[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/01\/19\/the-future-of-customer-service-the-best-of-man-and-machine\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/01\/19\/the-future-of-customer-service-the-best-of-man-and-machine\/","headline":"The future of customer service: The best of humans and machines","name":"The future of customer service: The best of humans and machines","description":"The future of customer service uses the best of humanity and machines by combining the strengths of AI and reps to deliver amazing service.","datePublished":"2018-01-19","dateModified":"2024-06-07","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/kirsi-tarvainen\/#Person","name":"Kirsi Tarvainen","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/kirsi-tarvainen\/","identifier":151,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96ca9bf9158da317761f4e785e19819a740ab479d189dd529c081ea73b54193e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96ca9bf9158da317761f4e785e19819a740ab479d189dd529c081ea73b54193e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/thumbnail-2728a95c37eb86e5a8bce523377570a1.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/thumbnail-2728a95c37eb86e5a8bce523377570a1.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/01\/19\/the-future-of-customer-service-the-best-of-man-and-machine\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/service\/","name":"Service","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Service","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q7406919"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/service\/service-general\/","name":"Service","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Service","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q7406919"]}],"wordCount":499,"keywords":["AI (Artificial Intelligence)","AI In Customer Service","Customer Care","Customer Experience | CX","Customer Service"],"articleBody":"Artificial intelligence, machine learning, chatbots, Internet of Things\u2026 customer service is experiencing a revolution. The balancing act between customer satisfaction and cost control is getting easier thanks to intelligent technology.By 2025, AI is projected to power a staggering 95% of customer interactions. In many cases, customers don\u2019t care how they get their answers – as long as they get them quickly and conveniently.However, not everything can be automated. There will still be many occasions where customers want to talk to a real human being. People still appreciate talking to a friendly person instead of using automated services. Or, the customer might have a complex issue that is easier to discuss with someone instead of using automated services.And we should not underestimate the power of emotions: the customer might be worried, anxious, or puzzled, and appreciate the friendliness, compassion, and encouragement that only another human can convey.The importance of human touchSince there will be fewer and fewer in-person interactions in the future, the importance of them will rise. Luckily, many routine tasks will be automated and customer service agents can concentrate on what they do best: Deliver value-adding personal service to your customers. Another area where the new technologies help: artificial intelligence and Internet of Things can help customer service agents quickly find the answers to the customers\u2019 issues – giving them more time to really listen to the customer, and talk with them to better understand the issue and find the best alternative for them.The speed of AI technology together with the personal touch of a competent customer service agent makes a powerful combination.The purpose of new technology is not to get rid of all customer calls. And the purpose is not to get rid of customer service agents. The purpose is to combine the strengths of man and machine to make customers happy. How to combine the strengths of man and machine and deliver great customer serviceKnow your customers:\u00a0What are the areas they want to take care of themselves? Where do they appreciate personal help? The key is to build easy-to-use automated services, but also make sure that in-person help is available as soon as your customers need it.Data is the key:\u00a0Make sure you utilize all existing data from all data sources: the business systems, websites, marketing brochures, past customer interactions, user guides etc\u2026 Make the relevant data available for your customers and your customer service personnel. This will allow you to improve your self-service options as well as your agent-assisted service.Deploy chatbots, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things to cover simple and routine tasks:\u00a0That frees human resources and gives your service personnel time to focus on customers who need in-person help. Your customer service agents can do what they are good at: engaging with your customers.  96% of consumers have more trust in brands when they make it easy to do business with them.Are you delivering what customers want? Get ‘The State of Customer Service’ report\u00a0HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2018","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"01","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/\/01\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"19","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/\/01\/\/19\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"The future of customer service: The best of humans and machines","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/01\/19\/the-future-of-customer-service-the-best-of-man-and-machine\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]