Artificial Intelligence (A) is dramatically changing the way we carry out our tasks. It is said that “the customer is always right”, as their patronage is what drives the profits and existence of a business. It is therefore imperative, that businesses ensure that they deliver high level of service to ensure that their customers keep coming back.

SwissCognitive LogoHowever, in Ghana, most of us have gotten use to a poor and ineffective customer service culture. You are deemed lucky if you encounter a pleasant customer experience in Ghana. Endless ringing phone lines with no response and the mentality that staff are doing their customers a favour, are frustrations patrons deal with frequently.

Social Media acts as a catalyst

However, in the era of social media, disgruntled customers are increasingly using online platforms to share their experiences and hold businesses accountable. Just 140 characters on twitter can lead a business to face a PR disaster, impacting their revenue. It is therefore important that businesses use new and innovative ways to keep those customers satisfied and engaged. Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) can revolutionize the way service is delivered to customers. AI is a wide area in computer science which requires software programmers to hand-engineer machines to learn cognitive functions such as problem solving and learning. Increasingly in our daily lives, AI is dramatically changing the way we carry out our tasks.

Chatbots make customers happy

With services such as Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa becoming more mainstream. Chatbots are software powered by AI to stimulate human conversations in real time. They allow customers to ask questions and voice their complaints, rather than calling a customer service agent or having to wait minutes for a live chat to respond. When developed properly, customers find it hard to tell if they are communicating with a human or an automated service agent. Messaging apps are increasingly becoming more popular, international businesses such as Google, KIA Motors and Bank of America have therefore adopted Chatbots to keep their customers satisfied and engaged. Rather than having to email or call a business, customers prefer to engage in interactive real-time conversations on platforms they actively use such as Facebook messenger. According to Forrester’s H2 2016 Global Mobile Executive Online Survey, 49% of marketing executives have adopted Chatbots, in the last two years. […]