The use of conversational AI is no longer just for professionals. Nearly every consumer has probably encountered conversational AI, whether they knew it or not. Conversational AI-powered bots are becoming increasingly more popular among businesses, both big and small. There is still some reluctance and resistance to the complete adoption of conversational AI for employees and customers alike. However, little by little, bots seem to be winning over the majority due to their overall benefits and simplicity.
Furthermore, in a world dominated by the pandemic, the use of smart assistants and conversational AI has become more widely accepted and utilized as a means to keep employees safe, out of the public, and less overwhelmed by business demands. According to Chatbots Life, the leading industries profiting from conversational AI bots are education, real estate, finance, healthcare, and travel.
Below we will go over the latest trends and statistical insights on conversational AI trends. Research on the progress of conversational AI has plenty of findings and how it will relate to the future as well.
Quick Overview of Major Conversational AI Statistics
With trends in AI increasing daily, organizations are now more eager than ever to use innovative applications to automate business processes. These apps are used in different business operations. They can improve customer satisfaction and support an overall pleasant user experience.
Conversational AI-powered bots will vastly improve the way your business responds to customers and how their needs are met. It is estimated that conversational AI will minimize staffing issues and improve sales and marketing efforts. Regarding the future of conversational AI, below are a few trends based on various sources of research. They may assist you in the successful integration of conversational AI or virtual assistants.
- AI-powered bots can save upwards of 30% savings on customer service costs. (Invespcro)
- The AI-enabled bot market share is expected to grow at a CAGR rate of 29.7% to become 9.4 billion USD in 2024 from 2.6 billion USD in 2021 annually. (BusinessInsider)
- Over 50% of consumers want 24/7 support available from an organization. (Oracle)
- 80% of businesses are expected to implement AI automation of some kind by the end of 2021. (Outgrow)
- Upwards of 300,000 bots currently exist on Facebook. (Venture Beat)
Statistics for 2021 and Beyond
Transformation of Customer Service
Good customer service is one of the most critical components of a successful business. Four out of five service decision-makers believe that modern technology is transforming customers' expectations of a business. 82% of these decision-makers believe that a company's customer service procedures must also transform to stay competitive in an increasingly modernized world.
For years now, customer service operations have taken up a large portion of a business's budget. Today, over half (54%) of service organizations have year-over-year budget increases, and nearly two-thirds (63%) expect more money next year. While the need for transformation is consistent across industries, high-performing teams (those with excellent customer service rates) are more likely than their underperforming competitors to be getting more resources.
Customer service is also not what it used to be. There are now tons of platforms to reach representatives of a business one. With just about everyone having a smartphone in their hands, customers are now more connected than ever before. The average customer utilizes about ten different platforms to communicate with companies and expects responses and support on all of them. Hence the prevalent customer service trend that stands out is a shift toward digital communication points. Phone and email are universal, and nearly every customer has used one of those platforms in the past. There are now a variety of platforms that are more convenient for your modern customers to use.
Bots Will Become More Human-Like
First off, it is essential for businesses not to allow customers to believe that they are talking to a human. Transparency is key. When using artificial intelligence, it is necessary to be upfront about it. Customers do not want to feel like a fool.
In a report by MarketsandMarkets, it was found that the conversational AI bot market would grow to become 13.9 billion USD by 2025. The adoption of AI within businesses is going to become increasingly popular within the next five years. There is a shift in the focus of companies from serving customers through emails and phone calls to AI-powered bots that can offer better rates of customer engagement and experience. These modern bots now provide natural language processing (NLP) technology which allows customers to converse with the bots as if they were human agents on the other side of the interaction and all in real-time.
Conversational AI Agents and Automatic Payments
In a survey by Chatbots Magazine, 67% of millennials in the United States shared that they expect brands that utilize AI bots to allow users to purchase goods and services. For 2021 and beyond, the outlook for conversational AI bots is far more than just automating payments but also responding to queries on balances, sending payment notifications, receiving payments over specific channels, as well as live chat functions. This modern and quick payment processing is likely to increase customer satisfaction and engagement with an organization. This fast payment processing is expected to satisfy customers the most, making them happy as well. An example of this would be with MasterCard who has recently deployed an AI bot that exclusively handles payments.
Prospering Relationships with Customers
Capgemini Research Institute has some data for you if you still are not sold on the implementation and importance of conversational AI and its deployment. The research surveyed over 12,000 consumers who have personally used and continue to use conversational AI-powered voice assistants or bots. Also included in the survey were up to 1,000 leaders from consumer products and retail, financial services, and automotive, including pure-play digital players. Of the users who had a positive experience with a bot or voice assistant (powered by conversational AI), 72% of consumers had higher trust in the company; 71% had positive feedback, which they then shared with those closest to them; and 64% gave their business higher online ratings or shared their positive experiences on their social media platforms. Implementing conversational AI in your business is a positive addition and can significantly benefit your business, the employees, and the customers alike.
Conversational AI is becoming an increasingly popular integration for various businesses, their functions, and customer applications. 2020 will be the year these conversational AI applications grew deeper roots in the lives and minds of customers and genuinely related businesses and customers safely and conveniently. As we advance, more businesses will develop and deploy bots of their own and utilize conversational AI in a way that will boost business and customer satisfaction and engagement. The numbers look good; consumers are satisfied with conversational AI and seemingly benefit from them just as the business itself does. Conversational AI is here to stay and will only get better. Schedule a demo with us and see how DRUID AI can help your business!
