Artificial intelligence will replace humans? This is one of the most frequently asked questions in recent years, mainly after the arrival of generative AIs, like ChatGPT and Gemini, and the customer service segment is naturally at the center of this discussion. According to the "Map of the Brazilian Bot Ecosystem", produced in 2023 by Mobile Time in partnership with Opinion Box based on interviews with 83 chatbot development companies, the number of robots developed for customer service increased 84 times between 2017 (first edition of the report) and last year.
According to the survey, the companies reported that seven years ago they had produced about 8 thousand "bots", number that evolved exponentially to 671 thousand in 2023, a growth of 8.287%. The biggest jump was between 2022 and 2023, when the number of tools rose from 317 thousand to 671 thousand.
"This leap is clearly related to the arrival of generative AIs". ChatGPT came to life at the end of 2022 and since then, as the study proves, the number of bots more than doubled. But, in addition to OpenAI's releases, Google Cloud AI, Microsoft AI or Anthropic, there were also several developments in the segment, how the democratization of platforms in low code and no code environments, that basically allow the company itself to customize the chatbots within a user-friendly system for those who do not understand programming and low implementation cost. With that, even small and medium-sized enterprises have gained access to intelligent and efficient systems, explain Rodrigo Garcia, artificial intelligence specialist and head of business at cVortex, company specialized in technological solutions for call centers.
The platform in recent years has helped large companies such as Claro Brasil and Bradesco Cartões to make their customer service processes more intelligent and strategic. With the card operator, for example, applying multichannel technology with intelligent service distribution and SLA control, the cVortex helped reduce complaints that exceeded the deadline by 53%, in addition to bringing a savings of R$ 15 million for the company's customer service operation in just the first year.
However, says Garcia, despite all the evolution that chatbots have undergone, it is not yet time to leave human service behind. "The consumer still prefers human assistance when the demand is more complex, and today this is the biggest challenge within companies", reconcile the two service models in an intelligent and strategic way, aiming to achieve the best possible performance for operations, uniting efficiency with a good experience for its users and customers, explain.
Partnership between humans and robots
According to a study conducted by Hibou in October 2023 with more than two thousand people across Brazil, 86% expressed dissatisfaction with the service of companies in general. According to the document, for 94% of people, what makes a service "good" is having agility, while 91% want to have the option of relying on human support, if necessary.The research also brings other interesting insights
- 66% said it is important to maintain a humanized and constant relationship;
- 52% want a simple website, where they can carry out all processes online;
- 47% believe that companies need to be consistent across all physical and digital channels;
- AND, for 35%, SACs need to have the service history on hand when speaking with the customer.
But, in an increasingly digital world, in which a company has a page on Instagram at the same time, Facebook, chatbot on the website and telephone support channel, how to provide good service consistently without needing an army of people monitoring everything all the time? "That's where technology comes in", explain Garcia.
According to the executive, the use of a digital platformomnichannel (multichannel), combined with artificial intelligence solutions, already helps to resolve a good part of consumer demands. "The system operates as a 24-hour center", that monitors, organizes, identifies and forwards customer requests according to their business classification, customer segment and complexity hierarchy. In the case of a medical clinic, for example, the same client may have asked through Instagram chat if there was availability for a certain specialty, after getting in touch via WhatsApp to schedule an appointment and, subsequently, a question arises about the medical prescription. The three interactions have different levels of complexity. The first two can easily be met quickly and efficiently by artificial intelligence, while a medical question would require human interaction, from an attendant who would bridge the gap between the person and their doctor, explain Rodrigo Garcia, from cVortex.
According to the executive, upon identifying this need, the system puts the customer in contact with a human attendant, that you have available on the platform a record with all the data and complete history of the interactions already made by this customer, including messages sent through social media, WhatsApp and even recordings of phone conversations that have already taken place, dispensing unnecessary questions for data confirmation or requiring the customer to repeat their order.
"Besides the agent gaining a lot of agility", users (clients) also experience another level of relationship. Based on historical service data, in addition to all the interactions carried out with the center, the omnichannel platform combined with AI can generateinsights, realizar previsões ou simplesmente identificar desvios e/ou oportunidades no relacionamento entre as empresas e seus clientes. This generates a feeling of attention, welcoming and deep understanding of the clients' needs, significantly increasing the loyalty potential, explain Rodrigo.
Another advantage of having a systemomnichannelintelligent, highlights the head of business at cVortex, it is the reduction of operational costs for the companies' customer service. "By directing the most effective means of service for each type of demand", our clients were able to size their teams and physical service centers to the size they actually need to have, starting to rely on more compact teams, but with specialized and qualified professionals. That's why we believe that, in the current scenario, the companies that will offer the best customer service, they will be those who choose the strategy that involves AI and people working together collaboratively, with well-defined and planned business processes, finalizes the executive
