By Amanda DiSilvestro Customer relationship management (CRM) is an essential part of every successful business. Today, more businesses are taking advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) in order to automate and improve their CRM. Advanced technologies, such as chatbots and AI-enabled communication, mean that around-the-clock interactions and customer service is now a reality. It’s a welcome one in a mobile-first world where people want access to information immediately and at the touch of a button. This means that businesses are interacting with their customers more, whether it’s through human-to-human interaction with a customer service representative or an automatically generated email drip campaign. All these touchpoints result in more data collection about customers. It also means that powerful technology is necessary to keep up. From 2014 to 2015, the worldwide market value for CRM software grew 12.3 percent to $26.3 billion, and that number continues to increase, especially now that AI is integrated within the platforms that help businesses run. AI is revolutionizing the business world, specifically in terms of CRM platforms, and businesses must be on the cutting edge of this advancement in technology. It’s quickly and entirely changing customer service processes.
AI is Revolutionizing the Face of Customer Service and Relationship Management
Artificial intelligence automates many processes that were once run solely by people. While some view this as a negative change, the reality is that AI can help reduce the workload of multiple staff members—and can often do it faster and more accurately. Vala Afshar writes, “AI allows companies to deliver these smarter, more personalized and predictive experiences that customers have come to expect, but the human touch is still table stakes for customer success.”
Clickatell compares the use of AI to that of the Industrial Revolution. Centuries ago, people were concerned that machines were taking over the jobs of humans, but ultimately the change advanced the country (and the world) for the better. While the implementation took years, in the end society improved. These benefits far outweighed the restructuring of jobs and changes in the workforce.
Without the Industrial Revolution, the world would not be as advanced as it is today, and without AI, which some experts are calling the fourth industrial revolution, society would not be advancing once again. According to David Kelnar, artificial intelligence “tackles profoundly difficult problems, and the solutions to those problems can be applied to sectors important to human well being — ranging from health, education, and commerce to transport, utilities, and entertainment.”
Jon Lee states that “AI is only as good as the way you train it, and it requires a human to train it to get smarter and smarter. AI needs all that data, but it also needs a seamless front-end and human experience to actively train it.” In other words, management isn’t over, and people aren’t losing jobs to AI. You may find yourself working hand-in-hand with artificial intelligence (and managing robots) in the future.
