be programmed to analyze and reply to messages or inquiries, businesses in nearly every industry are adopting it. So now, when customers have a question about your business, they are greeted and helped by AI-powered chatbots. One example of a company who is doing this is Kayak, an online travel booking service. They were able to program a chatbot to allow users to ask questions to receive more information about flights, hotels, or things to do while travelling. The replies often allowed users to then further research or even purchase flights, hotels, or excursions through them.

Artificial intelligence hasn’t only helped boost customer support. It’s also improving sales and customer experience. When you’re browsing online, often, shoppers run into the dilemma of whether they should make a purchase because they are unsure of how that item will look in real life. This is often a problem with online clothing or furniture shopping. But, now with artificial intelligence, retailers can implement AI applications into their online presence through virtual reality to help increase sales and happy customers. Essentially allowing consumers to see the product they are thinking of buying virtually, through their phone or tablet. One major brand who is using this to their advantage is Wayfair, an e-commerce company who sells home goods. They have an application that allows users to see how specific items on their site will appear in their home. By using the camera on their smartphone or tablet, they can pan around the room while using their application, and the screen will display that room, but with the item of their choosing in the shot. This can even go one step further by tracking each customers journey from start to end, enabling brands to measure the ROI per person.

Additionally, many business owners are bringing artificial intelligence into their digital advertising efforts through data learning. Specifically programming the computer system to improve how it’s functioning based on the data it gathers from interactions. One example is how online businesses can use AI to help personalize their customers future shopping experiences. Whether it’s tailoring promotions that are unique to a customer’s past purchase or items that were placed in shopping carts, AI can help show your customers what they want to see — hopefully prompting a future purchase.

With the way that technology is advancing, it’s important to see what others are doing and how other businesses are implementing new technologies to help their business thrive. Among the many tools out there, it’s safe to say that AI innovation is something you should keep your eye on.