Artificial intelligence is on the rise across industries, with more than a third of companies around the world implementing AI to improve their business processes. Afiniti, a leading AI company specializing in pairing customers with contact center agents, has witnessed the adoption first hand, on behalf of clients in telecommunications, banking, and healthcare sectors.
Afiniti is one of a number of companies using AI to deliver customer experiences that are more personalized and cost efficient. Interest in Afiniti’s Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) AI technology has also intensified since OpenAI introduced the generative AI technology ChatGPT, which is expected to drive further automation and transform the way consumers and brands interact.
With these disruptive developments changing the way businesses meet customer needs and expectations, many companies must reassess their vendor product offerings and invest in outcome-driven technology.
This is where Afiniti’s patented benchmarking system comes in, allowing the company to precisely measure the impact its AI is having on customer-agent interactions and incremental revenue. Its technology runs in cycles, so clients can see the value created when the technology is on versus off.
Afiniti’s AI algorithms are able to improve the performance of metrics that mean the most to their clients, whether that be sales, retention, or customer satisfaction. Every company stands to realize revenue gains through a better customer experience — with research showing that 86% of consumers place a higher value on and are willing to pay more for products and services that enhance the customer experience.
Other more expensive technologies that claim to improve customer interactions can be implemented with little to no return on investment, and can sometimes do more harm than good. Ultimately, the negative interactions that customers have with technology may lead to increased attrition, with Forbes reporting that even one negative chatbot experience drives away 30% of customers. Many companies are rushing to introduce this kind of technology without considering the long-term drawbacks. Organizations risk overinvesting in AI-powered chatbots and self-service portals in the contact center to save on costs, even in instances where a human agent is necessary. That’s why Afiniti develops its AI technology to specifically harness the human connection.
Given the price of just one bad interaction, businesses can and should adopt customer experience technologies that better measure the impact of customer interactions and match customers’ expectations of efficiency and personalization. Done right, great interactions translate into increased brand loyalty, customer lifetime value, and increased revenue.
Salesforce reports that 60% of customers welcome the use of AI when interacting with a brand if it means a better experience. But there is a fine line between automation that makes customer service more efficient and over automation that leaves the customer less satisfied or even alienated. The success of Afiniti’s technology demonstrates that people prefer to talk to people, rather than bots, when they have a complex problem.
The best AI investments will focus not simply on automating, but keeping the “human in loop” to deliver the best possible customer and agent experience.
