The key to customer service success isn’t AI or humans – it’s both

Customer service today is dominated by artificial intelligence (AI), and for good reason. AI can do everything from handling routine tasks with unparalleled speed to analyzing customer data and offering personalized recommendations. These are need-to-haves in a time where 77% of customers expect to interact with someone immediately when they contact a company, and 65% expect companies to adapt to their changing needs.

But customer success isn’t just about solving and closing one-off cases – today’s leading companies are focused on building long-lasting relationships with customers. And to establish customer loyalty, you’ll need a human touch. Customer service isn’t about pitting AI against customer service representatives – it’s about combining the best of both. 

Below, we’ll explore the individual benefits of AI and customer service representatives, how they work together to create a positive customer service experience, and how assistive AI tools like Service Assistant are merging AI with service rep expertise to transform how we deliver and receive support today.

What you’ll learn:

Benefits of AI in customer service

There are many ways AI in customer service can help your business. Here are a few key callouts:

Efficiency and Speed 

AI can handle routine and low-complexity tasks with ease, such as answering frequently asked questions and providing basic information. This not only reduces response times but also helps customers receive accurate answers, leading to higher customer satisfaction levels.

AI can also answer questions 24/7, ensuring customers get the help they need, when they need it. One example of this is Salesforce’s Agentforce, which offers AI agents that work around the clock to help customers with frequently asked questions and even some complex issues — all within the guardrails your business has set with your trusted data and knowledge. Agentforce can also continuously improve its performance through self-learning, keeping up with changing customer needs.

Data-Driven Insights 

AI excels at analyzing large amounts of customer and business data. It can provide personalized recommendations and insights, helping businesses anticipate customer needs and offer proactive solutions. Our research shows that 81% of service reps say that customers expect a personal touch more than they used to – businesses who want to keep customers happy must prioritize personalization.

Proactive Service

AI often enhances proactive customer service, as it can surface the next steps for service reps to take with your customers even after the service engagement is over. For instance, AI can let customers know that it’s almost time to renew their subscription, remind them when it’s time to book a maintenance appointment, or that a product upgrade or discount is available. (Back to top)

Benefits of humans in customer service

On the other hand, customer service has always been grounded in human-to-human interaction. Some benefits of using service reps in customer service include:

Empathy and Emotional Intelligence 

Not all cases can or should be deflected. Service reps bring a level of empathy and emotional intelligence that AI cannot replicate. They’re essential for handling complex and nuanced customer issues, building trust, and fostering stronger relationships. 

Human touch is crucial in resolving sensitive or high-stakes situations, ensuring that customers feel heard and valued. 

Strategic Problem-Solving 

Service reps also excel in deep problem-solving and creative solutions. They can think outside the box and provide tailored assistance that addresses unique customer needs. This strategic approach is vital for maintaining customer loyalty and driving revenue growth. (Back to top)

Benefits of AI and humans working together

While AI and service representatives each have their own merits, they only work well together if your business can ensure a seamless handoff between the two. 

The best solution? Invest in a digital labor platform like Agentforce, which is grounded in trusted data – including customer info and your org’s knowledge base.

A great example of how Agentforce combines AI with service rep expertise lies in Service Assistant: an assistive AI agent designed to guide service reps in their customer interactions, ensuring they can resolve cases faster and more efficiently while being compliant and adhering to company guidelines. 

Service Assistant uses embedded AI to create a structured, step-by-step resolution plan based on case context, customer engagement history, and your knowledge base articles. This reduces the cognitive load on service reps, enabling them to resolve issues more confidently.

Here are some ways your business benefits from an AI-and-service-rep approach:

Enhanced Customer Experience 

The combination of AI and service reps can provide a more comprehensive and satisfying customer experience. AI can handle the routine tasks, freeing up reps to focus on more complex and high-value interactions. 

Take Service Assistant: by surfacing multi-step plans that are backed by case data, knowledge, and engagement history, Service Assistant ensures that service reps are fully equipped to engage with customers thoughtfully and effectively. This collaboration ensures that customers receive the best of both worlds: quick and accurate information from AI, and personalized, empathetic support from service reps.

Reduced Burnout and Churn 

AI can significantly reduce the workload on service reps by automating repetitive tasks. This not only improves efficiency but also reduces employee stress levels and burnout. Happier service reps are more likely to stay in their roles, leading to lower turnover rates and a more stable customer service team.

By providing clear, step-by-step guidance, Service Assistant reduces service rep cognitive load and minimizes the frustration of searching for information and figuring out how to resolve a case in the most efficient manner.

Faster Onboarding and Training 

Some AI tools can accelerate the onboarding process for new service reps by providing real-time guidance and training, giving them the confidence to manage more complex cases. 

Service Assistant, for instance, is set up to help new service reps navigate case resolution from day one. This reduces the time and costs associated with training, enabling businesses to scale their customer service operations more efficiently – even during seasonal demand spikes. 

Service Assistant’s plans are also grounded in company guidelines and policies. The steps that a service rep took while working through the plan are all logged for service leaders to review, so they can see what actions service reps are taking to solve cases. New reps can quickly become proficient and confident in their roles, leading to better service delivery. (Back to top)

How to get started with your AI-service rep customer service strategy

Organizations looking to build a customer service strategy that seamlessly integrates AI and service rep knowledge can start with several concrete steps:

1. Implement AI tools for both routine and high-value issues. For instance, an autonomous agent like Agentforce can be used for more repetitive inquiries, while an assistive AI feature like Service Assistant is great for more sensitive, emotionally-charged issues. 

2. Train your service reps to work alongside AI by providing them with the necessary skills to interpret and complement AI-generated insights. Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform, is a great resource for your team to learn valuable customer service skills, including how to work with AI tools like Agentforce. The Serviceblazer Community on Slack is another great resource for your team to learn best practices for using AI in customer service effectively from fellow service pros.

   Emphasize that AI will help them get more done by handling routine and low-complexity tasks, allowing them to focus on more strategic and high-value interactions. Their people skills, such as empathy, problem-solving, and relationship-building, are very much needed to provide a great experience for your customers. By using AI, your service rep teams can do more human things; they can operate more efficiently and effectively, leading to higher job satisfaction, better customer outcomes, and less burnout.

3. Provide regular opportunities for feedback from your service reps. Encourage them to share their experiences and where improvements can be made. Use this feedback to refine the AI’s parameters, ensuring they align with your business objectives and customer needs. With Service Assistant, feedback feeds into the audit trail for service leaders to review and make necessary adjustments to ensure the AI is working as intended. Continuous refinement is key to maintaining the effectiveness and reliability of your AI system.

4. Make sure the handoff from AI agents to service reps is transparent and seamless. When an issue needs to be escalated from an AI agent to a service rep, the process should be swift and smooth, with all relevant information — such as previous conversations and customer history — readily available. Agentforce’s features are built specifically with this in mind – by ensuring context is passed along, you can bridge the gap between AI and service reps successfully. This prevents customers from having to repeat their issues, reducing frustration and enhancing satisfaction. 

Harnessing the strengths of both AI and service reps helps customer service teams to operate more effectively, provide better service, and create a more positive and engaging experience for service reps and customers alike. Businesses don’t have to choose between the two. With the combined powers of artificial intelligence and customer service representatives, the future of service looks bright. (Back to top)