Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2020. Read them in this 12th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
By Srivatsan
Laxman, CEO of FrontdeskAI
The Rise of AI Assistants
According
to Gartner, the number of companies deploying AI grew from 4% to 14% between
2018 and 2019, with conversational AI at the top of many corporate agendas. I
believe conversational AI - in particular 'human-in-the-loop' and use-case
specific AI assistants will pave the way for future waves of AI adoption. They
will allow companies to pilot, achieve proof-of-concept, and culturally
adapt to the future role of AI within their organizations.
Here are some of my
predictions on how conversational AI will make its mark on business next year
and beyond...
The days of chatbots
killing customer love are numbered: The rise of
conversational AI assistants will make chatbots irrelevant in many
customer-facing use cases. While the
big global technology companies will continue to invest in cracking the code of
bringing AI assistants to the mass consumer market, companies such as
FrontdeskAI, that are laser-focused on solving the specific business problem of
front desk customer engagement, efficiency and productivity will win big. Conversational
AI assistants that understand context, learn as they go and are easily
customizable will rapidly replace the limited, linear chatbots that have failed
to live up to their promise of improved customer engagement.
$75 billion business
dilemma will find a friend in conversational AI assistants: Franchises
and location-based businesses will increase investments in front desk
optimization and automation. These organizations will increasingly invest
in conversational AI assistants for their front desk operations in order to
help counter the estimated $75 billion in lost revenue caused by poor customer
services such as missed calls, slow response to leads, and front desk
attrition.
AI assistants will help businesses manage the shift to
a deskless workforce and gig economy: Some 80% of the global workforce (3 billion people) work in a deskless
environment, while ~1% of the world's software is designed with this workforce
in mind. Technology tools, such as conversational AI assistants, that
create consistency, connect the dots, and help provide centralized intelligence
and analysis will be key. Similarly, as more employees work on a contract
or project basis, the knowledge they gain around an organizations' process and
customer engagement simply dissipates when they move to their next gig. In
the case of front desk teams, conversational AI assistants will play a critical
role in capturing the intelligence of customer engagement patterns and
maintaining consistency - thus operational efficiency - in front desk
processes.
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About the Author
Srivatsan
Laxman is
an entrepreneur with expertise in machine learning, artificial intelligence and
data privacy. His work has spanned many different application domains
including, conversational artificial intelligence, search & ads,
bioinformatics, computational biology, computer security and manufacturing. As
the co-founder and CEO of FrontdeskAI, he is building powerful, highly
customizable, automated front desks via voice and chat for local businesses.
FrontdeskAI creates AI solutions for the unsung heroes of the global economy -
the small business. FrontdeskAI has democratized the AI market by
bringing affordable and tailored solutions to main street. The company is
the fastest adopted AI solution for the salon and fitness studio industries and
Srivatsan is proud to be a leader of an amazing team.