A recent report by Forrester found that out of 190 brands, only 6% with a chatbot on a mobile app and 3% with a chatbot on a mobile website could facilitate escalations to a live chat agent. The effect of this is reduced customer satisfaction and poor CX. It also highlights the importance of keeping human agents in the loop. Customers are crying out for empathy in their experiences, even more so now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But few vendors are actually implementing this into their contact centres.
Here, we take a look at why chatbots and humans can work just as well – if not more effectively – than chatbots alone, and the effect of the pairing on a contact centre and CX.
Problem Solvers
Problem-solving chatbots take responsibility away from the human agent allowing them to spend their precious time and resources. They can do this by answering enquiries that can be handled by the bots, providing automated answers, instant resolutions and 24-hour support.
The Triage Partnership
Chatbots can triage customers the way a doctor can in a busy A&E waiting room. Bots can begin a personalised conversation with customers to guide them to the best human resource. This boosts the overall customer experience and means customer enquiries are dealt with on a first-time basis.
Customisable Bots
These prevent the inflation of the human team through offering automated answers and personalised and meaningful conversations, driving customer satisfaction.
Building on Trust
We trust chatbots generally. As customers, when they ask us for our date of birth, address or last memorable transaction, we willingly hand that information over. This benefits a business in being able to funnel the right calls to the right human agent, but these bots also give the business a personal touch in greetings and eliminating lengthy hold times.
The Importance of the Divide
Chatbots should not be expected to achieve the same tasks as a human agent. It is highly recommended they be used as a team to help with the human agent’s workload and assist in their daily duties. The human agent as a result can spend time on the more meaningful customer engagements.
