Is AI Just for Customer Services?

When people think of chatbots, virtual assistants and automation that utilise AI (and more specifically conversational AI) they usually think of customer services departments.  This is no surprise as this is where the most significant progress has been made in development and adoption.  However there are many other areas that are starting to see how chatbots and automated servicing can benefit their departments.  

Sales and Marketing

When a potential customer first interacts with you a good customer experience is vital.  We all know the frustration of phone IVRs and constantly pressing buttons and not seeming to get anywhere.  However if a customer is on your website, outside office hours and a chatbot provides a personalised experience that solves the enquiry, they leave with a good feeling about your business.  A chatbot or virtual assistant that uses conversational AI can greatly enhance a website experience for the customer.  Some of the many ways a chatbot can help sales and marketing are:

• Offer a customer viewing a certain webpage a specific discount or offer to show a case study or similar product depending on the page the customer is viewing
• Offer a demo or a product or get users to sign up to a free trial
• Provide quotes or estimates (for more basic off -the-shelf products)
• Assist with website/intranet/portal navigation.  
• Answer technical questions
• Build email lists by capturing email address for email/newsletter sign up or just to provide more information
• Qualify and routing leads by asking pertinent questions and identifying which users need to be serviced and qualify those that are of most interest.  After the chatbot qualifies the enquiries, it can offer a demo, schedule a meeting or transfer to the sales team in real time
• Schedule, modify and cancel meetings, look up a schedule, and even initiate an invitation as well
• Offer cross-sells or upsells and even include discounts based on the customer history
• Take orders, reserve a table, place an order or process a payment
• Track the status or location of an order
• Process return and exchange requests
• Notify staff about required tasks e.g. a reminder to follow up with a customer or that an action was taken in the CRM
  

Human Resources (HR)

Virtual assistants can provide a more rewarding and personalized experience for job candidates and employees alike, while automating a lot of tedious administration.

For interviewees, onboarding and existing staff service automation can:

• Pre-screen job candidates
• Administer assessments
• Gives tips and guidance to candidates
• Provide application progress updates
• Notify candidates when a position has been filled
• Answer employee questions via integration with HR data sources (e.g., your HRIS, employee handbook, etc.)
• Provide details on company policies and the forms needed for requests
• Process common HR requests such as annual leave
• Integrate with a variety of employee-facing systems, such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, as well as Alexa or email
• Conversationalize the resetting of system passwords
  

Facilities

Building management is another area where information can be required 24/7, when integrated to your business applications you can offer a whole range of interfaces to simply respond to request for information or initiate a workflow such as:

• Providing office directions and contact information
• Locating items
• Provide occupancy details
• Meeting requests and reservations with associated services such as parking and catering
• Checking maintenance schedules
• Tracking supplies and equipment
  

These are just a few examples, so if you have any processes that could be automated contact us or call us on 0333 6000 360 and we can show you see how a virtual assistant can transform your business.