How Technology Will Affect Customer Service in the Coming Year

As technology is becoming more advanced, businesses are changing. Some niches are going obsolete while others are booming. This trend follows every industrial revolution. Since most tech experts are seeing AI as the next big thing, it is time to stay prepared for the next revolution.

Back in 2022, when AI was rolled out for the public, most business owners considered this as just another tool. Fast forward today, we see AI as a major contributor in all sorts of business. From small businesses with limited budget selling homemade goods to big businesses selling ships, AI is now refining processes and new paving ways. 

Currently, there is a lot of buzz around customer service. As a customer service agent with  4 years, customer supervisor with 3 years and head of department with 2 years under my belt, I have seen customer service industry going through an evolution. However, nothing can beat the current wave of AI revolution. 

While most of the big brands are already using AI for streamlining the customer interaction, small brands are also jumping the AI bandwagon. 

If you are also running a small business, keep reading, as we will look at some of the upcoming trends that will dominate customer service to prepare for. 

Top 5 Trends That Will Dominate the Customer Service Industry 

1. Social Media Will Become Standard

The omni channel approach to sales and customer service has been a trending topic for a few years now. Big brands like Xfinity are already using the Omni channel customer service technique for their customers. They have a dedicated Xfinity customer service number along with social media, email, SMS and other channels.

Based on a recent study, social media will soon become the standard customer service channel. This means companies offering the Omni channel experience will have an upper hand. These companies will smoothly be able to transition their social media CS into a dominant one. 

In case you have not yet established an Omni channel experience, this is the time for your brand to work on it. 

2. Real-Time Interaction

When was the last time you wrote a complaint email to a company? Maybe a few years ago. When was the last time you interacted with Bard via online chat? Maybe a few days ago. 

In the world of AI, real-time interaction is everything. Even when you talk to an AI, the reply is instant, so when customers interact with the company, they expect to receive faster response. This is the reason, complaints via email communication is becoming very scarce now. 

In future, the customer will not only expect but also choose companies that offer real-time interaction. From AI Chabot to real-time calls, you will see this trend taking center stage. 

3. Face-To-Face Interaction

You don’t want to visit the store, but you still want to interact with their customer service agent, ask them questions, and share documents for verification. What’s the best route here? If you had asked me this question a few months ago, I would have been clueless.

According to marketing experts, face-to-face interaction via virtual channels is becoming a trend now. Companies no longer verify your via material things, instead, they want to see you. From video calls, online document scanning to fingerprints, everything will be online and face-to-face. 

4. Self-Service Will Prevail

Currently 48% of the customer have reported that they prefer to communicate via online chat because they feel intimated by phone calls. An important thing to notice here is that this trend is more dominant in Gen-Z as they take personality types more seriously. 

Since Gen-Z will soon become the main buying audience for most businesses, they will seek other ways to reduce the human interaction. This is the reason, tech experts are emphasizing on self-service such as automation, knowledge base, community forums, FAQs, and more. In just a few years, nearly all brands, big or small will offer self-service option.

In case, you are a small business, with limited resources and do not want to hire a huge team. this is your cue to work on the self-service option for your business. 

5. Agents will be AI 

This very fun yet somewhat scary trend is still in the testing phase by some of the big brands. Since the new AI voice interaction has rolled out, companies are now trying to experiment with AI-based customer service agents. 

You may be wondering who would want to talk to robots. Well, the new version of voice interaction is not just smooth, it also offers a much better human and more refined information than any human does. The AI voice interaction can be easily trained with company documents and eventually it will respond your customers accordingly. 

While this is still in testing phase, tech experts are saying that it will also minimize the behavioral issues. This way yelling, angry calls and waiting times can be minimized. 

Wrap Up 

In the world of technology, change is the only constant. While most people seek ways to AI-proof their careers, as a business owner, you need to look at the bigger future and find ways to incorporate AI into customer service. The above-mentioned trends will help you prepare your business for the future.