Self-service portals have become increasingly popular in recent years as a means for businesses to provide customer support and reduce costs. With the rise of online portals, customers are now able to find answers to their questions and resolve issues on their own, without having to contact a live representative. However, despite the widespread adoption of these self-service technologies, customer support experiences remain unsatisfactory. In this blog post, we will discuss why self-service portals should start leveraging conversational AI and stop using outdated keyword-based search technologies.
One of the primary reasons why businesses adopt self-service technologies is to reduce costs. According to Microsoft Research, online portals are the preferred channels by 90% of consumers. Similarly, McKinsey reported that 77% of organizations had built online portals to serve this purpose. However, despite the popularity of self-service portals, customers still struggle to find answers to their questions. According to Harvard Business Review, 81% of customers prefer finding answers alone rather than contacting live representatives.
However, 60% of customers eventually turn to a call center after they fail to find their answers online. This phenomenon is accelerating: 60% of businesses reported annual growth in total customer support calls. Furthermore, call centers with human support continue to be cost-intensive. For example, a digital (online) customer interaction costs an average of ten cents; once a live agent is involved, the cost rockets to an average of eight dollars per interaction.
The primary barrier to effective content delivery is the outdated search technologies currently implemented in the support systems. These engines are primarily based on outdated search technologies such as keyword search, also known as elastic search, which focuses on search words rather than search intent. This results in a lack of personalization and a poor user experience. Furthermore, these outdated search technologies are unable to understand the context of a question, making it difficult for customers to find the answers they are looking for.
Conversational AI, on the other hand, is a natural language processing technology that allows customers to interact with self-service portals in a more human-like way. With conversational AI, customers can ask questions in their own words, and the system will understand the intent behind the question and provide an appropriate response. This not only improves the customer experience but also increases the chances of customers finding the answers they are looking for.
One of the most well-known conversational AI technologies is ChatGPT, a large language model trained by OpenAI. ChatGPT-like technologies can be integrated into existing self-service portals such as Zendesk and Salesforce, to provide a more personalized and efficient customer support experience. With these technologies, customers can ask questions in their own words, and the system will understand the intent behind the question and provide an appropriate response.
In conclusion, self-service portals should start leveraging conversational AI and stop using outdated keyword-based search technologies. With conversational AI, customers can interact with self-service portals in a more human-like way, leading to a better customer experience and a higher chance of finding the answers they are looking for. Furthermore, conversational AI can be integrated into existing self-service portals such as Zendesk and Salesforce, to provide a more personalized and efficient customer support experience.