This article was sponsored by Bicom Systems, a leading unified communications provider.
Bicom Systems remains committed to providing ongoing education and awareness about the leading trends that are shaping communications. Two of the hottest trends heading into 2019 are artificial intelligence (AI) and unified communications (UC).
AI can carry out the natural intelligence displayed by humans and execute tasks such as planning, learning and problem solving, with social intelligence and creativity.
There are AI tools that:
- Enhance customer service;
- Increase security;
- Assist with scheduling;
- Increase overall business management; and more.
AI is also vastly improving customer service, as it is now being integrated into many UC systems. For instance, imagine it’s Monday morning and your contact center is extremely busy. You have many customers waiting in the queue and all phone lines are tied up. Chatbots, just like virtual assistants, are there to assist these customers with their problems when human representatives are unavailable. Better yet, if they are unable to solve the problems they can at least direct them to the proper representative who can.
When you are on a call with a customer, AI can also predict the next steps that needed based on their responses. AI will understand the conversation, and then can carry out the appropriate actions that are needed.
AI is also being used in a variety of other industries, including:
Retail: Suppose a customer goes to his favorite store and buys a new shirt. He or she pays with a card. The retailer then signs the customer up to receive emails on future promotions and sales. The next time that customer goes into the store to buy something with the same card, the machine will already recognize the information and automatically send the receipt to his email.
Healthcare: In this case, imagine a patient makes an appointment to see his or her family physician. With a paperless, AI-based system, a doctor can access all the patient’s previous health records and past visits to the office. AI will remind the physician that his yearly blood work is coming up or he is due for a prescription renewal.
As you can see, AI is vastly improving collaboration and reducing unnecessary burdens and complications in many different ways. It helps businesses think one step ahead and makes working as a team as easy as possible.
Laura Kyle is a marketing assistant for Bicom Systems (www.bicomsystems.com).
