AI is becoming an important tool in customer service, changing how businesses and customers interact every day. By making tasks easier and quicker, AI helps address some of the most common customer service issues—like slow responses, limited customer control, and a lack of help outside of business hours.

When customers use AI tools like chatbots or digital assistants, they know they’re speaking to a machine, but they value the faster response times and around-the-clock support. Emarketer reports that 49% of US adults have used an AI chatbot for customer service in the past 12 months, according to November 2023 data from Google and Ipsos.

When used effectively, AI  can help  streamline customer service tasks and scale  support team operations. Beyond enhancing the customer experience, it can help brands reduce costs, increase efficiency, and save time. 

For these reasons (and more), more businesses are investing in AI to elevate their customer service. 

According to data from HubSpot’s State of Service 2024 report, 84% of survey respondents said AI/automation tools will be instrumental in helping them meet customer service expectations. In addition, 86% said AI will transform the experience customers get with their company, and 75% also agree that AI/automation tools will help improve customer service response time.

For customers, it’s all about feeling in control and getting the assistance they need without a long wait. For businesses, the goal is to keep customers satisfied. By combining traditional customer service with AI tools, companies can create positive experiences that make a real difference.

In this blog, we’ll dive into the ways AI can elevate support and streamline efficiency — paving the way for a smoother, more satisfying customer experience — and show you how you can incorporate AI into your customer service operations. 

What is AI in customer service? 

AI is already playing a major role in customer service, and it’s only going to grow. AI technologies such as natural language processing (NLP), speech recognition, and machine learning, are helping customer support teams deliver seamless experiences by taking some of the load off human agents.

Gartner even predicts that by 2025, 80% of customer service and support organizations will be using generative AI to improve agent productivity and customer experience. This makes it essential for you to get a solid understanding of how AI tools work and what they can bring to customer support.

So, what’s driving the rise of AI in customer service? For one, AI tools can handle routine tasks and automate workflows, allowing agents to focus on more complex issues. They can also predict customer needs, offering personalized recommendations based on browsing history, demographics, and trends — all of which help enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Common AI tools in customer support include:

• AI chatbots that handle customer inquiries around the clock.
• Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, which can help write responses to customer questions.
• Routing tools that direct service requests to the right agent quickly and efficiently.

AI is transforming customer support, and it’s clear that this technology is here to stay.

Top 6 benefits of AI in customer service 

There are several benefits of AI-based customer service, but let’s take a look at the 6 most popular ones: : 

1.Reduce average handling time (AHT) 

Average handle time (AHT) is the average length of a customer's call. Customers want quick answers and resolutions, and ideally, they'd love it if everything gets handled in one go — they don’t want to keep reaching out about the same issue. Reducing the AHT is one way to enhance operational efficiency. 

That’s where AI-driven customer support can help. AI-powered chatbots reduce hold times by instantly responding to customers’ common queries using your company’s knowledge bases and past interactions, improving AHT, first response and resolution times, and customer satisfaction scores (CSATs). 

Example: If a customer asks for product-related information, AI-powered chatbots can quickly search through knowledge bases and recommend relevant videos and FAQs to help the user. 

2.Uncover insights by analyzing large volumes of customer data 

AI-driven customer service platforms can help you analyze large volumes of customer data using machine learning and natural language processing algorithms. This means you can now easily scan your customers' browsing history, feedback, and social media interactions, to unlock valuable insights. 

With these insights, you can: 

• Recognize behavior patterns and trends for customer profiling and segmentation 
• Assess customer satisfaction levels, anticipate problems, and predict churns
• Customize sales and marketing campaigns and increase revenue

3.Offer omnichannel support 

AI helps you provide omnichannel customer support, connecting with users through  their preferred touchpoints, whether that’s social media, websites, or messaging apps.

💡Tip: Integrate an omnichannel desktop with your existing business systems to centralize customer information and provide agents with quick access to context. This ensures that  even if a customer starts a conversation on Instagram, asks a question on your website, and chats with your WhatsAppr chatbot, the interaction remains seamless and efficient. 

4.Deliver hyper-personalized experiences

Two-thirds of all respondents for a 2023 survey by Statista revealed that they’re open to buying products/services recommended to them by generative AI.

AI can curate personalized customer experiences by adapting to a customer's tone and using user data to send birthday or anniversary wishes with special discounts. This, in turn, boosts customer satisfaction and retention.

5.Scale your customer service and business 

With AI-powered customer service, scaling your business becomes seamless as it grows. AI chatbots can handle countless conversations quickly and efficiently while prioritizing urgent queries.

The result? You can handle peak hours without the need for extra hiring, allowing your  agents to focus on  complex issues and high-value interactions  that truly need  a human touch. Plus, businesses can stay online 24×7 and provide support to their customers.

6.Automate and streamline customer service workflows 

AI-driven customer service solutions automate routine workflows, helping you reduce agent burnout and improve productivity. Insights from a 2023 Statista survey revealed that 40% of all respondents felt AI has made their work a lot easier. 

A few ways in which AI can streamline customer service workflows include:

• Intelligent ticket triaging and assignment
• Transcribing customer calls into written texts
• Offering proactive support throughout the customer lifecycle 
• Sending agent notifications to follow up on pending customer service tickets 
• Automatically handling calls, greeting users, and directing them to the right agent 

What to consider when implementing AI in customer service? 

AI tools can benefit both your business and your customers. Consider these criteria when implementing AI in customer service: 

Expertise and accuracy 

While AI can efficiently handle simple queries and provide accurate answers, some AI-powered tools may struggle with  more nuanced questions. It's important to choose a tool that’s trained on large datasets of customer conversations and can identify customer sentiments and intents, ensuring seamless customer service.

Data security and compliance

Customer service involves handling  large volumes of customer data, so it’s vital  to select a tool with transparent privacy and compliance standards to ensure data security.

Integration capabilities

Pick an AI tool that integrates with your existing business systems and ensures real-time data synchronization across platforms. This facilitates swift, accurate responses for customers.

Budget and implementation 

Factor in the costs of hardware, software, implementation, and licensing when incorporating AI into your workflows. Don’t forget to account for employee training and potential downtime during the transition.

How to incorporate AI in customer service

Let's explore some ways through which you can utilize AI to optimize customer service: 

Set up customer service chatbots

AI chatbots are widely used by businesses to improve efficiency, provide quick responses to customers, and reduce costs. These bots leverage natural language models to accurately interpret customer queries and respond in a friendly, human-like manner.

The best part? You can use conversational AI technologies to offer customer support 24/7, regardless of business hours, time zones, or holidays.

For instance, Plivo CX’s AI agent can efficiently manage peak times by handling multiple interactions simultaneously and providing instant responses. The benefits? Reduced customer wait times and the ability to free up agents for more complex queries.

Automate content generation 

With generative AI-powered tools, you no longer have to struggle to curate personalized messages and fresh, engaging content for emails. They can quickly and easily brainstorm ideas and automate content creation for emails, newsletters, customer responses, and more.

Set up intelligent call routing and IVR 

AI can also help with intelligent call routing (ICR) and interactive voice response (IVR) systems, improving the efficiency of customer support agents and reducing customer wait times.

Here's how an ICR system works:

• Imagine a caller reaches out to your brand regarding a product issue. The ICR system collects the caller data, including the issue, date, time, location, caller ID, and past purchases.
• It then analyzes this data against predefined routing rules and agent factors such as expertise, language preference, and availability, to decide the most appropriate agent.
• The ICR system then routes the call to the respective agent for resolution or lets the caller wait in the queue if the agent is unavailable.

Now, let’s look at IVR systems. They can automatically greet customers using their personal details and provide intuitive options for further assistance. Once the caller chooses an option, the IVR system responds with  pre-recorded prompts, routes customers to the right departments, or helps the caller switch to another channel for resolution. 

Plivo CX's customizable IVR system lets callers to self-select options for quicker routing, shorter wait times, and faster resolution. The system also assigns callers to the same agents for a better customer experience and automatically collects vital CSAT scores after each call. 

Analyze customer sentiment  

Customer data is gold, but sifting through it and mining insights manually can be a challenging task. So why not let automation take care of this? Yes, AI can do the heavy lifting for you by analyzing sentiments and emotions in customer reviews and feedback. 

These AI algorithms can swiftly analyze even large volumes of social media interactions, feedback, and surveys, to detect customer emotions and classify positive, neutral, and negative sentiments. You can then use these valuable insights to enhance your products. You can also train the chatbots to be more empathetic and understanding towards customers by analyzing data related to customer service.

Automate email management 

AI-powered customer service tools can automate customer service and transform the way you manage your inbox. They can swiftly analyze email subject lines and content to prioritize emails based on their context and urgency. 

Offer multilingual support 

With AI customer service, you can offer support in your customers’ preferred language without hiring more people. AI tools can automatically detect the customer's language, translate them for agents, and provide answers in their language. They can even detect the customer's location to adjust conversations based on their linguistic and cultural preferences. 

Get started with AI in customer service using Plivo CX

Implementing AI in customer service can significantly enhance customer experience and  empower your customer support agents  through effective automation. 

Plivo CX is an all-in-one, cloud-based omnichannel platform designed to help businesses provide top-notch customer support across various channels. Here’s how it helps:

• Through its unified agent desktop, your team can manage conversations via email, voice, SMS, WhatsApp, and live chat, all from a single interface. This not only streamlines your operations but also ensures a cohesive experience for your customers.
• Calls are efficiently directed to the right agents using skills-based routing, while multi-language support helps you connect with customers worldwide.
• A highlight of Plivo CX is its integration with OpenAI-powered chatbots, reducing live agent requirements by 50%. These chatbots can be trained to manage routine inquiries, allowing your team to focus on more complex issues.
• The no-code visual workflow builder simplifies the creation of custom workflows and automations.
• The platform also offers seamless integration with your existing systems — be it CRM, ERP, order management, payment solutions, or helpdesk tools. Plus, real-time analytics and customizable reports provide actionable insights into your team's performance and customer engagement.
• Features like call recording, internal notes, and collaboration tools make it easier for your team to share knowledge and drive continuous improvement.
• The platform leverages Plivo’s award-winning premium carrier network with low latency. It supports outbound voice calls to more than 220 countries and territories, with features like call recording for agent training.
• Above all, Plivo CX offers enterprise-grade security features and complies with SOC-2, GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS, ensuring your customer data is safeguarded and your support processes align with industry regulations.

Want to see how Plivo CX can automate and transform your customer service and customer experience? Schedule a demo today!