Companies Are Pouring 38% More Into Customer Service Tech. Many Still Won’t See ROI
Businesses have suddenly supercharged spending on customer service tech, but not all money is well spent.
EXPERT OPINION BY TOMAS GORNY, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, NEXTIVA
Well-run businesses know the key to success is the customer experience. But they’re struggling to deliver real improvement in their CX operations. So it makes sense that executives are looking to new technology for a solution.
A new survey uncovers a big shift in how organizations are allocating their budgets. Overall, customer service spending has remained close to stagnant over the past year, rising only 2% over last year. But spending on AI tools for customer service has skyrocketed by a whopping 38%, Gartner reports.
While service and support leaders report that live
“While service and support leaders report that live chat and phone remain their most valuable customer service channels today, they expect AI-powered channels and platforms to drive the greatest value in the years ahead,” the research and advisory firm says. Service and support leaders predict that within two years, generative AI chatbots “will become the most valuable customer service channel, followed by live chat and GenAI voicebots.”
The upshot: Companies are suddenly investing a huge chunk of their budgets in this new tech. This can be a smart move — but only if executives are very careful and strategic. All too often, newly opened budget allotments can trigger a “spending spree” mentality, inspiring people to throw money at solutions that aren’t proven to work.
Refreshed leadership advice from CEO Stephanie Mehta
An Inc.com Featured Presentation
Here’s how to make sure a business gets ROI.
Customer service agents spend too much time each day responding to the same kinds of queries and providing the same answers. It becomes tiresome, leads to burnout, and pulls them away from the more complex work that needs a human touch. Your chatbot or AI receptionist should be able to answer common questions and lead people to the products or services that best suit their needs.
Source: www.inc.com
