How To Use AI in Customer Service Without Losing The Human Touch

It’s no secret that AI tools like ChatGPT have made a splash in the marketing industry this year, and we’re finding more and more each day that the newest forms of AI have uses that reach far beyond drumming up a quick social media caption or a semi-custom brand shoot image for a website. However, the remaining question that many E-Commerce brands are asking is how to implement artificial intelligence into a customer service strategy without losing the human touch that customers love. After all, our humanity and empathy in customer service interactions are what form the loyal relationships between businesses and customers and allow brands to continue growing and scaling. To continue providing the high level of service that customers have come to expect without adding more to our customer service agents’ plates, it’s crucial to identify where AI can improve systems and processes in E-Commerce businesses without coming across as cold or robotic (beep boop beep).
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How To Use AI Customer Service To Improve Processes Within E-Commerce Brands

Whether you’ve recognized it or not, AI is already playing a part in customer service departments. Think about the last time you had to reach out to a brand for assistance via live chat. It’s likely that before you were connected with a real agent, you had to answer a few questions about the issue you were experiencing and enter your contact information. This chatbot is a form of AI that streamlines communication between customers and agents without detracting from the overall experience. With this example in mind, let’s explore other ways that AI can be used in customer service without losing the human touch that helps brands connect with their customers on a more personal level.

1. Always Offer A Human Interaction

Let’s face it – artificial intelligence is the way of the future. However, it doesn’t mean that we brands will be able to use AI as a cop-out to avoid unpleasant interactions with unhappy customers. A human-first approach is always the way to win hearts and minds, which is why we always recommend giving customers the option to escalate their issues to a real customer service agent. Think about it: during an especially confusing or frustrating situation, a chatbot or automated phone tree is probably the last thing customers want to encounter, right? In fact, 72% of U.S. adults in 2023 have reported feeling worried about being able to reach a human instead of AI when they need a real agent. Therefore, be transparent with customers regarding how they can reach a real person. List important contact information such as your direct phone numbers or email addresses on your website, and give customers the ability to reach a person directly through your chatbots or other AI customer support tools.

2. Automate Workflows & Provide Proactive Support

Manual tasks not only take up your team’s bandwidth but also create a larger margin for error. We’re only humans, after all, and it’s all too easy to forget to follow up with a customer when we’re managing multiple tasks at once. By using bots and AI tools, you can create powerful automations and workflows that free up more time for your agents and ensure that each process within your E-Commerce brand is followed to a tee. For example, you can build a workflow that automatically follows up with customers who’ve abandoned their online cart. Therefore, if a customer has an issue processing their order, has questions about the shipping policies, or simply needs an incentive in the form of a small discount, an AI-powered workflow can determine the reason for the abandoned cart and respond accordingly to close the sale.

3. Handle Customer Inquiries Appropriately

There’s truly nothing more frustrating than sitting through a long automated phone tree only to be routed to the incorrect department or agent. Or, even worse, to be routed to the correct agent who may not have the answer to your question. Listen, mistakes happen, and there will be times when your customer service agents simply don’t have the answer to a problem right away. However, by using a helpdesk that includes AI tools for customer service, such as Zendesk or Gorgias, we can gather customer insights immediately to ensure that each customer is matched with the right agent based on:

• The needs of the customer
• The bandwidth of the agent
• The agent’s skill level

Here’s an example: let’s say a customer calls your brand with an issue about their bill. If your brand uses customer service helpdesk software that has an AI component, it will be able to identify:

• the customer’s tone (angry or frustrated)
• the issue they’re experiencing (bill discrepancy)
• the language they’re speaking in (Spanish)

… all so that they can be routed to the appropriate agent (in this case, an experienced agent versed in billing issues who speaks Spanish) without having to face an extended and potentially unfruitful wait time.

Elevate Your Brand’s Customer Service With AI Capabilities That Humanize Your Interactions

With conversations about AI now entering the customer service industry, it’s crucial to determine how we can use these new tools to improve interactions with customers without losing the human touch. At TalentPop, our focus is always on how to help E-Commerce brands better serve customers. Therefore, we train our agents in all the top tools (as well as soft skills like empathy and active listening) so they can use the AI functions and features within your helpdesk software to improve the customer experience rather than detract from it. Plus, with our transparent pricing and ability to scale your support up or down based on need, you can trust that partnering with our team will always be a seamless experience. To learn more about how we can help establish your business as a customer-centric brand, schedule a call with us today.