Conversational AI: Where Efficiency Meets Engagement

While working after hours on an important presentation, you realize you need to find a report from last quarter to support your strategy. After searching through your inbox, company drive, and meeting notes from the past three months, you still can’t seem to track down what you need.

This is where conversational AI can help.

An AI-powered virtual assistant can search your emails, instant messages, project channels, and all your integrated data files to surface the information you need instantly. The best part is, you don’t have to use special code or keywords to do it — you can simply talk to it as you would a co-worker.

Here’s how to use this technology to support your employees and customers, while enhancing business operations.

What is conversational AI?

Conversational AI is a type of artificial intelligence that uses natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) to assess information and make decisions. Businesses typically use conversational AI tools to support their operations, resolve common issues, and improve customer and employee experiences.

Conversational AI is often used to support customer service, sales, marketing, and HR operations by improving engagement and streamlining processes. It can automate routine tasks such as answering FAQs and other inquiries, scheduling appointments, qualifying leads, and assisting with employee onboarding and training.

How conversational AI works

Conversational AI is trained on large language models (LLMs) so it can interpret relevant information and identify patterns in a variety of data. It then uses this knowledge to interact with humans in a natural way, constantly learning from successful interactions to improve its response quality over time.

Examples of conversational AI

Here are a few examples of how conversational AI technology can be applied in your business:

• Virtual assistants: This form of conversational AI primarily follows pre-programmed commands to perform routine tasks that enhance productivity, like managing schedules, setting reminders, and answering common questions. Virtual assistants do not operate autonomously and rely on user input, like text or voice commands, to function.
• Chatbots:: Often used in customer service, chatbots also require user input and operate based on a scripted workflow. They are most commonly used to answer simple questions and provide 24/7 support for customers on a web or app-based interface.
• Autonomous AI agents: AI agents are designed to understand and respond to customer inquiries and field a wide range of tasks with minimal to no human intervention. They are capable of independent, data-driven decision-making, complex problem-solving, and proactivity.

 

Benefits of using conversational AI

A Harvard Business Review study found that AI significantly increased performance by more than 40% as rated by humans, making it a valuable tool for businesses looking to optimize their operations and engagement.

These are some of the key reasons to use conversational AI:

Enhanced customer experiences

Conversational AI can help companies create a better overall customer experience with:

• Faster response times. If customers experience long wait times, especially for simple issues, your satisfaction scores may drop. Using conversational AI agents to answer simple questions and provide basic customer support can help keep your operations running efficiently.
• Natural conversations. Because conversational AI can understand and respond to customer inquiries in a natural way, customers can interact with these tools almost as seamlessly as they would with human representatives.
• Personalization. Conversational AI uses your company data to enable employees across industries to have more targeted interactions with customers. Personalized experiences can contribute to higher conversion and loyalty rates, among other benefits.

Streamlined operations

Think of conversational AI as a virtual teammate that can handle simple, everyday tasks so that your people can focus on complex and high-value work. This helps businesses:

• Boost efficiency. Repetitive, time-consuming tasks like collecting data or scheduling appointments can be handled by conversational AI with minimal human oversight. Teams can delegate these tasks to AI so they can focus on high-impact, skill-based work.
• Get 24/7 support. Customers and internal teams can get support anytime they need it with a conversational AI agent that’s always on. For example, if you get locked out of an account outside of business hours, AI agents can provide basic password-reset assistance, particularly if additional security and identification-verification measures are in place.
• Increase revenue. When teams are more efficient and productive, it can positively affect a business’s bottom line. Conversational AI tools can support teams and increase customer satisfaction and revenue through features like personalization, issue resolution, and timely and accurate responses.
• Access information faster. According to Gartner, 47% of digital workers struggle to find the information they need to do their jobs. With the help of conversational AI, workers can access the information they need when they need it. For example, Slack AI users can start a chat with an AI agent by sending it a direct message with a simple language prompt, like, “How many sales did we make in the EU during Q3?”

 

Implementing conversational AI in your business

Conversational AI is most effective when integrated directly into a work operating system like Slack where it can access your organization’s data and other third-party data you rely on. When implementing conversational AI, it’s important to choose a solution that integrates with the business tools you already use, such as your communications, video conferencing, project management, or file-sharing platforms. 

It’s also a good idea to review your existing processes and workflows to see where AI could make the biggest impact. You can even solicit employee and customer feedback to gain deeper insights.

How to select the right conversational AI tool

1. Identify needs and goals. Before you can choose the right AI tool, you must define your goals. Consider what processes could be improved using conversational AI, such as after-hours support or personalized recommendations. Then, prioritize tools based on your needs.
2. Gather employee and customer data. Additionally, collect insights from customer data and solicit employee feedback to understand the pain points that exist within your company. This may reveal other processes that could be optimized for better results.
3. Consider security and privacy. To build trust with your customers, your conversational AI tool should be secure and private. For example, Slack AI follows enterprise-grade security and compliance requirements, ensuring all customer data stays within Slack and is not used to train any public LLMs.
4. Evaluate tools. Once you know what you want to achieve, research different options that can help you get there. Be sure to consider user friendliness, integration capabilities, and important features like automation to boost efficiency across your operations.
5. Create a change management plan. Communicate effectively with your employees about new AI tools — including how the tools will benefit them — before implementation. When possible, be sure to also provide sufficient AI tools training. This can help ensure adoption and increase enthusiasm about new tools across your business.
6. Monitor performance. Once implemented, be sure to track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure your tool’s performance. Analyzing data on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis can provide insights to help you use conversational AI more effectively.

Slack AI and Agentforce

When considering conversational AI tools, opt for a solution that will positively impact both your customers’ and employees’ lives. For example, Agentforce in Slack brings conversational AI agents directly into your existing workflows — from employee onboarding to content generation and customer outreach. These conversational AI agents act just like human teammates, making it easy for anyone at your organization to connect with them and get fast assistance.

Slack users can collaborate with AI agents in channels, just like they would with a co-worker. They can also give AI agents the ability to use various Slack features, such as creating or editing canvases, collaborating in project channels, and sending DMs. Just as with employees, it’s up to leadership and managers to set boundaries and rules for what conversational AI agents can and can’t do to ensure compliance with company guidelines and regulations.

Real-world applications of conversational AI

Conversational AI can be applied across all business areas to improve efficiency and engagement. Here are some common use cases for conversational AI used across industries:

• Sales teams can use conversational AI to automate routine tasks, like account maintenance, prospect research, and call summaries. Over time, conversational AI can use the knowledge they gain to do things like send more personalized emails to new and potential customers.
• Marketers can use conversational AI to add a personal touch to customer-facing communications, including customized messaging and personalized recommendations.
• Conversational AI can generate ecommerce content like product descriptions, website designs, and personalized shopping guidance. It can also be embedded into promotional workflows, streamlining time-consuming processes, like updating web banners or applying discounts.
• Support teams can resolve routine tickets quickly using conversational AI agents. AI can generate human-like responses to common customer support queries 24/7. This leaves human reps free to handle complex cases that may require hands-on or nuanced support.
• Human resources processes like onboarding and training are time-consuming but essential. Conversational AI can make these processes more efficient without compromising efficacy or engagement.
• IT support team members can train conversational AI agents to resolve common tech issues and frequently asked questions, like forgotten email passwords or setting up two-factor authentication on a new phone. This leaves them free to handle more involved cases.

 

Conversational AI improves customer and employee experiences

Conversational AI helps businesses optimize operations for higher productivity and efficiency while improving key experiences. Virtual assistants and chatbots can assist teams and customers with common queries before, during, and after business hours, and even point them to self-service options to provide continuous support. AI agents like Agentforce bring your crucial third-party app data into one place, making it simple for humans and AI to work side by side to streamline workflows and get smart answers fast. Get more done in less time without compromising quality by integrating the right conversational AI tools into your workflow.

Learn more about how Slack AI can support your team.