6 Problems AI Solves in Customer Service [New Data]

Customer service expectations are at an all-time high, and meeting them can be challenging. AI/automation tools solve multiple customer service problems and help teams continue to provide excellent service and come out on top. Whether you’re new to the tools or looking for new ways to implement them, read on to discover how AI can help solve common customer service problems.

6 Problems AI Solves in Service

1. Prioritizing customer needs.

The top challenge for customer service leaders in 2022 was prioritizing customer requests. As companies are dealing with rising numbers of support requests, it can be harder to sift through incoming queries to identify the ones that require the most immediate attention.

How AI Solves This Problem

Many AI tools analyze keywords and sentiment in incoming requests to identify those with high importance and then prioritize requests by the level of urgency. Once requests are sorted, reps can immediately address high-priority issues.

87% of reps say AI tools that help them prioritize customer service requests in terms of urgency are effective.

2. Time management.

Another challenge service leaders and agent-level reps reported is not having enough time in the day. Since reps handle multiple tasks of varying complexity, things add up, and addressing them can be challenging.

How AI Solves This Issue

AI can take over manual and routine tasks and automate processes so they happen instantly, no rep input necessary. Some tools, like chatbots, can handle entire tasks independently, while others take on smaller tasks to ensure reps aren’t spread as thin.

On average, reps reported saving 2 hours and 11 minutes per day using generative AI to respond to customer requests and 2 hours and 20 minutes per day using chatbots to respond to customer requests — that’s almost 5 hours back for reps who leverage both.

3. Long wait times.

A main frustration of consumers who responded to the National Customer Rage Survey is long wait times when seeking support. They expect quick responses from service people, and rage increases the longer they wait.

How AI Solves This Problem:

AI/automation can help service teams significantly reduce the time customers spend waiting to get help because tools can be programmed to answer questions on their own.

For example, instead of waiting in a long phone queue, a machine-learning chatbot can quickly share return information with a customer.

In addition, tools like chatbots make it easy to offer 24/7 support so consumers can seek solutions right when they need them. For more pressing issues, a late-night chatbot can schedule a call back when a live agent becomes available to reduce the amount of time spent waiting when the next day.

4. A lack of personalization.

54% of consumers expect personalized experiences, but keeping track of unique customer information and buyer behavior can be time-consuming.

How AI Solves This Problem

AI makes personalization possible through automated consumer data tracking and record keeping, helping teams build well-rounded profiles of their customers. For example, HubSpot’s CRM automatically stores customer details, interaction history, and all relevant information in one place to give you the context to personalize experiences.

For example, you can input relevant information about your customer into your preferred generative AI tool and create personalized service content relevant to their needs, like product recommendations.

Service pros say that personalization is one of the biggest benefits of using AI in their roles.

5. Collecting and analyzing customer feedback.

Customer feedback is the best way to learn about your business and the helpfulness of your service processes directly from those who use what you sell. But, feedback collection can be challenging, whether you’re unsure what to ask or spend too much time sifting through responses and calculating different metrics.

How AI Solve This Issue

Generative AI and customer feedback software can work together to streamline survey creation and feedback analysis. Gen AI can help you craft the perfect questions to include in your surveys, and feedback tools help you send out your surveys and automatically analyze results for you, surface key insights, and calculate important metrics like NPS.

87% of CS pros say that AI tools that collect and analyze customer feedback help them improve the customer experience.

6. Varied customer communication.

How you communicate with customers is important, whether over email, phone, or in person. A problem can arise if there is no consistent communication style among support reps. Repeat support seekers might get confused by different tones from reps, and varying communication styles make it hard to compare post-support feedback.

How AI Solves This Issue

86% of reps say generative AI tools that help them write responses to customer service requests are somewhat to very effective.

Your preferred tool will help you be consistent across every aspect of customer communication, from call scripts to social media response templates. You’ll have a cohesive and consistent strategy, and reps will also have every template they need to communicate with customers across all channels.

And, every template you create can be further customized to each customer you share it with, helping you continue to prioritize personalization.

Over to You

There’s an overlap between all the problems AI/automation tools can solve in customer service because most processes are connected. Teams that adopt AI/automation into their customer service processes can reap the benefits throughout their entire strategy, regardless of the tools they use.