AI Agents: The next generation of AI-powered bots | Zendesk

Zendesk

16 Apr 202403:07

Summary

TLDRZendesk AI agents represent a new generation of autonomous customer service bots that leverage the latest AI technology to provide a personalized and efficient customer experience. Unlike traditional bots, Zendesk's AI agents can resolve customer issues from start to finish without human intervention, handling both simple and complex queries with ease. They use generative AI to search for the most accurate information and respond in the brand's voice and tone. Even in unique situations, such as a return without a receipt, the AI agent can adapt, gather details, and confirm solutions like store credit without escalating to a human agent. The AI agents can also proactively offer alternatives, process exchanges, and update systems in real time. They are easy to set up, requiring no extensive development team or large investment. With robust analytics, Zendesk AI agents are always learning and optimizing conversations, helping companies resolve over 60% of their customer interactions and achieve end-to-end automation, providing top-notch customer service around the clock.

Takeaways

🤖 **Advanced AI Technology**: Zendesk AI agents use the latest AI technology to provide a new level of customer service automation.
🚀 **Autonomy in Problem Solving**: These AI agents can resolve customer issues from start to finish without human intervention, handling both simple and complex queries.
🗣️ **Conversational Interface**: AI agents interact with customers in a natural, conversational manner, using the brand's voice and tone.
🔍 **Generative AI for Information Retrieval**: The AI uses generative AI to search multiple sources for the most accurate information to address customer inquiries.
🎁 **Adaptability to Unique Situations**: Zendesk AI agents can adapt to various customer scenarios, such as dealing with returns without a receipt.
🛍️ **Integrated Order Management**: Agents can interact with order management systems to locate orders and confirm available solutions like store credits.
📈 **Proactive Solutions**: AI agents can offer alternatives, process exchanges, and issue return labels in real-time, all within the ongoing conversation.
💡 **Efficiency and Personalization**: The AI-driven process is not only fast but also deeply personalized and efficient, leading to improved customer experiences.
🛠️ **Easy Setup and Customization**: Zendesk AI agents are user-friendly, requiring no extensive technical setup, and can be aligned with a brand's personality.
📊 **Robust Analytics**: Zendesk provides analytics to optimize conversations and support workflows, helping identify customer pain points and opportunities for improvement.
🔧 **Scalable Functionality**: As businesses grow, Zendesk AI agents can be upgraded to take on more advanced actions through simple drag-and-drop conversation flows.
🌟 **High Resolution Rate**: AI agents are capable of resolving over 60% of customer interactions, enabling companies to achieve high levels of automation and customer satisfaction.

Q & A

What sets Zendesk AI agents apart from typical bots?
-Zendesk AI agents are autonomous and capable of resolving customer issues from end to end without the need for a live agent. They handle both simple and complex queries with ease, using generative AI to search multiple sources for the best and most accurate information.
How does the AI agent respond to a customer making a return?
-The AI agent instantly recognizes the customer's request, regardless of how it is phrased, and provides an instant response in the brand's voice and tone using generative AI to find the best information.
What happens if a customer wants to make a return without a receipt?
-The AI agent adapts to the unique situation by gathering details, calling the order management system to locate the order, and confirming with the customer that a store credit is available.
Can the AI agent offer additional help beyond resolving the immediate issue?
-Yes, the AI agent can proactively offer curated alternatives, process exchanges in real time, issue a return label, confirm the new order, and automatically update the order management system within seconds.
How does the AI agent contribute to the customer experience?
-The AI agent provides a fast, conversational, personalized, and efficient customer experience by resolving issues end to end, sparing the customer additional effort.
What is required to set up Zendesk AI agents?
-Setting up Zendesk AI agents is straightforward. You don't need a team of developers or a large budget. You simply connect it to your help center, align it with your brand personality, and start delivering quality service.
How can businesses expand the capabilities of their AI agents?
-Businesses can expand their AI agents' capabilities by using Zendesk's drag and drop conversation flows and choosing the backend systems they want to integrate for more advanced actions.
How do Zendesk AI agents learn and improve over time?
-Zendesk AI agents are always learning, and the robust analytics provided offer insights to optimize every conversation and support workflows, helping to identify where customers may be getting stuck and uncover new opportunities for service improvement.
What percentage of customer interactions are AI agents currently resolving?
-AI agents are helping companies resolve 60% or more of their customer interactions, enabling end-to-end automation.
How do Zendesk AI agents contribute to serving customers around the clock?
-By providing autonomous and efficient resolution of customer issues, Zendesk AI agents allow companies to serve customers 24/7 without the need for constant human intervention.
What is the significance of Zendesk AI agents in the customer experience (CX) domain?
-Zendesk AI agents represent the next generation of autonomous bots in CX, offering a higher level of customer service automation and personalization that can significantly enhance the overall customer experience.
How do Zendesk AI agents handle complex customer queries?
-Zendesk AI agents use advanced AI technology to understand and address complex customer queries, often resolving the issue without the need to escalate to a human agent.

Outlines

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🤖 Zendesk AI Agents: Autonomous Customer Experience Bots

Zendesk AI agents represent the next generation of customer service bots, leveraging advanced AI technology to provide a seamless and personalized customer experience. Unlike traditional bots, Zendesk's AI agents are capable of resolving customer issues from beginning to end without human intervention. They handle both simple and complex queries with ease, using generative AI to search multiple sources for the most accurate information. The script illustrates a customer interaction involving a return, showcasing how the AI agent can recognize the customer's request, adapt to unique situations, and even process an exchange in real time, including issuing a return label and updating the order management system. These AI agents are designed to be user-friendly, requiring no extensive development team or significant investment to set up. They can be easily integrated with a company's help center and aligned with the brand's personality. Zendesk AI agents are also equipped with robust analytics, providing insights to optimize conversations and workflows, and are currently helping companies automate up to 60% of their customer interactions.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡AI powered bots

AI powered bots are software applications that use artificial intelligence to automate tasks or processes. In the context of the video, these bots are designed to enhance customer experience by providing quick and effective responses to customer inquiries. They are not typical bots, as they are capable of resolving customer issues end-to-end without the need for human intervention.

💡Customer experience (CX)

Customer experience refers to the cumulative effect of all interactions a customer has with a company. In the video, the focus is on using AI agents to improve CX by providing personalized, efficient, and conversational service. The goal is to make the customer's journey smooth and satisfying, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and satisfaction.

💡Generative AI

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create new content or data that is similar to the input it has been trained on. In the video, generative AI is used by the AI agent to search multiple sources for the most accurate information and provide an instant response in the brand's voice and tone, which is crucial for maintaining a consistent brand image.

💡Order management system

An order management system is a software application that helps businesses manage and streamline the entire order processing cycle, from receiving an order to delivering the product or service. In the script, the AI agent interacts with the order management system to locate an order and confirm store credit, showcasing the integration of AI with backend systems to provide seamless service.

💡Proactive offering

Proactive offering involves taking initiative to suggest or provide services or solutions before the customer explicitly requests them. In the video, the AI agent goes beyond just answering questions by offering curated alternatives and processing exchanges in real-time, which enhances the customer's experience by anticipating their needs.

💡Real-time processing

Real-time processing refers to the ability of a system to handle and respond to data or events as they occur, without significant delay. The video emphasizes the AI agent's capability to process exchanges and issue return labels in real-time, which is essential for providing a fast and efficient customer service experience.

💡Return label

A return label is a document or tag that a customer attaches to a package when they want to return it to the seller. In the context of the video, the AI agent issues a return label as part of the automated return process, which simplifies the customer's task and reduces the time taken for the return to be processed.

💡Back-end systems

Back-end systems are the behind-the-scenes infrastructure and software that support the operations of a business, such as databases, servers, and application programming interfaces (APIs). The video mentions integrating back-end systems with AI agents to enable advanced actions like updating order management systems automatically, which is key to achieving end-to-end automation.

💡Drag and drop

Drag and drop is a user interface feature that allows users to move or select elements in a computer program by clicking, holding, dragging, and releasing the mouse button. The video script refers to a drag and drop interface for setting up AI agents, which suggests that the process is user-friendly and does not require extensive technical knowledge.

💡Analytics

Analytics refers to the systematic computation, analysis, and interpretation of data, often for the purpose of making informed decisions. In the video, robust analytics are used to provide insights into customer interactions, helping companies optimize conversations and support workflows, and identify areas for improvement in serving their customers.

💡End-to-end automation

End-to-end automation is the process of automating all stages of a workflow or process from start to finish. The video highlights that AI agents are helping companies achieve end-to-end automation in customer interactions, which can lead to significant efficiency gains and a reduction in manual labor.

💡24/7 service

24/7 service refers to the availability of services around the clock, every day of the week. The video emphasizes the AI agents' ability to serve customers continuously, which is particularly beneficial for businesses aiming to provide uninterrupted support and cater to customers in different time zones.

Highlights

Zendesk AI agents are the next generation of autonomous AI-powered bots in customer experience.

These AI agents resolve customer issues from end to end without the need for a live agent.

AI agents handle both simple and complex queries with ease using the latest AI technology.

The AI agent uses generative AI to search multiple sources for the most accurate information.

AI agents provide responses in the brand's voice and tone, ensuring a consistent customer experience.

In complex scenarios, such as returns without a receipt, AI agents adapt and gather details to resolve the issue.

Zendesk AI agents can interact with order management systems to locate orders and confirm store credits.

AI agents offer proactive solutions, such as issuing return labels and confirming new orders in real time.

The AI agent updates the order management system automatically, streamlining the process for the customer.

Zendesk AI agents provide a fast, conversational, personalized, and efficient customer experience.

Setup is straightforward, requiring no team of developers or significant investment.

AI agents can be easily connected to a help center and aligned with a brand's personality.

Advanced actions, like exchanges, can be enabled through drag and drop conversation flows.

Zendesk AI agents are equipped with robust analytics to optimize conversations and support workflows.

Analytics provide insights to identify customer pain points and opportunities for improvement.

AI agents are currently helping companies resolve over 60% of their customer interactions autonomously.

They enable 24/7 customer service and contribute to the best overall customer experience.

Zendesk AI agents are considered the most autonomous bots in customer experience (CX).