Adopting Conversational AI during the Pandemic

The use of Conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) such as Chatbots and Intelligent Automation, would enhance customer interaction, and renewing of business model and operations.

The global Pandemic has rendered many organizations to shift working remotely. The earlier scenario of working in an office, while complying to customers expectations has now been transformed over digital platforms. At the same time, the added burden of compliance with those demands in a coordinated manner has pushed many organizations to adopt solutions digitally. As organizations are looking for alternatives that would assist them to manage the business, conversational AI can be observed as an emerging choice.

Conversational automation is viewed as an option by many organizations to navigate their way out through this global crisis. 

Conversational AI provides a scope to improve customer satisfaction, renew business models, and understand the driving force behind customer behaviour. By deploying conversational AI, the organizations can also save their operating costs.

The road map to apply Conversational AI must also rely on the areas that organizations want to improve. It lies in the responsibility of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) to identify the areas that will be best benefitted with the use of conversational AI.

Understanding Conversational AI

Even before the world was victimized by the pandemic, the digital transformation was ubiquitous. People were already engaged in conversing through social media platforms such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram and Skype. Amazon's Alexa and Google assistant are just a bonus to this digital transformation. All these applications use speech-based assistants and chatbots, which is a significant trait of Conversational AI.

Thus, Conversational AI can be defined as a technology that is empowered by automated communication through text-to-speech based virtual assistants that improve customer's satisfaction.

Unlike many social media platforms, it generates two-way conversations. A report titled "Gartner's 2019 CIO Agenda Survey" states that conversational AI remains at the top priority amongst the corporate. The survey also applauds the worldwide success of Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant.  Companies that were earlier planning to invest in intelligent automation are now, thus inclined towards adopting conversational AI for efficient operations.

Conversational AI can be classified into- Voice conversation Interface or Text conversational Interface.

Using Chatbots

A report by Gartner describes Chatbots as the face of AI, which has the potential of changing the conduction of business. Currently, the applications of Chatbots are already established in areas such as HR, IT desk and self-services.

Intelligent chatbots also present organizations with the opportunity to be more intuitive while interacting with customers and employees through the external and internal self-service application.

Application of Conversational AI

• Anticipating the Future– AI provides granular insights about customer's behaviour, markets, products and services which enables the organization for executing strategy regarding future events.
• Customer Communication-  The organizations can use conversational AI, for directing the customers into personalized interactions and communication, as expected by users today.
• Cognitive capture-Organizations can leverage the use of conversational AI such as chatbot by using cognitive processes. The users can upload their documents using Optical Character Recognition for reviewing, verifying and scanning. After which the necessary information is fed to the conversational AI. Chatbots can then engage in case-relevant conversation with the user by reviewing the extracted information.   
• Electronic Signature-  The users can directly sign off over an agreed or necessary document by putting e-signature in the chatbot.

As many organizations are strategizing to improve their customer experience, a surge in the use of chatbots and virtual agents would be observed in the coming decade. Chatbots engage customers in seamless synchronous conversations without one-word requests and response, the organizations that already deploy this application would observe an increase in customer experiences, more efficient processes and significant cost savings.