Generative AI for customer support: Changing the way businesses talk with customers

The robots have arrived! But unlike the Terminator, they’re here to provide faster, smarter, and more personalized service than ever before. Plus, you get to keep your clothes, boots and motorcycles!

But how exactly does this technology work? Is Arnold Schwarzenegger involved? (Sadly no.) And what does the future of customer support look like with AI in the mix?

In this guide, we’ll break down how generative AI is reshaping customer service and why it matters for your business.

So, what is generative AI in customer support?

Basically, generative AI writes human-like responses based on an ‘input’.

In customer support, this means AI can answer a customer’s questions. The magic happens through natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning. These technologies give the AI the ability to understand context, tone, and intent of a message.

That’s the difference between generative AI and basic chatbots that stick to scripts.

In a nut-shell, with generative AI, the conversation feels more personal and natural. Customers get immediate responses to their questions and businesses easily handle large volumes of queries.

How generative AI works in customer support

Unlike older systems that follow rigid scripts, generative AI interprets language and understands the meaning of customer questions.

Whether it’s a simple FAQ or a more complex request, AI gets the context and responds in a natural way.

For example, if a customer asks, “Why didn’t my credit card work?”, generative AI doesn’t just spit out a generic reply. Instead, it pulls information from the customer’s transaction history, and shares a specific answer with them. Because the system learns over time, the more it talks to customers, the smarter it becomes.

One key advantage is the real-time personalization. Generative AI can recognize returning customers, reference past conversations, and offer solutions that feel genuinely helpful. It doesn’t just give quick answers – it gives the right answers.

Improving customer service with generative AI

Generative AI offers a range of benefits that go far beyond automation:

1. 24/7 availability with instant responses: Whether it’s 3 AM or midday, AI is always available, providing instant responses that keep customers happy and engaged.
2. Increased Efficiency and Cost Reduction: AI lightens the load on human agents by answering repetitive questions. This frees up your team to focus on complex issues, reduces operational costs, and helps you do more with less.
3. Personalized customer experiences: By analyzing customer behavior, purchase history, and previous interactions, AI gives your customers responses that make them feel understood. It’s personalized service at scale.
4. Multilingual support: AI can support customers in multiple languages. From English to Mandarin, AI handles it all seamlessly.
5. Shorter resolution times: AI quickly checks customer data, identifies the issue, and provides tech solutions in seconds. That means your customers are happier and you have a more efficient support team.
6. Actionable insights: Generative AI isn’t just answering questions. It’s collecting valuable data. By analyzing customer interactions, AI provides insights that help businesses improve products, services, and overall customer experience.

Practical use cases of generative AI in customer support

Here’s how businesses are using generative AI to improve their customer support operations:

1. Virtual assistants and chatbots: AI-powered assistants can answer a wide variety of customer questions. From basic FAQs to detailed product troubleshooting, AI shares instant solutions, reducing the workload on your human agents.
2. Dynamic FAQ Systems: FAQs evolve as customer needs change. Generative AI can keep them updated by learning from customer interactions, offering answers that are always relevant.
3. Sentiment analysis: Whether a customer is frustrated or content, AI can change its tone or escalate cases to human agents when necessary, ensuring sensitive issues get the attention they deserve.
4. Automated note-taking: AI automatically transcribes and summarizes customer interactions, saving time for support teams and ensuring that all the key details are captured for your support and marketing teams.
5. Personalized product recommendations: Based on your customer’s browsing history or past purchases, AI can suggest products that align with a customer’s preferences. This not only improves the customer experience but also drives sales.

Challenges in Implementing Generative AI

While generative AI brings many benefits, it comes with a few watchouts:

• AI hallucinations: Generative AI can sometimes produce incorrect or irrelevant responses. We call this “AI hallucination.” To prevent this, businesses need to keep an eye on AI interactions and continually train the system with updated, accurate data.
• Lack of empathy: AI can still sound a little robotic. It’s great at providing factual information, but it may miss the mark when empathy is required. The solution? Use AI for straightforward questions and escalate more emotional or complex issues to your human team.
• Complex issue resolution: AI is fantastic for common queries, but for intricate or multi-step issues, human agents are your best option. Clear escalation paths should be in place so that AI knows when to hand off an issue to a human agent.
• Integration with old systems: Some businesses may face hurdles when plugging AI into older systems. Partnering with experienced vendors can streamline this process and ensure smooth integration.

Making the most of generative AI in customer support

Here’s how to successfully use generative AI in customer support:

• Start small and scale slowly: Don’t go all-in right away. Start with simpler tasks, like FAQs, and build as the system learns and improves. This allows you to test and adjust AI performance before scaling up.
• Continuous training and updates: AI needs to stay sharp. Regularly feed it with new data and update it with changes in products, services, or customer behavior to keep its responses on point.
• Balance automation with human support: For simple queries, AI works great. But more complicated or emotionally sensitive issues? That’s where your human team shines. Make sure customers can easily escalate to a human agent when needed.
• Monitor key metrics: Keep an eye on metrics like customer satisfaction and resolution times to gauge how well your AI is performing. Then, fine-tune the system and make data-driven improvements.

How you can use AI for better customer experiences

AI is already offering businesses the ability to scale customer service, increase efficiency, and deliver personalized customer experiences.

But it’s not just about automation – it’s about building stronger, more meaningful connections with customers. As businesses continue to adopt AI, the key to success will be balancing AI-powered efficiency with the empathy that only human agents can provide.

By starting small, refining the system over time, and using AI strategically, companies can unlock the full potential of generative AI and set themselves up for long-term success in customer service. If you’d like to offer smarter, faster, and more personalized service, consider eesel AI. It lets you automate routine tasks, cut response times, and keep your team focused on what truly matters.

Sign up for a 7-day free trial today and see firsthand how eesel AI makes great customer support effortless!