![\"Chatbot](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnect-blog\/1\/2023\/12\/Chatbot-Chat-with-AI.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHigh Call Volume Coverage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Most businesses first realize they need an answering solution when they get messages about missed calls and complaints about wait times. And regardless of why<\/em> you missed it – due to high call volumes or the call coming in outside of business hours – a missed call can cost you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Customers expect businesses to offer round-the-clock coverage but also want real responses from real people. 78% of people prefer to chat with a person, be it by phone, live chat or email, instead of a bot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s likely that the reason you’re considering whether AI will replace call center agents is mostly because you want to make a sensible investment, right? So things like performance matter. How fast do bots answer? Pretty fast. In conversation, phone chatbots often leave a delay after being asked a question. That\u2019s partly to ensure the customer has finished speaking, but it\u2019s because rapid responses can unnerve people. People want to feel like they\u2019re talking to a real person, even when they\u2019re actually speaking to a chatbot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Likewise, bots can respond almost instantly to questions in live chat conversations. But again, people are put off by the immediacy. To counter this, chatbot programmers include an option to add \u201cbot delays.\u201d Bot – or message delays, as they\u2019re also known – allow you to specify the time (in seconds) a bot waits before it sends the next message in the queue. These are often accompanied by \u201ctyping\u201d bubbles to make it seem the chatbot is crafting an answer from scratch. Regardless of performance and response times, people still want a human touch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Businesses without chatbots can take between 3 rings of the phone to 30 minutes, depending on their system. AnswerConnect answers 98% of calls within four rings<\/a>. That\u2019s essential to customer satisfaction, with 82% of consumers rating an immediate response<\/a> when they have a marketing or sales question as important<\/strong> or very important<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the real question is, how quickly do both options resolve a query or issue? The answer will define which solution offers the best customer experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer satisfaction is the key differentiator of your business today. As Jerry Fritz said<\/a>, \u201cYou\u2019ll never have a product or price advantage again. They can be too easily duplicated. But a strong customer service culture cannot be copied.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chatbots can provide some<\/em> level of satisfaction. Chatbots offer a quick solution for smaller businesses who struggle to answer calls in under five minutes. Perhaps most importantly, they seem a better alternative than letting the call ring out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But are chatbots really<\/em> better than nothing? A 2021 international survey into consumer attitudes to AI<\/a> has the answer: over 35% of consumers say automated services never<\/em> resolve their problems. And while a quarter of consumers think AI is improving customer service, 45% think it\u2019s making the experience worse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n People are adaptable. Bots operate in a binary sense. Despite all the improvements in AI in a relatively short time, it still lacks a person’s versatility. Sure, AI is more capable of recognizing, processing and responding to different accents, syntax, and language than ever before. But it\u2019s still nowhere near <\/a>a real person’s comprehension level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take Facebook Messenger\u2019s automated \u2018M\u2019 chatbot. Initially launched using a combination of automated replies and human input, Facebook envisaged M as being entirely AI-powered within a few years. However, the platform never surpassed 30% automation, even at its maximum capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While AI can offer numerous advantages in customer service, there are several reasons why it might be considered inferior to human agents. Here are five key points:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In business, cost informs every decision. But the price of a product or service isn\u2019t a true measure of its value. So, how does the return on investment between a virtual receptionist service and an automated chatbot stack up?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cost of an automated chatbot service varies according to several factors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In comparison, virtual receptionist services tend to price per call or minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, you need to figure out how many sales you make a month before adding any kind of answering service and how many you\u2019d need to make after setting up the service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But you also need to consider how it will affect your existing customers. Run customer satisfaction surveys before and after launching your answering service. It\u2019s difficult to quantify what increased customer satisfaction means in terms of ROI. But, it\u2019s worth considering what impact (if any) it could have on extending your customer lifetime value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gathering lead information is like drawing a breath for your company; without it, you won\u2019t survive. After all, if you can\u2019t collect information accurately, how can you give callers definitive solutions to their queries?<\/p>\n\n\n\n For industries such as healthcare, patients can be more likely to divulge sensitive information truthfully than when speaking to a real person. But for other sectors, an AI responder’s anonymity can encourage people to leave false information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AI still has a narrow range of data-gathering tools, often offering callers just a limited number of options. But real life is often far more complex than a narrow range of choices. Only people can interpret the huge range of information in the diverse ways of communicating that information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, it\u2019s up to you what solution is best for your business. However, the data is unequivocal in the importance of offering real responses. People prefer it, and many countries are already drafting laws that make it a legal requirement<\/a> to have a real person available for callers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AnswerConnect\u2019s huge team of customer service experts is on hand 24\/7 to give callers a professional response. Want to find out what people-powered customer service can do for your business? Book a consultation with us using the link below.<\/p>\n\n\n\nResponse times<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"AI](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnect-blog\/1\/2023\/12\/AI-technology-AI-chatbots-communicate-and-answer-questions-with-business-people.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCustomer satisfaction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Virtual](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnect-blog\/1\/2023\/12\/virtual-receptionist-on-a-call-with-a-customer.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nVersatility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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ROI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Chatbot](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnect-blog\/1\/2023\/12\/Chatbot-serves-as-a-virtual-assistant.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nLead capture and qualification.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to get the most from an answering service<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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![\"Man-taking-notes-during-video-meeting-on-laptop.png\"](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnect-blog\/1\/2023\/12\/Man-taking-notes-during-video-meeting-on-laptop-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n