How do AI chatbots and knowledge base software improve your business operations?
AI Chatbots and knowledge base software can be used in a variety of ways both internally and externally but, we’re going to zoom in on their impact on customer service processes.
Customer service has transformed in lockstep with the evolution of technology. Entire call centers were once dedicated to providing simple, low-value solutions to customers who were annoyed with waiting on the phone just to be told “switch it off and back on again”.
Today, customer service is less about guiding your customers and more about giving them the tools they need to understand and solve their own problems.
In this article, we’re going to explore some of the key differences between AI chatbots and knowledge bases in terms of functionality and discover ways you can use either tool to automate and improve your customer support in unique and innovative ways.
How Have Customer Expectations for Customer Support Changed?
FAQ lists are a widely popular modern form of customer service that gives the customer simple answers to what’s likely to be the most common issue they’ll stumble across.
Community forums are often treasure troves of hyper-specialized, specific advice that would only be useful to people in the same industry or niche.
These easy examples demonstrate how dramatically customer service has transformed, and with it, so have customer expectations. Today, customers want solutions to their problems immediately, regardless of how simple or complex they may be.
That presents its own problem, as training highly knowledgeable staff to give low-value solutions is inefficient, yet under-training staff could lead to frustrated, unhappy customers.
AI Chatbots and Knowledge Base Software: The Cutting Edge in Customer Support
AI chatbots and knowledge base software are among the most technologically sophisticated and effective ways of solving this customer service problem. With these tools, customers can access a broad range of general information or answer highly specialized questions.
Chatbots and knowledge base software allow your customers to self-service the bulk of their queries, freeing up your support staff to focus on high-value, complex tickets or proactive campaigns.
Using AI Chatbots and Knowledge Base Software to Improve Customer Service
One thing is certain, knowledge base software and AI chatbots get results. Both these software tools serve similar functions and they’re often used in combination with each other— your chatbot may be programmed with information from your knowledge base, for example.
This allows you to unlock more value from these tools, but it may also blur the lines between what each tool does and how to get more out of it.
How AI Chatbots Can Transform Your Customer Support
AI chatbots can be integrated at virtually any stage of your customer journey. You can use chatbots as the first point of contact on your website to help provide useful information and nudge your customer along into taking action.
Chatbots can also be used later in your customer lifecycle to provide useful prompts and answer product-specific queries. This flexibility makes AI chatbots a quick solution to complex problems.
Advantages of Using AI Chatbots in Customer Support
There are several advantages to using AI chatbots in customer support, and we’re going to look at three of the most common and impactful reasons:
Natural Language Processing
AI chatbots often take advantage of large language models to synthesize natural speech.
While customers may be aware they’re speaking with a chatbot, AI chatbots’ natural responses and flexible vocabulary can make the process feel more personal and empathetic. AI chatbots are also incredibly agile and flexible, allowing your company to develop and maintain its own coherent style and tone.
Immediate Response
Customers expect same day shipping and instant satisfaction. While some problems may be unique and require specific attention, up to 60% of all customer queries are repetitive and can be solved with simple instructions.
AI chatbots empower your customers to problem solve instantly, taking the heat off your team so you can focus on high value tickets.
Cost Savings
A dedicated support staff can be an outsized expense, especially if your company is still in its growth phase. If you’re trying to turn your team into a lean, mean, business machine, one of the best places to look at firming up is customer support.
Bad customer support from overworked agents can lead to a bad reputation, whereas good customer support can be a valuable means of remarketing to your existing customer base, turning your customers into brand advocates.
By empowering your customers and reducing the burden on your staff, AI chatbots can help you tap into your team’s true potential. However, chatbots experience several limitations that may make you reconsider going all in on them.
Disadvantages of Using AI Chatbots
While AI chatbots are useful tools, they’re not magic tools.
They have limitations that could impact your business negatively if you do not anticipate and problem solve around them. While each of these disadvantages does have a reliable fix to counterbalance them, it’s important to be aware of them before committing to what could be an expensive decision.
The three major disadvantages of using AI chatbots are:
Setup & Maintenance Costs
While AI chatbots may be a more economical strategy than building out a robust support team, this is only true at smaller scales. At large scales, complex AI chatbots that deal with hundreds or even thousands of customers a day often require a team of dedicated developers and other staff to tend to any issues that may arise.
In addition, many AI chatbot companies use complex pricing models, so it may be unclear what the total cost is for your company until you’ve committed. While AI chatbots can be economical, it’s important to still compare prices directly for your situation to see if you’re really getting the best deal. This can be an exhaustive process.
Lack of Empathy
People are a lot more emotionally driven than we tend to give credit for. All the way back in the 60s, ELIZA was developed by Joseph Weizenbaum as a rudimentary program to simulate a psychotherapist. However, within days, he received reports that his computer was alive. This is because people tend to project themselves onto inanimate objects and even animals.
This makes a huge difference to your customer support because, unfortunately, robots aren’t conscience beings. However, when your customer is frustrated and they keep getting wrong answers to their questions that don’t work, all that frustration will just be amplified by the chatbots seeming lack of care.
Expert customer support staff are proficient at de-escalating and defusing tense customers, a skill that chatbots would be hard-pressed to learn.
Data Security Concerns
The vast majority of AI chatbots essentially function as plugins for other, larger language models like ChatGPT. The reason for this is fundamental to the way chatbots operate and natural language processing.
The AI with the most data to analyze and interpret will inevitably produce a broader range of acceptable outcomes, meaning that large language models like ChatGPT or Claude almost have a monopoly on high quality language processing.
This opens a range of security questions your team may not yet be equippped to answer to fully. While you may be able to get around this problem by developing your own large language model to power your AI chatbot, this process would introduce outsized costs for similar results to competitors who just use the current incumbent technology.
Integrating AI chatbots into your sales and marketing process introduces a range of new possibilities, but it also adds a layer of complexity.
This is especially true when you consider that AI chatbots are most effective when they’re coupled with a knowledge base to draw from, however, knowledge bases can perform a range of incredibly useful tasks even without an AI chatbot to assist them.
If you’re looking for the most effective way of building a efficient teams that minimizes costs, knowledge base software may be the best option for you.
How Knowledge Base Software Can Accelerate Business Growth
Knowledge-based software is an exploding field of IT and business management tech that lets you take full control over how your team creates and shares knowledge.
This software is incredibly versatile and can be used in many different ways. There are two primary ways to categorize knowledge-base software:
Machine-Readable Knowledge Base Software
This type of knowledge base software is designed to let apps, websites, and other machines access data, and it usually takes the form of a database. Knowledge-based systems such as these are key for the basic operation of online apps and other tools, but human-readable knowledge base software arguably has an even stronger impact on the future of your business.
Human-Readable Knowledge Base Software
This is knowledge-based software you’re likely more familiar with as you interact with it on a daily basis. When your Uber order runs a little late, and you try to find out what you can do, you’re accessing Uber’s knowledge base.
Human-readable knowledge bases are designed to be an organic part of the UI as they’re meant to empower people to interact with the product or service with greater ease and efficiency. This is also the primary type of knowledge base we’re talking about in this article.
The Virgin Mobile Case Study: 40% increase in self-service rates
Knowledge-based software has helped major international corporations radically shift their customer support to a self-service model. According to Javier, Head of Customer Care Planning at Virgin Mobile, adopting the Helpjuice knowledge base software helped increase Virgin Mobile’s self-service rates by a staggering 40%. You can read more about their fascinating case study here: Virgin Mobile Delivering 40% More Self-Service Support To Customers With Helpjuice.
Advantages of Using Knowledge Base Software for Customer Support
Knowledge bases are an incredible tool for both customers and your business. They can be highly malleable, with every knowledge base often customized for business-specific needs.
However, some features are almost universal among all knowledge bases, and having them fulfills many of the same functions as an AI chatbot does for much cheaper.
Prevent Knowledge Loss
Knowledge is a lot like hair. Once it’s gone, it’s hard to get it back. With a knowledge base, you can keep your company’s valuable knowledge neatly organized and accessible for decades to come.
You can change who can access files or documents you want to keep private while also contributing to a growing pool of collective knowledge new employees can draw from for faster onboarding and quicker integration. When you take advantage of knowledge base software, your company doesn’t need to rely on one person to hold it all together.
Consistent Communications
Your brand strategist would probably kill you if they knew how some of your employees were communicating externally, and for good reason too! A consistent tone of voice helps your brand build recognition and credibility.
In today’s age where consumers carry the whole world in their back pocket, recognition and credibility can often achieve more for you than thousands of dollars spent on paid media.
Automating part of your customer support with knowledge base software lets you maintain a consistent style and tone of voice across different channels. This increases your brand’s recognition and helps elevate your brand image above inconsistent competitors.
Empower Your Customers With Community
Knowledge base software lets you build and moderate FAQ pages and community forums, some of the most valuable resources for solving complex, hyper-specific problems.
In addition, these features help you consolidate your brand image around a sense of community, helping you build genuine connections with your customers.
If well administrated, community pages like forums can help your business grow a base of truly loyal customers, and knowledge base software creates the perfect environment to do that.
Any Disadvantages to Knowledge Base Software?
Knowledge base software is one of those tech developments few people pay attention to. But just like anything, it has its disadvantages.
While AI chatbots may be exciting, their complex operation and potentially exorbitant maintenance costs make this technology an unsuitable solution for many businesses. Knowledge base software, on the other hand, is dramatically cheaper and can serve as the basis for a variety of campaigns and the future.
The only real disadvantage of knowledge base software is that companies that don’t already have it are competing in unfair conditions.
Every time you operate without a knowledge base, your mountain gets steeper. When you implement a knowledge base, it feels like you're soaring.
Ready to accelerate your business growth with knowledge-base software?
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