Conversational AI, the latest and greatest in technology, liken it to what sliced bread did for the food industry.
It’s common knowledge that the benefits are endless: from automation, translation, and content creation to so much more. What is even more impressive is that conversational AI makes it possible for computers to hold human-like conversations, courtesy of natural language processing and machine learning.
At Posh, we’ve leveraged Conversational AI to transform customer service, starting at financial institutions. We work with dozens of banks and credit unions to automate their customer interactions 24/7, enhancing their overall customer experience while saving their contact centers time and money.
Automated chats can vary in terms of their complexity. Use cases range from answering relatively simple FAQs to executing more complex workflows.
In front of the pin: Simpler automated chats tend to be “in front of the pin,” meaning that these conversations don’t require access to user data. Usually, these chatbots just sit on a website instead of integrating into an authenticated environment like an Online Banking System. Examples of chats in front of the pin include asking for branch hours or requesting information about different kinds of loans.
Example of an automated chat taking place “in front of the pin”
Behind the pin: What if you want to check a balance, make a transfer, or freeze a card? These kinds of interactions occur “behind the pin” and require access to the user’s account information. These interactions are referred to as “behind the pin,” meaning that the user must authenticate themselves in order to proceed. These chatbots actually sit on and integrate with an authenticated environment like an Online Banking and/or Core System.
But it’s worth pointing out; automated chats are not created equal!
It’s important to note that not all automated chats are “intelligent”, despite what the current narrative of media likes to dictate. The inherent differences are:
Intelligent bots are able to understand queries that are much more nuanced and complex compared to deterministic bots.
So if Posh is an automated chatbot, what is a live chat, and how do they work together?
A live chat is an online messaging conversation between a human customer service rep and a customer. Glia, Salesforce, LivePerson, Pegasystems, Oracle, Pure Chat, and ChatBeacon all offer live chat software.
Importantly, automated chats can work in tandem with live chats. At Posh, our AI chatbots have containment rates ranging from 90–97%. In other words, our bot can almost always handle the conversation without involving a human customer service rep. On top of that, our bots are constantly learning. Our containment rates have increased by 10% even since launching in 2018, and we’re not done yet.
In the event that a customer wants to speak to a human customer service rep, though, we can seamlessly transition the customer to live chat. Posh is an open API suite, so we can integrate with a variety of live chat providers. After putting the customer in touch with a rep, we arm the rep with the context of the conversation. This way, the customer doesn’t have to repeat something they’ve already told our bot.
What a contact center representative might see when they receive a call transferred from Posh’s phone bot.
Automated chats and live chats each have unique strengths.
Live chats: In favor of live chats, some customers may appreciate the “personal touch” of speaking with a real human with whom they might already have some rapport. Also, some automated chatbots may get confused or misunderstand a user’s question, which can quickly become frustrating for the user.
That being said, customer service is changing, and so are consumers’ attitudes toward automation. Given that 21% of live chat requests go unanswered, it’s no wonder that 63% of consumers want AI and automation to play a more prominent role in customer service.
Automated chats: There are many arguments in favor of automated chats.
“Automation cuts costs and brings new levels of consistency, speed, and scalability to business processes… time savings of 70 percent. No wonder 84 percent of C-suite executives believe they must leverage AI to achieve their growth objectives.” -Accenture
If you’re interested in learning how Posh can provide your organization with the next generation of customer service, let’s chat!