AI Voice Assistants: Everything you need to know
Discover the benefits of using AI voice assistants for your business. Learn how they can enhance customer experience and streamline operations.
Voice remains a timeless and powerful communication channel for businesses, offering a personal touch that customers crave. However, most customers today refuse to wait on hold, and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems may not always enhance their experience. Thankfully, the advent of conversational AI offers a glimmer of hope.
Enter AI voice assistants. These AI-powered voice bots are designed to interact with customers in a conversational manner, providing them with information instantly, solving problems, and even making recommendations.
If you’re considering using AI voice assistants, read on to learn more about them and how they can benefit your business.
What is an AI voice assistant?
An AI voice assistant is a virtual assistant that uses conversational artificial intelligence (AI) to understand and respond to callers using their voice. These assistants are designed to perform tasks or provide timely information based on the user’s voice input.
AI voice assistants make it easier for callers to get through IVR systems by talking naturally without listening to long menus or pressing any buttons. It’s almost like talking with a real person, except it’s actually a smart virtual bot doing all the work for you.
It’s the conversations where we, as consumers, are motivated to gain genuine resolutions to our queries, not just entry-level confirmation. That’s where I believe the sentiment needle lays today.
Julian Dawkins
Senior Product Marketing Manager – Infobip
A preferred communication channel
Voice bots are rapidly gaining popularity as a preferred communication channel for customer support. In our research, we found:
- 59% of consumers prefer the phone as their primary channel for customer support.
- 66% of customers prefer self-service over speaking with a customer support agent.
Types of voice bots
Voice bots fall into two main categories based on their methods of interpreting speech and their interaction with speakers. Here’s a brief comparison between them:
Rule-based voice bots
Rule-based voice bots built on IVR systems, interact with users by following a set of predefined rules and instructions. They are programmed to perform specific tasks and respond based on keywords or phrases, making them more limited in their capabilities compared to AI voice bots.
AI voice assistants
AI voice assistants use artificial intelligence to understand and process natural language. This allows them to offer a broader range of capabilities and functionalities, customize responses based on customer preferences, and have more intelligent conversations with users.
How do AI voice assistants work?
AI voice assistants use natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms in real time to understand and converse with the caller. While chatbots rely on written language and NLP algorithms, voice assistants interpret spoken language using Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology.
To build a strong AI voice bot you will need the following key elements:
- Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) that listens to the request made by the caller
- Speech-to-Text (STT) system that translates speech into text
- Natural Language Understanding (NLU) that comprehends the speaker’s demand
- Conversations Module that establishes the correct response
- Text-to-Speech (TTS) System that responds to the speaker’s query
At Infobip, AI voice assistants are built through an AI hub, where the text is configured through Answers, our chatbot-building platform. The text then transforms into voice using Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology available through our Voice solution. Finally, the voice assistant is integrated with Conversations, our cloud contact center solution through open API or any external CcaaS solution.
Benefits of using AI voice assistants
Businesses can benefit in many ways by incorporating AI voice assistants into their operations. Here we list the top key benefits:
Reduced wait times and enhanced service quality
AI voice assistants can reduce customer wait times by quickly providing information or directing customers to the appropriate resources. This helps improve customer satisfaction and provides a seamless support experience.
Real-time support
AI voice bots can handle a large number of customer inquiries at once, so businesses can scale support and provide 24/7 assistance in real-time. This helps improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. Customers can get immediate answers to their questions, leading to a more positive experience with the company.
Enhanced operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness
Humans can handle a few chats at once, but AI voice bots can handle unlimited conversations. This means businesses can easily scale up or down customer service depending on call volume. For example, AI voice assistants can handle a higher volume of customer queries simultaneously, reducing the need for human agents and lowering operational costs
For example, using an AI assistant helps businesses save time and money by automating repetitive tasks like answering FAQs, scheduling appointments, or processing orders. This frees up employees to focus on more complex tasks, resulting in enhanced productivity.
Advanced data analytics
AI voice assistants can be integrated with a customer data platform to analyze customer data and provide useful insights and trends for businesses to improve their products or services. By understanding customer preferences and behavior, you can tailor their offerings to better meet their needs.
Personalized interactions
Voice-based interactions present new opportunities for businesses to build personalized relationships with customers. The assistant can remember previous interactions and preferences and provide tailored recommendations and suggestions, creating a more personalized user experience.
Accessibility
AI voice bots improve user experience for individuals with diverse abilities by offering accessible and inclusive interaction with technology. They are customized to comprehend various accents, languages, and speech patterns, ensuring inclusivity for users from diverse linguistic backgrounds.
For example, AI voice bots can read text on screens and give spoken navigation cues for visually impaired users. They can also help people with physical disabilities who struggle with typing or traditional input methods.
Ease of integration
AI voice assistants can seamlessly integrate with customer support tech stacks, providing businesses with a holistic view of customer interactions and enabling personalized and efficient service delivery. This not only increases operational efficiency but also leads to improved customer
AI voice assistants’ common use cases
Lead generation
Use an AI voice assistant to reach out to all your leads, guide users through conversions, and ensure a seamless experience throughout every touchpoint of their journey.
Customer support
Allow your customers to interact with a fully functional human-like AI voice assistant. They work around the clock and can guide new users through personalized expereinces.
An AI voice assistant can:
- guide uses with onboarding
- collect feedback automatically
- schedule appointments
- send proactive updates on order status
- answer FAQs without relying on scripts
Marketing
Interactions with an AI voice bot generate valuable data on customer preferences and shopping patterns. Businesses can analyze this data to gain insights into customer behavior, make data-driven decisions, send personalized marketing promotions, and improve overall customer experience.
Sales
An AI voice assistant can specialize in selling products and services while effectively managing outbound calls and engaging with existing customers.
For example, whenever customers interact with any of your CTAs, an AI voice bot can trigger an automated call that will collect more information and schedule a call back based on mutual availability.
Authentication
AI voice assistants can run the entire user verification process without engaging with a human. The voice bot can request the caller share details about their data, swiftly run it by the system, and confirm their identity.
Scale your business with Infobip
Voice remains a popular channel for customer engagement. Integrating an AI assistant can have a positive impact on your customer service and deliver conversational experiences at scale.
As a leading communication platform and CPaaS provider, Infobip helps enterprises from all over the world optimize cost savings, accelerate time-to-market, and ensure superior customer experiences 24/7 through cutting-edge AI solutions.
Our platform covers all the touchpoints across the journey on any channel from a single intuitive interface, equipped with:
- A customer data platform: collect data in one place and create detailed customer profiles
- An omnichannel customer engagement solution: send targeted campaigns
- A chatbot building platform: offer full-time support with self-service options
- A cloud contact center solution: live agents can interact with customers
Stay tuned for Infobip’s AI voice assistant solution, and get ready to experience the future of conversational customer service firsthand.
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