Chatbots to Reshape the Future of Self-service

Chatbots can be an appealing way for businesses to cut costs while allowing live agents to focus on more complex customer queries.

Fremont, CA: Convenience is at the heart of today's digital customer experience (CX). Customers prefer to troubleshoot an issue or ask questions about a product or service on their own time and in their own way before contacting a support team. According to a survey conducted by our team at TELUS International, 94 percent of Americans prefer self-service because of its 24/7 availability and ability to provide real-time resolution, which is driving an increasing number of organizations to invest in chatbots.

Here are the reasons why the future of self-service centers on chatbots:

Chatbots Provide Cost-savings Opportunities: Chatbots can be an appealing way for businesses to cut costs while allowing live agents to focus on more complex customer queries. Banking is an excellent example. Because of the transactional nature of many customer inquiries, chatbots have the potential to save the banking industry $7.3 billion globally by 2023, according to Juniper Research data. According to a recent report, chatbots could save global healthcare systems $3.7 billion by 2023. TELUS International conducted a case study in which they used a conversational bot to assist users in unlocking accounts and resetting passwords. The use of a chatbot reduced calls to the IT Service Desk and enabled team members to access accounts in half the time.

Chatbots are Available Round the Clock: Business hours are no longer in use. Customers have a basic expectation that if they do business online, it will be done at their convenience. That isn't negotiable. According to the TELUS International survey, 61 percent of respondents use self-service and prefer it because it is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If a customer can't do business with a brand when they want, they'll find another that will. Fortunately, chatbots never need to sleep, so most simple customer queries can be answered almost instantly, and support can be provided quickly around the clock, regardless of timezone.