The real AI bot
Gamers have long been familiar with bots directing the human-like responses of non-player characters, but what is the human-imitating AI doing for us now that it is out in the big wide world? The most prolific form of AI is the simple bot, a software application running automated tasks. Take Wikipedia, for example, for years now bots have been rummaging away; mending errors and adding links. It may please our favorite Sci Fi authors to learn that they have been discovered battling each other, undoing each other’s edits and re-editing links.
The wide-ranging impact of bots may continue to surprise, with bots being used commercially to do for cheap, what humans would normally do. Such as, scrape through sites such as eBay looking for bargains, troll internet forums, buy the best seats at concerts, even to increase traffic counts to claim money from advertisers.
So where are the next generation of human-imitating bots headed? Millennials expect a smooth experience when interacting with businesses and brands, and bots are assisting, encouraging marketers to provided bot-led customer support channels. Bots understand customer behavior; you may already have had a chat with a customer service bot, it busily classifying your intent to determine an appropriate response. Of course, the really good ones are learning and improving their responses as they go. They assist customers in completing tasks, advise on purchases and respond in real-time in a way a human customer service representative simply can’t. They can anticipate future needs, based on previous customer choices, or tuned to that person’s choices; they will cross-sell, up-sell and support customers in real-time. Of course, if they can’t direct you to the correct purchase, FAQ, video or previous useful answer, then can always put you in touch with a real person. Bots will more and more commonly provide a first-line approach, providing an additional channel for customer interactions, reducing customer management costs.
How customers contact businesses has shifted, further favoring bot channels; people now spend more time in messaging apps than on social media, suggesting a preference for real-time conversations. Bots provide a more personalized response medium than social media. Sending an email and awaiting a response takes up far more cognitive space than opening an app, sending a message, and immediately resolving the issue. This results in a less stressed, happier customer base who have a feeling of control.
There will be an exponential growth in the need for customer support channels, as more and more devices are purchased that inter-connect. As the internet of things grows, more and more devices will proactively ask for support (in 2018 the estimate is 8.4 Billion devices (Gartner)), customers will expect integration to be seamless, and instant support when it is not. By 2020, smart agents will manage 40% of mobile interactions (Gartner). The future is interconnected, and the future trouble-shooters are automated and intelligent. What an exciting time to be watching this space.
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/23/wikipedia-bot-editing-war-study/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence_(video_games)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_bot
https://blog.freshdesk.com/chatbots-in-support/
https://resources.reputation.com/reputation-com-blog/retailers-here-s-why-millennials-matter
2 External links
http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3598917
http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3143718
| Project brief | Copy for a website page (around 400-500 words) around Artificial Intelligence. Get main idea across of what AI can do. Here are some content that could be used to expand upon: |
| Scope | Bots can reduce customer Efforts Bots help customers complete tasks, personally guide purchases and deliver real-time services Bot are Intelligent enough to understand customer behavior Bots understand customer behavior over a period of time, use this data to anticipate future needs thereby building a deep relationship with them and promote loyalty. Bots are more personalized as a medium than social media People are spending more time in messaging apps than on social media. Rising need for Customer support channels By 2018, 6 Billion devices will proactively ask for support(Gartner) Mobile messaging is expected to rise exponentially By 2020, smart agents will manage 40% of mobile interactions(Gartner) Bots provide an additional channel for Customer Interaction Provide additional sales and support channel to cross-sell, up-sell and support customers in real-time. |