Conversational AI, along with natural language processing (NLP), automatic speech recognition (ASR), advanced dialog management, and machine learning (ML), are changing the way humans relate and communicate with machines. Conversational AI and its associated technologies enable humans to have conversations with machines in much the same manner as they do with one another.
A recent report from Markets and Markets revealed that the global conversational AI market size is expected to grow from $4.2 billion in 2019 to $15.7 billion by 2024. The evolution of AI over the last decade has produced applications that are capable of convincing a person that they are having a conversation with another human, aka the Turing Test. It’s not just the “human” level of interactions that makes conversational AI so important, but rather the ability for the AI app to make informed decisions based on the actionable insights it has gathered from data. This article will look at the ways that conversational AI is improving the customer experience.
Conversational AI Is Not Rule-Based or Scripted
Traditional chatbots were based on a set of rules, much like traditional programming techniques. “If this, then that, else this” was essentially how they worked. If the customer asked what time store hours were, the chatbot would respond by looking through its rules, finding the appropriate rule, and responding with the scripted reply. By using keywords it gleaned from the customer’s text, it was able to match it with keywords in its memory, go through its rules and select the proper response (i.e. the customer mentioned “store hours” so the appropriate response will include the hours of operation).
This was fine for simple queries, but since the chatbot was not truly understanding the whole conversation, the communication between the customer and the chatbot was limited in scope. Conversational AI is not limited to using keywords and scripts — it is able to have a complete conversation through either text or voice. Additionally, it has the ability to provide real-time translations, facilitating a conversation in the customer’s own language. According to Michael Ringman, CIO of TELUS International, a global customer experience digital solution provider, conversational AI enables brands to communicate with their customers globally. “Customers want to interact with brands in their native language and embedding chatbots with real-time translation capabilities allows customers to do just that,” said Ringman. “Beyond translation, these bots can also intelligently pick up on the context of conversations in order to ask for clarifications as needed, and then search for the most relevant answers from a substantial knowledge database.”
