Spending thousands of dollars on marketing would mean nothing if you cannot respond to customers and leads on time. Regardless of what small business you own, client servicing and customer support should be your top priorities. Many companies still rely on traditional means, where they have one or more receptionists to attend to client calls. Others are embracing tech, and with the help of AI receptionists, they are getting the same job done but with additional advantages. AI voice agents or receptionists from top services like https://www.signpost.com/ has many benefits. In this post, we will compare AI receptionists with full-time customer support executives.
Traditional customer care has constraints
The conventional way of attending customer calls is to have someone pick up the phone every time it rings. While the approach may sound standard, there are some drawbacks. Many services are not bound by standard business hours. For example, if your company offers emergency electrical solutions, customers would expect the team to respond even beyond the usual timing. Regular customer care experts and receptionists work for standard hours, and when they are out of the office, calls are missed. This often means lost sales opportunities and unsatisfied customers. People usually don’t like to work with businesses that are unavailable or when a call reaches the voicemail.
Addressing concerns with AI receptionists
An AI receptionist works like a voice agent, attending calls around the clock. Leveraging several technologies, such as voice AI, advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP), machine learning, and Speech Synthesis, these AI agents offer human-like responses to callers. Calls are often answered after two rings, and the AI receptionist takes care of requests, questions, and appointments. With Speech Synthesis, AI can offer responses that feel natural and conversational, and the process works around the clock, even beyond usual business hours. Furthermore, you have the choice to train AI models and increase the knowledge base, which means the voice AI agent would be able to handle more complex queries.
Bringing down operational expenses
Another reason to embrace AI receptionists for your business is to keep an eye on operational costs. Hiring a single receptionist requires spending significant time and money on recruitment and training. Imagine the expenses involved in hiring an entire team. An AI receptionist can start working almost immediately, and the amount you pay is largely dependent on the volume and length of calls. For instance, the service provider will charge a smaller amount when calls last for less than a minute. There is also the choice to scale. For example, if you expect an increase in calls during the holiday season, you don’t have to hire more staff. AI receptionists can attend to as many as a million calls at a time.
Human support is still necessary
While AI has its pros, there are a few aspects worth understanding. There will be customers who want more personalized support, or many need custom answers that AI receptionists may not have. Your real team can step in in such situations. AI models are designed to forward calls when necessary, and that way, you can blend the best of both options. Also, having AI as the first point of contact reduces the pressure on your existing team, which allows better response and productivity.
Other things to know
Is an AI receptionist the same as a virtual assistant? No, both are different. Virtual assistants work remotely for your business, and these are real people who may charge less than a full-time employee, but the limitations are the same. An AI receptionist is always online.
If you have been looking for ways to improve customer service, switch to an AI receptionist today!