DigitalTransformationTalk - Elevate your customer engagement with AI

On 14 May 2024, Digital Transformation host Kevin Crane was joined by Richard Rogers, Founder, StartupTechLaw; Ronald Gerlach, Chief Marketing Officer, Gaubert Oil Company; and Steven Giuffre, Senior Voice Manager, Vonage

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AI is reshaping the way retailers connect with shoppers. Conversational AI tools, like intelligent virtual agents (IVAs), use natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) to understand, process, and respond to customers in a natural, intuitive, and personalized way. These tools also move customer journeys from linear to non-linear experiences because they connect seamlessly across communication channels and customer touch points.

Customers now have multiple ways to reach out for support, from social media, call centres, chatbots, email, and more. This diversity of options is a hallmark of non-linear customer support, allowing companies to meet shoppers exactly where they are in their journey. However, the challenge arises in maintaining consistency across these varied channels. That’s where AI-enabled IVAs can help by using customers’ past conversations and bringing all the information into one place regardless of the touch point.

Chat GPT-enabled IVAs now have the ability to find products for customers that match algorithmic recommendations. However, retailers often find using marketing automation tools challenging to understand, manage and maintain, as well as to adopt an AI first approach to retail. Relying on AI, retailers will have a knowledge of what colour and design somebody likes, and the agent will make the personalisation for them. Customers will no longer ask the retailer questions but their virtual agent.

Smaller brands will be able to benefit from the increasing use of virtual agents, as they will present their offers among the big brands. Customers won’t have to keep looking for what they need as agents will find it for them. 

Are customers open to using virtual agents?

Vonage has found that 80 per cent of customers are comfortable with using AI and enjoy the benefits. The challenge is to ensure that agents tell the truth and don’t make up things and the personal data they capture are stored and treated in line with regulations.

As retailers aren’t in full control of generative AI tools, guardrails must be put in place and it should be trained well so that it can give accurate, relevant answers. To achieve this, you can anchor GenAI to a safe knowledge base and gain consumer trust.

AI can help customize not just b2c but b2b communications and AI agents can take over the task of lead scoring and lead routing and do the tasks of a sales development representative. AI can also be leveraged to slice and dice certain personas based on current data. 

AI can ask the customer questions regarding their use case, needs or priorities. The ultimate goal of deploying AI agents and personalisation tool boil eventually down to elevating customer engagement and to get started, the best way is to go down a practical path to AI which can immediately improve customer satisfaction an RoI. 

The panel’s advice

• Don’t go overboard on personalisation. If it intrudes on the customers’ lives  too much, it can become counterproductive.
• AI must be integrated with you current workflows and customer data with the business’s CRM and contact centres.  
• Establish what your priority use cases are and what you’re trying to achieve with customer engagement and then choose the path you’re going down accordingly.
• Find a trusted conversation AI and GenAI stack that promotes responsible, safeguarded use.
• Get a Chat GPT OpenAI account and build a GPT to see the other side of things.

 
To read Vonage’s Customer engagement report, click here.