1. Improved customer service by offering it 24/7

(Around the clock customer service with AI and machine learning | Source: BotEngine)

The thing about your eCommerce store is that it’s always open.

This means that it’s even open when you’re sleeping!

A few years back, this would have represented a problem: Who would have been there to respond to customer queries as quickly as possible? Would you be the one scrambling out of bed at 3 am, stubbing your toe on a desk and blinking furiously at your phone as you try to respond to a customer in Thailand who’s demanding to know if you ship to Bangkok?!

Then, once you’re back in bed at 3:18, your phone buzzes again. This time it’s a customer from Kuwait. Damn those infernal time zones and stubbed toes.

Fast-forward to 2018 and we now have AI in the form of chatbots to provide better customer service.

Chatbots are arguably the most accessible form of AI. They respond to customers instantly, and because they use machine learning to learn more about each customer specifically, they’re able to provide satisfactory, personalized answers that nudge a customer closer towards a conversion. Chatbots collect data, track behavior, and they help to provide a seamless shopping experience.

Moreover, because chatbots are essentially a clean slate at the beginning, it means you can inject them with your company’s values and personality so that they’re an extension of your brand. This helps a “robot” to make a proper connection with your customers. No more delays, no more impersonal connections. Instead, more conversions.

Actionable takeaway

Make a start by imbuing your chatbot with your company’s values. Create an experience for the user that’s reflective of your brand, while making sure that the bot’s responses are short, direct, and always moving a customer closer to a resolution of their problem(s).