Chatbots with Human Agents — Creating Magic Sales & Support Teams
Very often Chatbots are seen as a replacement to a live human agent support team. Chatbots are often positioned as a lower cost cheaper option when compared to human agents. My favorite comparison talks about Chatbots never taking a sick leave and never having a bad day versus humans.
However, we at Fluid AI believe this is a false comparison. The best Chatbot solutions are those that seamlessly transition to Human Agents to offer the end customer a truly powerful experience. Lets face it we all have the experience wherein on a long winded automated IVR phone call we want to just figure out a way to talk to human. Similarly we have experienced those long winded bot conversations where bots can’t help with a complicated query or simply end up telling you to send an email or call a phone number.
So its a never an either human or Chatbot option, Your bot platforms must seamlessly transition to humans when required. To understand why the seamless transition is required we must understand the key strengths which each chat bot and Humans Agents bring to a conversation with your customer.
Bots
1.24 by 7 Accessible- Never takes a day off.(sorry we couldn’t resist)
2. For simpler issues and queries Chatbots can have a high quality conversations giving customers instant responses and resolutions
3. Seamless integrates with back end systems to provide customers answers from disparate data sources and systems. Imagine asking for your Account Balance and then asking for a replacement credit card Chatbots can integrate with multiple systems to seamlessly answer both requests.
Humans
1.Anything complex requiring multiple steps where users are going to get confused and would want guidance
2.Areas requiring empathy and a human Ear. A thumb rule is that when you have a difficult conversation to have with your customer never send a Bot to do a Human’s job
Some of the interesting areas where we have seen AI Powered Bots and Human agents working together make great teams
1.Sales and Marketing: In our work with organizations we have seen AI powered bots serve as good screeners and qualifiers of initial visitors who may convert into leads. Chatbots can answer user queries and actually ensure that the user is a genuine lead for whom the product is a fit. Post that the Chatbot can seamlessly transfer it to a human agent who takes over and helps the customers actually onboard. This also works asynchronously. Typically your web traffic may drop at night and it may not make sense from a cost perspective to have human agents 24 by 7. You then deploy bots only at low traffic times to qualify and register the base lead. Human agents reach out in the morning maybe over a chat platform like WhatsApp to take forward the conversation.
2. Debt Collections for Banks : With a significant percentage of customers not paying on time most may need just follow up reminders and maybe a few weeks more time before they can make their payments. Chatbots either voice bots on the telephone or on WhatsApp are effective at reaching out to these customers and getting a promise to pay debt and understanding the customers situation. In case of more complex situations where customers are unable to pay and would want to restructure their loans bots can set up a time with a human agent .Human Agents can then focus on these high involvement cases.
3.Insurance Claim Filing: Insurance filing can be an arduous process which none of us really look forward to. Its also the moment of truth in terms of customer experience. Imagine the scenario a loyal customer who has been paying premiums for years has to file a claim she wants an experience which is instantaneous, empathetic and hassle free. Here Human agents over chat on the website can be the first point of contact showcasing the necessary empathy and care. Human agents also provide the general guidance in terms of the claim filing process and how long the process may take. They then hand over to a bot which can take in details, accept documents and asking any follow up enquiries of the customer in a process driven manner.
The way customers are interacting with organizations is undergoing a fundamental shift. Chatbots are going to automate and drive new efficiencies for sure. But, human agents are going to play a key role in collaborating with these chatbots to provide the necessary empathy and deal with complexity. When implementing Chatbots organizations must understand the advantages of Bots and Humans. With both Humans and Bots on your side you have the opportunity to weave truly magical customer journeys.
We at Fluid AI have been building Bots which generated Millions of Dollars in Sales for our customers at the same time taking up interesting Services through Bots such as Debt Collection
Set up a free thirty minute Bot Strategy Session with us if you want to go deeper in your Bot Journey
https://calendly.com/abhinav-fluidai/strategy-session-with-fluid-ai-for-chatbots
If you want to know the 3 Shocking Mistakes that will make your Chatbot Fail visit check out our video 3 Shocking Mistakes that will make your Chatbot Fail on Youtube https://youtu.be/zdmx9G_VGQ0
