The role of chatbots and how they will be integrated into the customer experience continuum has been a topic of discussion here in the hallways at Mercator Advisory Group as well as a growing subject across most conferences and conventions. Inserting artificial intelligence or machine-leaning enabled tools into the set of tools financial institution customer service and business development representatives have at their disposal will make those point in time interactions that much more beneficial and contributory to the overall customer experience.
There are two main ways that businesses are augmenting their customer care units with AI — “front-end AI-powered bots” and “AI-assisted human agents.” A “front-end AI-powered bot” is a conversational computer program that interacts directly with a customer without human intervention. On the other hand, an “AI-assisted human agent” is a human customer service representative who is supported by AI technology. Other terms for this model include “cyborg” or “human in the loop.” Both these models are being used in service departments across industries.
Mercator Advisory Group expects the automated front-line will capture the imaginations of many, while the augmentation to customer experience possible in the “AI-assisted” model will be rolled out in more quickly and also be shown to be more effective. Reading human emotion still remains a largely, from syntax and tone, remains largely a human-based skill, but combining it with ongoing information availability relative to the content of the conversation presents the possibility of a powerful tool in having productive and beneficial interactions with financial institution consumers more regularly.
Overview by Joseph Walent, Associate Director, Customer Interactions Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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