Blog

The Ultimate Guide to Generative AI for Customer Support

October 26, 2024
Implementing Generative AI for Customer Support

A Guide to Implementing Generative AI for Customer Support

We have seen AI making strides in almost every field, but was customer support one of them? Customer service has quickly risen to the level of top executive priority, all because of generative AI. Studies show that over 85% of executives anticipate direct client interactions with generative AI over the next two years. Consequently, by the end of 2026, 63% of companies will have invested in generative AI use cases.

Many people in customer service are curious about generative AI and how it can be used in customer support. While we might not have been aware of it, AI has been used in customer service for some time now. Keep reading to clarify the use of generative AI and how companies like Sintra can help businesses streamline their operations efficiently with AI for customer support.

What is Generative AI?

New material, data, or outputs can be created (or "generated") using generative AI. All sorts of material, including images, writing, data augmentation, music creation, and more, can be generated by generative AI systems by learning and analyzing patterns in existing data.

Although generative AI has been all the rage recently, its roots are in the 1950s and 1960s, despite appearances to the contrary. However, generative adversarial networks (GANs) were introduced in 2014 as a subset of machine learning that allowed generative AI applications to generate original material.

Generative AI is still viewed by many with a fair dose of skepticism, but it certainly has the ability to do remarkable things. Its speed in producing new and, to be honest, quite excellent material encourages greater invention and originality, which in turn pushes the limits of human imagination in the creation of art, music, literature, and other forms of media. 

Experts found that artificial intelligence boosted corporate output by as much as 40% in 2023. Because they can mimic real-world situations, generative models are invaluable resources using AI for customer support. 

Generative AI in Customer Support

Many people think that artificial intelligence is going to completely alter the corporate landscape. It already has in terms of customer service. The worldwide chatbot industry is projected to reach $994 million by 2025.

This massive shift in AI customer service​ has made employees worry about the future of their job stability. The concern is fair. Generative AI will automate specific customer service duties, but it's also opening up new possibilities, much like earlier AI generations. Instead of making support assistant agent​s' jobs easier, generative AI will make their contribution more valuable.

A remarkable alliance between generative AI and customer service personnel can seamlessly resolve an overwhelming number of customer service issues with little human intervention.

Additionally, it provides customer support assistant agent​s with real career advancement opportunities, allowing them to go from being a customer service representative to a bot manager or a customer support advocate to a conversational AI expert.

Benefits of Using Generative AI for Customer Support

When you use generative AI for customer support, your support staff can easily provide a remarkable client experience with more human-like interactions. The following are some examples of AI customer service​ applications of generative AI.

Self-service resources

Generative AI opens a world of possibilities for improving your self-service resources. Using generative AI to scale self-service can be done in several different ways, like automating the process of creating knowledge base articles more quickly and easily. Another way is to motivate support center content teams to think outside the box by providing them with ideas and feedback. Lastly, using your knowledge base to construct bot answers makes consumer interactions seem more genuine and conversational.

Efficient Bot Performance

Generative replies eliminate the requirement to create unique responses by drawing on pre-existing knowledge bases. This streamlines and speeds up bot-building time, which in turn improves response accuracy and, ultimately, the user experience. In addition, by incorporating an LLM layer into automated chat discussions, your bot may now welcome consumers with a warm tone and respond with comments that seem real.

Intent recommendations are also used by pre-trained bots. Admins can improve the bot's overall performance by building replies for the most frequently asked queries, which this functionality identifies. Not only that, but it also allows teams to grow their bots with ease and saves a lot of time. You can even give your bots a personality by creating a persona for them. This will ensure that they always speak in a way that represents your business.

Less Human Errors

One excellent use case for generative AI for customer support is automating and streamlining tasks, improving productivity, and making day-to-day operations more efficient. Your support staff will be able to handle client inquiries more quickly, and human agents will have more mental bandwidth to devote to fulfilling work that demands empathy and strategic thought.

Additionally, LLMs are capable of categorization prediction and sentiment analysis in messages. Based on the customer's level of satisfaction, anger, or any combination thereof, support assistant agent​s can then deliver personalized answers. Moreover, generative AI can propose responses to client inquiries in advance, which agents can then modify or personalize.

Easier Training and Onboarding

The same features that improve the agent experience can accelerate recruit onboarding and training. To shorten the learning curve for new team members, generated AI summaries highlight the most critical points of the discussion.

Even new agents can get guidance on how to phrase their responses. For example, a rookie agent may still be unfamiliar with the company's return policy and require some guidance in providing customers with the necessary information when responding to their inquiries. 

Generative AI can guess the remaining part of the phrase by filling in the correct information once the agent types a few words. The agent can change the overall tone of the communication and emphasize their replies.

How Cassie Brings the Best of AI and Customer Service

Do you need a reliable customer support system that never sleeps? Meet Cassie, your new AI customer service expert. A product of Sintra, Cassie is an AI-powered customer support specialist available around the clock. Cassie is a trained AI customer support with thousands of customer interactions to make sure that she handles your customer base precisely. 

Using AI, Cassie automates answers to customer queries and work, whether by email or chats. Moreover, Cassie is also trained to create product manuals and FAQs for you. All in all, Cassie is a reliable team member who can help you streamline your business with ease. 

FAQs

How can Sintra enhance my business’s customer support?

Sintra acts like an AI employee, streamlining tasks and improving productivity. By integrating our platform, you can enhance response times, automate repetitive tasks, and gain insights into customer interactions.

Can AI learn from customer interactions?

Yes, many AI systems use machine learning to adapt and improve over time. They analyze previous interactions to provide more accurate and relevant responses in future customer inquiries.

What should I do if AI doesn’t resolve my issue?

Most AI systems are designed to escalate issues to human agents when they can’t provide a solution. Always look for options to connect with a live representative if you need further assistance.