Chatbots<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nChatbots are, as wordstream defines<\/a>, \u201csoftware applications that mimic written or spoken human speech for the purposes of simulating a conversation or interaction with a real person.\u201d Comparing their early stages of inhabiting Facebook Messenger to today’s advancements such as helping humans read the news, search for restaurants, book flights and more \u2014 chatbots have dominated the customer service industry and beyond.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSince their introduction, chatbots have been the first tool that comes to mind when we think of AI and customer service, due to breakthroughs in Natural Language Processing (NLP). SAS explains<\/a> that NLP \u201cis a branch of artificial intelligence<\/a> that helps computers understand, interpret and manipulate human language.\u201d NLP allows chatbots to understand text and respond in a conversational, human-like manner that makes these interactions with machines flexible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.replicant.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Canva-chatbot-answering-questions-online-robot-assistant-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWith an array of implementation tools available, chatbots are easier than ever to create. Chatbots allow businesses to expand their service teams quickly<\/strong>, save valuable time and are cost-effective<\/strong>. They\u2019re designed to be fast problem solvers and can help customers with Tier-1 issues such as returns, exchanges and payment problems.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nChatbots lighten the load of mundane, repetitive tasks for human agents and allow them to focus on complex customer cases. This can improve job satisfaction<\/strong> by letting human agents know their problem-solving skills are being utilized in situations where it\u2019s truly needed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nChatbots offer consistent, 24\/7 service<\/strong> providing a 1:1 agent to customer ratio. Customers in any time zone can talk to a chatbot even when human agents are away, lending peace of mind to your team. Chatbots can be programmed to respond in your brand\u2019s tone<\/strong> and if they can correctly understand what the question is, they provide accurate solutions with no human error.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAfter reading these facts and viewpoints you may be convinced to bring a chatbot onto your team. Chatbots, however, can have flaws despite advanced AI. I\u2019ll outline an example in a personal experience:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I started messaging with a chatbot over an issue signing into an account. I immediately saw its programming defaults when it sent links that didn\u2019t answer my question repeatedly as well as being asked if it solved my problem again and again. I wanted to chat with a real person, but it sent me a phone number instead, of which I used to ultimately solve my problem after waiting on hold and being transferred.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
An article by IBM states<\/a> that chatbots can answer 80% of routine questions. If your team is lacking human agents to refer customers to, that extra 20% and any non-routine questions can easily frustrate customers, sometimes resulting in loss of trust completely. Even with chatbot advancements there has been a need for improved virtual agents, and the latest tools are using Voice AI to do so.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nVirtual Agents<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Virtual Agents are made possible by NLP that allows humans to use their natural voice as an interface to ask questions of, give commands to, and perform tasks to communicate with machines (also known as Voice AI). With advancements in speech recognition, a.k.a Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), machines can now convert spoken words into text. ASR is the cornerstone of the entire voice experience, allowing computers to finally understand us through our most natural form of communication: speech. With voice being the fastest way to communicate with customers, it\u2019s no wonder the industry is advancing in this direction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
In regards to ASR, Descript states<\/a>, \u201cIt\u2019s an exciting time: the technology recently crossed a threshold that sees it trading its longstanding promise for remarkable utility, and it\u2019s only getting better.\u201d From Apple\u2019s Siri to Amazon\u2019s Alexa, voice AI is seamlessly integrating and will continue to become part of our daily lives.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.replicant.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/Canva-Technical-support-concept-business-person-touching-helpdesk-icon-on-screen-hotline-assistance-service-available-by-phone-chat-email-or-online-to-solve-incident-with-computer-software-smartphone-1024x726.jpg\")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nVirtual Agents have the same capabilities as chatbots explained above: they expand your service team quickly and cost-effectively, increase job satisfaction for human agents, are on 24\/7 providing a 1:1 customer to agent ratio, and can be tailored to your brand voice. Contrary to chatbots, virtual agents are a faster<\/strong>, more personal<\/strong>, and interactive<\/strong> experience and can handle problems on calls end-to-end like a human agent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nVerbit explains<\/a> the steps \u201chands-free\u201d voice technology goes through in merely seconds:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n- A human speaks<\/li>\r\n
- Voice AI software detects the voice<\/li>\r\n
- The device then creates a wave file of the words it hears<\/li>\r\n
- The wave file is cleaned to delete background noise and normalize the volume<\/li>\r\n
- This filtered waveform is then broken down and analyzed in sequences<\/li>\r\n
- The automatic speech recognition software<\/a> analyzes these sequences and employs statistical probability to determine the whole words and then complete sentences<\/li>\r\n
- Some technology providers check the ASR\u2019s work with professional human transcribers who correct any errors to achieve greater accuracy<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
With the knowledge that virtual agents powered by voice AI are the next evolution, we decided to build our customer service virtual agent, the \u201cThinking Machine\u201d, with engaging conversational AI abilities that improves upon itself over time. Replicant Voice<\/a> has been carefully designed to be fast, accurate, expressive and overall a machine that customers enjoy speaking with. We are the world\u2019s leading conversational AI platform that makes guided self-service possible for every customer experience, starting with the phone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Since their introduction, chatbots have been the first tool that comes to mind when we think of AI and customer service, due to breakthroughs in Natural Language Processing (NLP). SAS explains<\/a> that NLP \u201cis a branch of artificial intelligence<\/a> that helps computers understand, interpret and manipulate human language.\u201d NLP allows chatbots to understand text and respond in a conversational, human-like manner that makes these interactions with machines flexible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n With an array of implementation tools available, chatbots are easier than ever to create. Chatbots allow businesses to expand their service teams quickly<\/strong>, save valuable time and are cost-effective<\/strong>. They\u2019re designed to be fast problem solvers and can help customers with Tier-1 issues such as returns, exchanges and payment problems.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Chatbots lighten the load of mundane, repetitive tasks for human agents and allow them to focus on complex customer cases. This can improve job satisfaction<\/strong> by letting human agents know their problem-solving skills are being utilized in situations where it\u2019s truly needed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Chatbots offer consistent, 24\/7 service<\/strong> providing a 1:1 agent to customer ratio. Customers in any time zone can talk to a chatbot even when human agents are away, lending peace of mind to your team. Chatbots can be programmed to respond in your brand\u2019s tone<\/strong> and if they can correctly understand what the question is, they provide accurate solutions with no human error.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n After reading these facts and viewpoints you may be convinced to bring a chatbot onto your team. Chatbots, however, can have flaws despite advanced AI. I\u2019ll outline an example in a personal experience:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n I started messaging with a chatbot over an issue signing into an account. I immediately saw its programming defaults when it sent links that didn\u2019t answer my question repeatedly as well as being asked if it solved my problem again and again. I wanted to chat with a real person, but it sent me a phone number instead, of which I used to ultimately solve my problem after waiting on hold and being transferred.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n An article by IBM states<\/a> that chatbots can answer 80% of routine questions. If your team is lacking human agents to refer customers to, that extra 20% and any non-routine questions can easily frustrate customers, sometimes resulting in loss of trust completely. Even with chatbot advancements there has been a need for improved virtual agents, and the latest tools are using Voice AI to do so.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Virtual Agents are made possible by NLP that allows humans to use their natural voice as an interface to ask questions of, give commands to, and perform tasks to communicate with machines (also known as Voice AI). With advancements in speech recognition, a.k.a Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), machines can now convert spoken words into text. ASR is the cornerstone of the entire voice experience, allowing computers to finally understand us through our most natural form of communication: speech. With voice being the fastest way to communicate with customers, it\u2019s no wonder the industry is advancing in this direction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In regards to ASR, Descript states<\/a>, \u201cIt\u2019s an exciting time: the technology recently crossed a threshold that sees it trading its longstanding promise for remarkable utility, and it\u2019s only getting better.\u201d From Apple\u2019s Siri to Amazon\u2019s Alexa, voice AI is seamlessly integrating and will continue to become part of our daily lives.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Virtual Agents have the same capabilities as chatbots explained above: they expand your service team quickly and cost-effectively, increase job satisfaction for human agents, are on 24\/7 providing a 1:1 customer to agent ratio, and can be tailored to your brand voice. Contrary to chatbots, virtual agents are a faster<\/strong>, more personal<\/strong>, and interactive<\/strong> experience and can handle problems on calls end-to-end like a human agent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Verbit explains<\/a> the steps \u201chands-free\u201d voice technology goes through in merely seconds:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n With the knowledge that virtual agents powered by voice AI are the next evolution, we decided to build our customer service virtual agent, the \u201cThinking Machine\u201d, with engaging conversational AI abilities that improves upon itself over time. Replicant Voice<\/a> has been carefully designed to be fast, accurate, expressive and overall a machine that customers enjoy speaking with. We are the world\u2019s leading conversational AI platform that makes guided self-service possible for every customer experience, starting with the phone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nVirtual Agents<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n