Chatbots are the future of customer service

Modern consumer expectations dictate that businesses need to deliver high-quality digital experiences and customer service, according to a recent survey commissioned by leading conversational AI platform Boost.ai. The findings show that some industries need to adapt faster than others, as consistently bad customer service would cause almost two-thirds of banking (67%) and insurance (62%) customers, and almost half (48%) of telecommunications customers, to leave their existing provider for another one.

More broadly, 2 in 5 people (42%) do not have the patience to wait more than 10 minutes on the phone to speak with a customer services operator, and doing so would prompt them to switch service provider, highlighting a need for improved, streamlined and efficient customer service across all industries. This figure rises to 69% of respondents who are unwilling to wait longer than 20 minutes, while 81% of respondents said they would switch providers if they consistently had to wait 30+ minutes to speak to a customer service operator. 

While long waiting times are a serious barrier to customer satisfaction – there is a solution. The survey revealed that 61% of people would talk to a chatbot if it meant spending less time waiting for their enquiry to be dealt with. Many businesses see chatbots as a luxury rather than a necessity for customer service. However, with some chatbots consistently hitting resolution rates over 90%, it is clear that conversational AI technology can breathe new life into tired customer service processes and give customer service operators more time to deal with complex requests. 59% of people said they wait up to 20 minutes a month waiting on customer service, a waiting time that can be reduced with conversational AI. 

Conversational AI helps industries like banking, insurance and telecoms to provide an immersive experience to their customers. By automating customer service, banks and insurers can process enquiries quickly and accurately with the same level of detail as a human agent.

Sanjeev Kumar, VP of EMEA at Boost.ai, said, “Given the rise of more digitally focussed challengers in recent years, it is clear that customer expectations have changed and adopting innovative technology solutions has never been more critical, particularly for industries such as banking and insurance.

“This survey reveals the problem at the heart of many customer service offerings – long waiting times. Customers are crying out for more efficient service and to have their enquiries handled swiftly and easily. There is clearly an appetite for change, and it is up to businesses to look at how technology can help them deliver such change.

“Awareness of chatbots is at an all-time high thanks to recent advances in generative AI, and now is the time for businesses – particularly those identified as having bad customer service – to seize the initiative and invest in AI tools to deliver a modern and future-proofed customer service offering.”