AI customer service software: key features and benefits

AI customer service software has been gaining significant traction among businesses lately. This is in part due to its highly practical ability to provide quick and tailored solutions to customer queries.

According to our report, The State of AI in Customer Service, 7 out of 10 support leaders believe customers will expect AI-assisted service in the next five years, and that offering it could provide a decisive competitive advantage for companies.¹

In a world where customers demand unprecedented levels of fast, efficient service, AI software for customer service can help businesses deliver on those giant expectations. Not only can it improve a team’s overall efficiency, but it can also enable support reps to collaborate more effectively, thus facilitating faster, more efficient problem resolution.

In this article, we’ll explore:

• How is AI software used for customer service?

• What are the main benefits of this type of system?

• What is the best AI software for customer service?

• How do you get your team onboard with this new technology?

• 4 steps to start implementing AI customer service software

What is AI software for customer service?

AI customer service software harnesses the capabilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning to offer comprehensive support throughout the entire customer journey. This includes AI-enhanced iterations of chatbots, help desk solutions, ticketing systems, and knowledge bases.

This type of software can be integrated into various communication channels, including email, chat, and social media, to provide real-time support to customers. With the help of AI, businesses can automate repetitive tasks, quickly resolve customer queries, adjust the tone of messages with precision, and expand concise bullet points into comprehensive and detailed responses.

How is AI software used for customer service?

1. Quickly resolve simple queries

When it comes to customer service, resolving queries quickly and accurately is a critical capability. By leveraging an AI chatbot, queries are promptly addressed, drawing on information sourced from your learning center to offer accurate and timely responses.

When confronted with more complex, multifaceted queries, AI chatbots even have the capacity to pose probing questions and gather additional context. Should the AI bot still find itself unable to provide a sufficient answer or achieve resolution, it can rapidly transfer the query to a human support representative.

2. Summarize conversations

Summarizing conversations is one of the many ways in which AI customer service software can be used. Support teams can use the software to generate an overview of a customer's entire conversation to date using just a few commands. This is particularly helpful when transferring tickets between representatives or stepping in for a sick or otherwise unavailable colleague.

This functionality seamlessly integrates into a help desk's Inbox, and that integration is exemplified by its implementation in platforms like Intercom.

AI-powered summarizing saves time and helps new stakeholders quickly get up to speed without having to sift through long chat logs or time-consuming email threads. Using these summaries can help teams provide faster and more accurate resolutions to customer queries. The type of service, it practically goes without saying, all but inevitably leads to higher customer satisfaction.

3. Tone adjustment

It's common for support reps to use different tones of voice with each customer, depending on the industry they work in or the type of query they're answering. Editing text for tone can be tiring and time-consuming, though. Fortunately, our AI software for customer service makes this task more effortless than it’s ever been before. 

Our software excels at tone adjustment, and our Inbox composer allows you to make your responses friendlier or more formal – depending on the context and recipient – with a simple click. In this way, you’re helping to make sure that your messages always strike the appropriate tone and leave your customers feeling valued and heard. 

Further, we’re also introducing an innovative feature that empowers AI to dynamically adapt the tone of voice to responsively align with the support representative's own conversational style, drawing insights from conversation history.

4. Rephrasing text

Though it’s easily overlooked, rephrasing text is an essential aspect of customer service. With the constant influx of queries arriving in the inbox, it can be a daunting task to find the right language and word choice to get your message across clearly. However, with AI-powered customer service software, the process of rephrasing text is significantly faster and easier.

Our platform allows you to press a button and instantly rephrase a message. This not only saves time but also guarantees that your messages are always clear, concise, and highly intentional.

Additionally, our AI software can analyze customer queries and provide automated responses that are tailored to the customer's specific needs.

5. Answer expansion

Another one of the ways AI software is used for customer service is through answer expansion. With this feature, short notes or bullet points can be elaborated and turned into a more comprehensive, fully fleshed-out response.

6. Help center article generation

One of the biggest challenges companies face when trying to build out a comprehensive help center is writing enough articles to cover a vast range of potential customer queries. 

Fortunately, help center article generation is another useful feature offered by AI customer service software. It’s designed to be an asset to your customer service department, assisting companies in creating long-form support documentation that covers customers' most frequently asked questions. 

Needless to say, this functionality can provide a major boost to your help center while simultaneously easing the load on reps tasked with producing articles.

Though the accuracy of AI article generation isn’t always perfect, this feature can be very beneficial in producing a first draft – often the hardest part for team members writing heaps of help desk articles. 

The article generation feature is a recent addition to our platform, and we’re still learning how to best go about harnessing its full potential. We believe, however, that AI text completion will quickly become a must-have resource for most long-form content editors in the near future.

What are the main benefits of adopting AI software for customer service?

1. Always-on support

Always-on support is one of the main benefits of an AI software for customer service. Tools such as AI-powered chatbots can ensure that customers get assistance at any time of the day.

2. Better customer experiences

The State of AI in Customer Service revealed that 61% of support leaders that use AI and automation have seen improvements to their customer experience over the past year.

One of the main benefits of AI software for customer service is its ability to provide more agile and assertive assistance to customers when they need it most, thus translating into superior experiences. If you take into consideration the fact that 89% of support leaders believe that personalization can be a key competitive differentiator, this type of system offers a tremendous amount of potential.²

3. Enhanced customer satisfaction

Implementing AI customer service software can bring numerous benefits to businesses. According to our research, 58% of support leaders that use AI and automation have seen improvements to their CSAT scores. This suggests that people are more satisfied with the level of service they receive when AI is used to handle their inquiries.³

Further, we found that 66% of support leaders that use AI and automation are achieving their key performance indicators (KPIs) and meeting their service level agreements (SLAs) thanks to the technology.⁴ 

What is the best AI software for customer service?

1. Intercom

If you want to make your customers feel seen and heard, Intercom is the way to go. It’s the only solution that combines an AI chatbot, help desk, and proactive support — allowing you to keep costs low, support teams happy, and customers consistently satisfied. Intercom’s AI-enhanced workspace and intuitive interface enable businesses to engage with customers in real-time, fostering meaningful interactions at scale.

Employing state-of-the-art AI language models, our bot Fin effortlessly resolves customer problems by delivering secure, precise, and natural responses derived exclusively from your support content.

2. Zendesk

Zendesk is a well-known customer service platform that aims to streamline service interactions within a unified interface. Through the utilization of AI, the software identifies and categorizes customer queries, directing them to the appropriate agent or department. 

Zendesk also developed the Answer Bot, a machine learning service bot that provides instant, accurate answers sourced from knowledge bases, community forums, and other trustworthy resources.

3. Help Scout

Help Scout emphasizes simplicity and collaboration, offering a shared inbox for efficient customer support. Their recently developed AI features are designed to provide faster replies. However, Help Scout can be disappointing for users who expect or need more advanced AI-powered tools.

4. HubSpot

HubSpot integrates customer relationship management (CRM) with support tools, streamlining communication and automating tasks. Although it has interesting tools aimed at customer service, it especially stands out for focusing on the marketing and sales stages of the customer life cycle.

5. Freshdesk

Freshdesk, with its user-friendly interface and automation features, is also a solid option in the AI customer service software market. It enables ticket categorization and prioritization, as well as query assignments and SLA management.

How do you bring your team along on the AI software for customer service journey?

1. Encourage your team to try AI for themselves

As you start the implementation process for AI software for customer service, it's important to make sure your team is prepared and even excited for the journey. Encouraging team members to try AI for themselves is a great way to get started. For example, you can set up bot flows or create help center content for AI-powered bots to leverage.

2. Have an upfront conversation with your reps

Having an upfront conversation with your reps is a crucial step in bringing your team along and making sure everyone is on the same page. To start with, you should ask your reps how you can make them feel more confident and comfortable during this transformative change in your business. This will help you better understand their specific concerns and start developing strategies to address them proactively.

You can also ask them where they see opportunities to use AI and automation to improve their existing workflows. By sparking an open conversation, you can identify areas where AI can be most beneficial and involve your reps in the process of implementing the technology.

Finally, ask your team members how they want their career to grow – it can help you understand their aspirations and provide them with relevant training and development opportunities. In the State of AI in Customer Service, we surveyed support leaders and found that these were the new positions created by AI they anticipated the most:

• Chatbot developers (58%)

• Chatbot analytics (51%)

• Chatbot data collection (49%)

• Conversation designers (39%)

• Chatbot strategists (38%)

3. Keep listening to your reps’ feedback to improve processes

It’s always important to listen to your team’s concerns. Your customer support reps have a wealth of first-hand experience about what customers want, need, and expect, and because of this depth of knowledge their feedback is invaluable.

Listening to and, when appropriate, incorporating your team members’ feedback will help you create smoother, more productive AI-powered workflows. Equally important, it will make your reps feel integral to the entire implementation process. This collaborative approach will help your team embrace AI and feel confident in using it to deliver exceptional customer service.

4 steps to get started with AI software for customer service

1. Identify the business outcomes you are trying to achieve

It’s important to define the specific objectives you hope to accomplish by implementing an AI customer service software. By doing so, you can ensure that everyone involved in the project is on the same page and working towards the same end goal.

2. Think about your current tech stack and your integration needs

In addition, it’s essential to map out your existing IT infrastructure and identify any potential roadblocks or compatibility issues that may arise during the launch process. That way you make sure that the new solution effortlessly incorporates itself into your current systems and workflows.

3. Check out the software's viability

It's crucial to prove the software as soon as possible. This involves conducting pilot tests and trials to determine the effectiveness of the system in real-world scenarios. This is the best way to identify any potential issues or bugs early on and make necessary adjustments before rolling out the solution to a wider audience.

4. Carefully consider how to maintain the knowledge necessary for an AI solution

Finally, it's important to carefully consider the development and the maintenance of the knowledge necessary for an AI solution. This includes developing a plan for ongoing training and support to ensure that employees are equipped with the necessary skills to effectively use the software over a long period of time. By doing this, you can maximize the ROI of your solution and guarantee that it continues to provide value over the long term.

Your business deserves a modern AI customer service software

At Intercom, we designed a comprehensive AI-powered platform that enables businesses of different sizes, and from different industries, to deliver personalized and efficient customer support. Our software uses machine learning algorithms to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up customer service reps to focus on more intellectually demanding tasks.

Additionally, we provide a range of features – including chatbots, automation, and messaging – that can help businesses improve their customer engagement and retention rates. So if you're looking for reliable and intuitive AI software for customer service, we’re here for you.

Ask for a demo or start a free trial today.

Sources

1 Intercom, The State of AI in Customer Service. We commissioned an independent market research firm to survey a random sample of 1,013 global support leaders and practitioners. The margin of error for this study is +/- 3.7% at the 95% confidence level.

2, 3, 4 Intercom, Customer Service Trends Report 2023. We asked 1,700+ customer support teams across the world how they’re meeting the challenges and opportunities of 2023.