As a small business owner, you want to do everything to foster and nurture customer relationships and get more leads. However, you cannot waste your valuable time answering calls or dealing directly with customers. When funds and resources are limited, you cannot expect to scale your customer care staff or team of receptionists overnight. You need a solution that’s flexible and scalable. Yes, we are talking about AI receptionists which can streamline customer care, respond to calls around the clock, and capture valuable information. With more choices than ever, how do you choose the best ai assistant? We have a few pointers below!
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Are AI receptionists worth considering?
The short answer is yes. With AI receptionists or AI voice agents, you can offer premium customer support and service without spending a fortune. Your virtual receptionist can answer all incoming calls, ensuring callers are never ignored. Even if you have an in-house team of people to resolve customer issues, having a voice agent reduces their work and admin burden. AI receptionists can respond to common questions, take down critical information, and even transfer calls to human experts when necessary. The good news is you can always choose to train and improve the AI model, and the virtual agent will answer calls more efficiently.
Things to look for
- Abilities: Can the selected AI receptionist work around the clock? If you serve customers across time zones or offer services that people may need at any hour of the day, you should choose an option that is accessible and flexible. The quality of customer care you provide can make or break your business, and the choice of your voice agent matters.
- Overall experience: Let’s face it – We all hate talking to machines. However, with advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning, AI receptionists are responding much better. Many voice or virtual agents are so effective, conversational, and natural that customers cannot tell the difference. Make sure you consider what it feels like to use the service.
- Uptime: You can only offer 24/7 support through your AI agent when it is available. Uptime is undoubtedly one of the first things you should check. Many advanced service providers use cloud infrastructure and offer 99.99% uptime, which is an assurance that your AI receptionist will be available when required.
- Scalability: Another critical aspect to consider is scalability. Can your virtual agent handle an increase in call volume during the peak holiday season? Call-handling capacity is something you should check, including the number of simultaneous calls the AI receptionist can attend.
- Ability to customize: Customization is essential, especially for small businesses that offer niche services or products and want to stand out. Check how you can update the knowledge base of the AI agent and how frequently you can do that.
- Contract obligations: Many service providers insist on annual contracts, which means you cannot stop using their AI solutions for that time. The ideal model is a monthly one, where you are not obligated and can switch between packages based on expected call volume.
- Reviews: You may want to check the ratings and reviews of an AI receptionist online. Consider the type of clients they deal with, whether the service is designed for small businesses, and if possible, ask for references.
Final word
With a virtual AI receptionist or voice agent, you can bring down the cost of customer support without compromising on the quality and extent of services. This also means using captured information in an effective way to improve marketing campaigns and overall customer support. Start with shortlisting options and check the primary features.