AI is a multi-billion-dollar industry that is changing the way we communicate and learn. It is changing the way we interact with our world around us, especially the internet and technology driven world. We are downloading ChatGPT to help us with our social media posts. Children and students are using AI to assist them with their homework. AI is embedded into websites and marketing tools to help businesses target the best customers. AI is everywhere and affecting everything online, including your communication.
With more businesses looking to cut costs and reduce staffing levels, jobs that can be automated are using AI to improve communications. You will have gone to a website and looked for ways to speak to a human about a problem or product and come across the chatbot feature. This asks typical and common questions, and you try to find the answer to your problem within the structured messages. Often the answer is not there, and you must click a button to speak to someone, but when the answer is in the capabilities of the AI Powered chatbot, it is a clear sign that the business is using AI to improve communications.
AI is in the news daily with scaring stories that ask if Robotic AI is replacing humans in jobs ranging from writing articles like this, to performing laser surgery. AI powering cars on the motorway so the cars can stop, change lanes, and drive themselves is a common story online. AI is affecting our lives, and the way that we communicate.
How can you use AI to improve communications with colleagues and customers?
Businesses are using AI to improve communications where the communication can be automated to speed up the customer interaction, make us more productive, and to improve the customer experience. Customers want a fast response, and using AI to improve communications makes it faster!
A Robotic answer will answer the question asked, but some customers still prefer the human touch, they like to hear a voice. Other customers that shop, order, or interact through text message or live chat are happy speaking to a machine, if they get the answer that they want. If we live in a fast-paced world, nothing is faster than using AI to improve communications.
With the global cost of living crisis, and businesses tightening their belts, using AI to improve communications means reduced costs of agents in a contact center. If a customer has the choice of being on hold for 20 minutes, or chatting to an AI Powered chatbot, more than 70% of customers will choose the chatbot in the hope of having their concern resolved.
AI can dictate voice to SMS and Email. The AI program listens to the call, transcribes it, and can score it from a compliance set of rules to show how well the agent performed. In a contact center just 10 years ago, there would be a team of agents employed to listen to call recordings and score them and provide feedback to the agents to improve. By using AI to improve communications, the compliance team is removed, and communication is analyzed and scored real-time.
There are advanced training modules that can be applied to some AI software products that analyze the volume of the speakers, listening for arguments and scoring on tone of voice. Sentiment and empathy can be scored, with the AI software listening for key words. If there are long pauses, or repeated words, people are clearly struggling to explain the issue to the customer and by using AI the agent can receive immediate training.
Working in a contact center, most calls are recorded, and by using AI, these call recordings can be pulled immediately, listened to and reviewed for key words, so examples of situations can be replayed over and over again, offering training and support to agents.
A few years ago, team leaders would listen live to agents and barge in, or whisper in their ear with the right words to say. AI has taken over that task and can guide the agents with scripts and prompts to help.
When working with customers, AI listens, trains, supports, and scores the call, to make constant improvements to customer processes.
Written Communication is improved with AI
The predictive text message that most phones and email systems use is powered by AI. If you are sending an email, especially through Gmail, you often see sentences pre-programed for you. By clicking on the tab button sentences are completed faster. That is AI at work on your emails.
Predictive text messages, use this technology to speed up writing your content. Some phones have 3 options of words that are likely to come next in the sentence, again, provided by AI.
Using apps like ChatGPT, articles, blogs, copywriting, newsletters, and essays can be provided in seconds. Where it previously took someone hours to research and write good quality content, now this can be done in seconds, with clever programming of your AI Commands.
When you are in a meeting, you might need someone to take the minutes of the meeting for records and prosperity. That person was usually the company secretary. Now, sitting in a room, with microphones recording the meeting, or connecting on Zoom meetings and adding in AI Powered transcription services means that the minutes are available as soon as the meeting ends.
It must be stated that some AI transcription apps have different levels of accuracy with some not being able to hear certain accents or sounds. In these cases, the AI app can still transcribe but it needs a human touch to approve the content before it goes to print or save.
AI not only improves the spoken word and record keeping for meetings, but it can also be used for video conferencing and training sessions. If you are a teacher, you might remember taking hours listening to classes and transcribing the class so you can do it better next time. With AI, you can video it, transcribe it, score it, and replay it in real time to ensure accuracy and that the information being given is engaging.
With summarized meetings, detailed notes, key points highlighted, and action points assigned, there is no need for minute takers and those post-meeting, meetings to assess what happened in the meeting. AI is taking over the secretarial jobs to enhance efficiency and productivity.
Industry specific examples of using AI to improve communications
We have covered teaching and contact center work above, but if you can think of an industry, there are applications for AI and benefits of using it.
Lawyers use AI to improve communications
The legal profession uses AI to improve communications by speeding up the transcription and note taking processes, removing the need for secretaries and note pads. Lawyers have a Dictaphone by their desk, which they can speak into, and have their thoughts transcribed by an AI app. If they are in a client meeting, using AI-Powered conferencing communication solutions gives each participant in the meeting an immediate transcription of what has happened, which they can e-sign and approve in minutes. A copy of approved communication is sent to the email addresses before the clients have left the room.
Where lawyers used to have a team of assistants to take notes, provide legal research and guidance, now they could walk into the room with an AI App and have more information at their fingertips than a team could provide in weeks.
Hospitals use AI to improve communications
Robots can perform surgery, offer diagnosis, and write prescriptions. With an AI-powered app the doctors can transcribe their consultation, back it up with evidence and links to studies, and guide the patients to the best medicine for their ailments.
AI can handle the patient onboarding process, with customers filling out app-based forms instead of long pieces of paper. AI connected to a hospital’s internal resource library means that patients care is improved, as all practitioners have access to the ongoing notes edited by all carers associated with the patient. Where there is access to resources, guidance and education is provided, as well as an enhanced level of care.
Instead of scanning charts, and patient history, all notes and all ailments are clearly visible and documented, with evidence and research to support it. Patients are more confident in the care that they receive and can understand how to get better by taking the most appropriate medication.
Insurance providers using AI to improve communications
Insurance policies can be long and confusing, often customers do not read the full policy and have questions about it. Having an AI-powered app read it for you and summarize it in simple terms can help people to understand it. Then, if they have specific questions, the AI App can answer them too.
In insurance contact centers, AI can guide agents to the parts of documents that will help to answer questions or can provide immediate answers to the less complicated questions to save agents’ time. Saving agents time, reduces wait time on the phones, and could lead to downsizing the staff, so that it saves the business money too.
Insurance policies require understanding and must be explained accurately by agents. Using AI analysis, the scripts and calls of the agents explaining to customers are recorded, scored, and analyzed thoroughly to ensure compliance. When compliance is vital, AI provides the answer and reassurance that businesses need.
Financial Sectors using AI to improve communications
I am confident that you will have checked your balance online, or over the phone. Using AI communication, customers can review transactions, transfer funds, manage their accounts and have a personalized service that could include recommendations to suitable products. AI answers frequently asked questions, gives detailed feedback on products and services, and recognizes the voice of the customer when they call in, so there is no need to memorize security questions and PIN numbers.
Just as it was in insurance, banks must comply to industry standards, especially around security of data, and adherence of scripts and processes. These are all scored through AI.
When customers connect to AI, their account transactions can be sent through notifications and SMS, thereby reducing fraud, and adding security to customers’ accounts. If the balance drops below a certain level, or if a payment has bounced or failed, a notification can be sent, rather than a phone call from a person trying to collect the debt or advising of payment issues.
Real Life Evidence of using AI to improve communications
Summarizing the above points, you can clearly see that AI is taking over the communications of businesses to customers and colleagues. With these improvements, businesses become more efficient and save money on staff, save time for customers, and save effort in handling customer concerns. When the fastest finger first wins, the fastest finger is the one on the AI Powered button to get the information and answers necessary.
