By the start of the 21st century, artificial intelligence (AI) was known as the how and why behind terminators, androids, and talking computers. It was literally the stuff of science fiction. Now, less than two decades later, AI has become a real and regular part of daily life. A toothbrush manufacturer even claimed to have the technology in one of their products.

AI is currently utilized in different sectors, including computing, online shopping, education, entertainment, security, and even healthcare, to name a few.

In business, AI is predominantly used in automation to improve the quality and consistency of products, as well as to improve the productivity, consistency, and safety of operations. But AI does not benefit just business owners and employees. With the right approach, you can even utilize the technology to create awesome experiences for your customers.

Serving your clients better with AI

It may sound futuristic, but AI is more common than you think. Here are four applications that use the technology:

Internet of Things (IoT)

In IoT, each of the devices that make up the network acts as a point of interaction and a means of communication. Called “things,” these devices can be used to create omnichannel interactions with customers. One good example of IoT and AI  working together is Amazon’s automated grocery stores, where buyers can just place products in their baskets and go out after they have selected their purchase. AI keeps track of the products bought, as well as its prices.

AI platform with digital assets

This acts as a viable alternative for machine learning models and is ideal for programmers who have little to no time to train a machine. All that users have to do is to sign up, make integrations, and set up the right skills.

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Image Credit: Drift.com

AI chatbots

If you’re buying a product online, you no longer have to spend a lot of time talking to a customer service representative or browsing through a complex catalog on the website. AI-powered chatbots simplify the process by helping you arrive at the options you most likely need. Granted, chatbot technology isn’t perfect yet, but it’s already used in various countries today.

Virtual voice assistance

Virtual voice assistants are great for people on the go. AI is combined with natural language processing (NLP), which often taps into various information like location and past search history to deliver various outcomes.

Using AI to create positive interactions

Here are six tips to create great interactions with your customers using AI:

Keep your service personalized

No two customers are the same, so you need to make sure that the service you offer is as customized to the needs and preferences of each one as possible. For you to properly personalize your service, you’ll need to keep factors like age, gender, occupation, location, social media preferences, and others into account. All these are simply too much for any human worker to handle at any given day.

personalised vs unpersonalised content

Image Credit: Demand Metric

AI has the ability to process large amounts of data, which is why it’s often used in applications where customization is a key requirement. Netflix, for instance, uses AI to take careful note of users’ behavior in its pages, as well as the way they interact with the different elements of the site or app. These data are then used to determine users’ preferences and give them recommendations that they are likely to watch.

Refer to AI-assisted insights

The data relating to your campaigns can provide you a lot of useful insights. It will help you determine whether or not your efforts are yielding positive outcomes. The data can also tell you which parts of the campaign need improvement. Because of their importance, these data must not just be accurate, but they must also be available as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, crunching figures manually can take a lot of time. You can turn to AI-powered applications to process all the data your business creates and uses. Because they turn up insights in real time, you have what it takes to adapt to sudden changes and shifting demands in your business.

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Image Credit: Drift.com

Outsource to automated AI support

The ability to provide your customers support right when they need it is crucial to building and maintaining relationships. After all, wouldn’t you be more likely to stay loyal to a company that listens and responds to your needs? Offshore outsourcing has been among the most popular answers to this need, but nowadays, some business owners are considering outsourcing to automated AIs.

The common objection is that this step eliminates the human element in customer support. It’s a fair enough concern. But when you think about it, using AI would mean being able to provide quick answers when your customers need them the most. Even though they’re “talking” to AI, consumers would feel that there’s a “live” presence on the other side. What’s more, AI is available 24/7 so customers can contact them at any time.

Use AI to make high-quality recommendations

Sometimes, you just need to ask your customers to do what you want them to do. Giving them custom recommendations, such as products they should try, means they don’t need to look for products or worry about having a lot of options. For this to work, however, your recommendations must be aligned with your customers’ actual needs and preferences. With its ability to process personalization data, AI can help you match product and service recommendations with the customers who most likely need them.

Engage customers through voice, visuals, and text

The ability to understand your customers’ emotions and where they’re coming from is essential to your ability to address their needs. Unless you’re talking to a superbly expressive person, you’d notice that many people have a hard time expressing their emotions through just voice, visual, or text messages. AI allows you to combine two or more of these approaches so you can engage your audience in a manner that’s more natural and meaningful.

Discover how your competitors are performing

Do focus on your own business, but never assume you can’t gain anything from investigating your competitors. AI-powered tools give you valuable insights regarding your competitors’ messages, campaigns, and other endeavors. You can see where they’re succeeding and where they need to improve—either way, you’ll learn much from these data.

Bonus tip: Tell your customers it’s a bot

Bots are quite common these days and although they have become smarter than their previous iterations, most of them are not “smart” enough to trick human customers. It’s best to inform your customers that they’re talking to bots. While you’re at it, tell them why you’re using bots. Also, give them alternative paths they can take to resolve their concern if the bots do not suffice.

Conclusion

AI has come a long way but its potential is far from burnt out. As it gets smarter, it’s exciting to think of new ways it can be used to make business—and life—better.

What is your favorite application for AI? Tell us in the comments.

About the Author: Aaron Chichioco is the managing editor of designdoxa.com. He loves to write about online marketing, eCommerce and web design. He has a vast experience in overseeing daily operations of several online businesses since 2011.  You can follow Aaron on twitter at @Aaron_Chichioco