By Mukundha Madhavan, APAC Tech Lead, DataStax
In today’s competitive landscape, customer service is no longer just a function—it’s a critical differentiator that can make or break a business. Indian consumers are increasingly demanding and they won’t hesitate to switch brands if their expectations aren’t met. A report by PwC India highlights that nearly 86% of Indian consumers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience, and a poor experience can lead to a 15-20% reduction in revenue for businesses. This underscores the critical importance of delivering top-notch customer service to retain customer loyalty and drive business growth.
In response to these challenges, Indian businesses are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI, as a key solution to transform customer service and meet the high expectations of the Indian consumer.
Boundless flexibility
The flexibility offered by generative AI is transforming how businesses manage and utilise their data, leading to more personalised and efficient customer experiences. One of the key advances driving this transformation is vector search technology. Unlike traditional keyword-based searches that rely on exact word matches, vector search interprets the intent and contextual meaning behind words, allowing for more accurate and relevant results. This technology enables businesses to search and integrate data from diverse formats—be it text, audio, or images—across distributed databases.
Leveraging generative AI can also facilitate semantic similarity queries that – unlike traditional keyword-based searches which rely on matching specific words – interprets the intent and contextual meaning behind the words.
Businesses can also help reduce the frustrations customers typically face when chatting with traditional chatbots that are limited by rules-based systems; generative AI-powered chatbots on the other hand, are trained to provide more accurate, relevant, and useful responses. These chatbots can build their answers using proprietary data, ensuring that customer interactions are not only more personalised but also more effective in addressing specific queries. However, it’s not just by answering customer questions that generative AI adds value.
For example, it can:
Personalise recommendations based on customer data and previous interactions
Provide conversational search functions. FAQs online can be more impactful when generative AI takes natural language prompts like “Where’s my package?” and either directs the customer to the correct FAQ response or delivers a tailored response.
Optimise data to support customer service operations. Generative AI can turn vast amounts of data into actionable insights. This would shed light on metrics like the most common complaints, as well as track and categorise customer trends.
Support the productivity of human customer service agents. This could look like automatically generating responses to common queries, providing summaries of previous complaint resolutions that agents can use in conversations, and generating product recommendations.
Reimagining customer service
The adoption of generative AI in customer service is gaining momentum in India, especially in sectors like e-commerce, banking, and telecommunications. According to a report by NASSCOM, India’s AI market is growing at a CAGR of 25-35% and is projected to reach around $17 billion by 2027, driven by the increasing demand for AI-driven customer service solutions.
As India continues its growth trajectory, quality customer service will be a critical differentiator for brands. Companies that embrace generative AI in their customer service strategies will be able to deliver outstanding experiences that foster customer loyalty and satisfaction.
One thing is certain: with generative AI redefining the landscape of customer service in the APAC region, businesses that are already leveraging the technology to improve their service delivery will be able to differentiate through outstanding customer experiences. AI-powered customer service capabilities mean streamlined operations, reduced costs as well as strategic and better-allocated resources. On the opposite end, poised to enjoy seamless, personalised experiences that promote loyalty and satisfaction, are the customers.
Additionally, customer service agents are freed from repetitive tasks, enabling them to focus on high-value interactions. At the core of it all, a powerful cycle of improvement, where innovative businesses can stay ahead of the competition and set new standards in the market.