With the uncertainties hovering high and the world transforming to locked economies due to the pandemic, there was a need for immediate change in working. The shift to Conversational AI and automation of support boosts online platforms that can offer solutions to customer problems and queries quickly seem important.

This gave rise to the increasing use of Conversational AI during the pandemic. 

In 2020, numerous companies considered adopting automation and Conversational AI. A question that comes up quite often is why? 

Most companies adopted it to either reduce the load on their agents or continue conversations with their customers. 

Conversational AI platforms during the COVID-19 crisis help ensure the smooth running of the business. This, with resilience, flexibility, and reliability while assisting the enterprises in improving overall operations.

Let us have a look at the need for Conversational AI during the pandemic.

The key reason for the rise in the use of automation and Conversational AI during the pandemic is linked to customer convenience.

Support automation and Conversational platforms played an important role in knowledge distribution and collaborating efforts during the pandemic, especially the second wave.

Companies launched the AI-powered chatbots on WhatsApp to help and connect with people in need of oxygen or medical facility. Some have also started notifying people when the vaccine slots are available in a location close to them. 

In addition to this, companies have used chatbots to share information on travel bans, business updates, etc.

Based on this, the significant reasons for the rise of Conversational AI during the COVID-19 crisis are:

1. Efficient design with collaborated empathy

The most important aspect of the business is to collaborate with customers and focus on empathy as well. With Conversational AI, businesses can gain customer confidence by offering a personal touch to communicate.

2. Remote application for greater reach

The businesses have now shifted to online platforms. Automating the conversation and offering customers quick and apt solutions gave rise to many companies adopting Conversational AI during the COVID-19 crisis.

3. A broad range of proactive engagement opportunities 

Conversational AI and automation are a high part of business strategy that helps to engage with all customer segments proactively. It saves time and ensures proactive engagement with easy integration and connectivity to the CRM software and customer-desk systems.

4. Easy to adapt and agility

Customers like to have personalized suggestions and are impatient. Whether they use chat, email, or text, the demand for quick response is high in either of the cases. 

Using Conversational AI during the COVID-19 crisis with omnichannel assistance has ensured that the communication barriers are avoided. With an omnichannel presence, companies have offered an easy to adapt and agile platform to their customers.

5. A better source for feedback and queries

Feedback, as well as queries, are essential for businesses. It offers broad guidelines of what is expected by the customers and for building the policies accordingly. The use of Conversational AI and support automation enables smooth collection of feedback and queries to better adapt for the future.

Conversational AI and its applications during a pandemic

In the simplest terms, Conversational AI has empowered the automated communication with the use of natural language. This could be through voice, text, or sometimes even gestures.

Integrated with the applications, websites, and devices every day, Conversational AI is rising at the forefront of the future of technology. 

According to MarketsandMarkets, the global Conversational AI market is expected to reach USD 15.7 billion by 2024. This is a rise from USD 4.2 billion in 2019, at a CAGR of 30.2%. 

With the spike in customer inquiries during the pandemic period. The Harvard Business Review study examined that escalations increased by 68% while the call length by 34%. To overcome this burden, businesses had to adapt to Conversational AI during the COVID-19 crisis.

Based on the increasing demand and need, the major applications of Conversational AI during the pandemic are:

1. Smooth communication

The organisations are dedicated to customer service even during the pandemic. While the number of queries went up and the need for customer communication increased, automation and Conversational AI during the COVID-19 crisis acted as the platform to assist customers with solutions. 

Overall, the significant companies shifting towards Conversational AI and automation established smooth communication to customers.

2. Electronic signature and document collection

The biggest issue that customers faced during the pandemic were related to signing, collecting and verifying documents. When the user needs to sign on the documents and share them with the service provider, this was a bit of an issue during the pandemic. 

Conversational AI and support automation offered assistance by helping the customers identify exact locations and guidance in using electronic signatures and verifying documents.

3. Anticipating future

In 2019, a study by McKinsey suggested that almost 58% of the companies have invested in AI by using it in at least one product or process.

Offering granular insights about the customer needs and behaviour, Conversational AI provides a perspective about the market, development, and services, enabling strategy formulation in uncertain times.

4. Cognitive analysis

Using Conversational AI, companies can leverage cognitive analysis methods for knowing about the customer’s tastes and preferences. 

Analyzing the information entered by the customers in the form of chat or voice messages, Conversational AI explores various aspects to reach better conclusions. Also, offering the most appropriate options and offers based on customer needs, Conversational AI and automation are great tools.

Automation and Conversational AI: a surefire strategy

The aim of automation and Conversational AI during the pandemic was mainly linked with connecting with the customers and offering them smooth and quick solutions. 

With the decrease in the number of support staff on the other end, Conversational AI and support automation ensured smooth business undertaking with no hurdle. 

Verloop.io has partnered with Razorpay to battle against the COVID-19 crisis. If you are an organisation involved in helping people during this tough time, sign up to deploy a WhatsApp chatbot free of cost. 

Verloop.io offers a platform to create an end-to-end solution for better customer service and engagement. 

There has been a paradigm shift in how companies interact with customers. Undoubtedly, Conversational AI and automation are the perfect options to navigate through the crisis’s uncertainties.