"By using bots, a broker can make sure that customers get the advice they need without having to wait."
FR: What is EBO.ai?
EBO.ai is an AI company specialising in optimising customer interactions through the implementation of chatbots. Focusing on the financial services and healthcare sectors, EBO.ai seeks to improve the interactions companies have with their customers. We’re growing fast and have just opened a new office in the UK.
We aren’t just another chatbot, what makes EBO unique is that our bots can be completely personalised. As a result, they can be the perfect extension of a company’s brand and can give the best customer service possible by meeting the specific needs of each consumer group. There are huge opportunities for bots in businesses of all sizes and sectors, by democratising AI and ensuring everyone can harness its potential, EBO hopes to play a part in transforming the way businesses interact with their customers.
FR: What challenges are there for AI adoption and what are its main misconceptions?
The biggest challenge is the perception that AI implementation is all about taking jobs away from humans – it’s not. Great AI should make humans’ jobs easier, take pressure off employees, and allow them to focus on the more complex, skilled tasks that matter more to the business. This model will also make it much easier for employees to showcase their abilities.
Bots solve a key business need, as people increasingly want instant answers to questions, regardless of time or day, and current customer service infrastructure just can’t cope up with this level of demand. Of course, speaking to a human being is sometimes necessary, and AI isn’t meant to replace that – it’s about ensuring that customers get to speak to the right people more quickly and that the business can manage huge volumes of routine customer enquiries efficiently.
FR: How can bots specifically help brokers and intermediaries?
The main thing that bots can do for brokers and intermediaries is help them manage the demands on their time. Expert advice is crucial in this sector, but the high volume of customer enquiries often outstrips brokers’ capacity to address them effectively. By using bots, a broker can make sure that customers get the advice they need without having to wait. And crucially, they can be sure that it is still their advice, albeit given out by a bot.
In this way, bots can enhance brokers’ and intermediaries’ businesses by helping them respond to more customers and making sure they stay engaged. Better communication means better customer service, and this is vital in the modern business environment.
FR: What can businesses learn from their bots?
A huge amount – but mainly insight into customers’ needs. Bots can give businesses a complete, accurate, and easily accessible record of each customer interaction. Sentiment analysis also tells a business how a customer felt at the end of the conversation, which is a key element in optimising each interaction.
Better still, this information is captured instantly and automatically. As a result, it can give businesses a deeper understanding of what information customers are seeking, and potentially help them change their processes so that customers don’t need to search in the first place. Furthermore, firms can make sure they’re targeting customers in the way they want to be targeted, since not every customer always wants the human touch.
FR: If you could see one headline for AI in 2019, what would it be?
“Profits soar for UK businesses that use AI to handle customer queries”.
