By Christina Wilson, Director, Customer Success, Creative Virtual USA

Some organizations still view their customer communications in a linear fashion, with a definitive start and end point. But as thought leaders like McKinsey and others have pointed out, customers today often have a much more dynamic journey while researching a sales decision or requesting support. There are several reasons automated chat agents are the perfect complement for these complex customer pursuits.

1. Automated chat agents are unstructured

Automated virtual agents don’t require customers to read a menu and try to decide which category their problem fits into. Customers don’t have to listen to a phone recording to select the proper department or option. With an automated agent, customers can begin their exchanges exactly where they are having issues and proceed to a resolution from there, instead of jumping through hoops just to get to the point where they can explain their issue or question.

2. AI virtual assistants provide instant, scalable service

When customers are interacting with an automated agent, there’s no need for them to wait for phone lines to clear up, business hours to begin, a rep to answer their email, and so on. It doesn’t matter how busy things are with your organization, how many other people are trying to reach you, or what time of day or night it is – the virtual agent is always instantly accessible.

The Pew Research Center reported that those who are used to the instant gratification of the internet age become frustrated if they don’t get what they need immediately. The top organizations are already looking to make their delivery of services, products, and customer support instantaneous.

3. Automated virtual agents can serve customers anywhere

Top-quality virtual assistants are channel agnostic. They can be accessed with mobile apps, desktop browsers, voice prompts, SMS, social media platforms, and more. Virtual agents also have the ability to move between different channels – if a customer begins an inquiry or asks a question on their mobile device and then needs to see it on their desktop, the best AI virtual assistants can shift seamlessly and still provide the information the customer was looking for.

Gartner reports that nearly 9 out of every 10 companies believe they will compete on customer experience by the end of 2016. Automated chat agents can help you enhance your customer experience by meeting your customers where they are, on their terms.

 

As the leader in virtual customer service, Creative Virtual specializes in the science of conversation.