A new IBM study reports that 99% of respondents with AI-driven virtual agents saw an increase in customer satisfaction.
Approximately 96% of the organizations that adopt and implement AI and cloud technology early—defined as “leaders” in the study—have already met or improved on their expected return on investment for the cost of the technology.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations are balancing the need to rapidly scale customer service to manage surges in inquiries, while still delivering a delightful customer experience – and doing it all for less,” said Glenn Finch, global managing partner, Cognitive Business Decision Support, IBM Services. “The study validates what we’re seeing from clients around the world: those who have adopted virtual agent technology are seeing both bottom-line and top-line results including reduced costs, higher customer and human agent satisfaction, and increased revenue as a result.”
The findings in an IBM-commissioned Forrester Consulting Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study corroborate this new report. Virtual agents can save up to $5.50 per conversation and reduce handling time by 10%.
The report surveyed 1,005 respondents across 12 industries and 33 countries. These businesses employ AI agents daily and have done so for at least 6 months to a period of over 4 years.
The study also finds:
- 44% of the “leaders” (10% of respondents) use virtual agents for their service desk
- Virtual agents increase human agent satisfaction by approximately 20%
- AI agents can handle about 64% of all contacts without involving human agents
- Customer experience is the driver for 46% of “leaders” and 33% of other respondents
IBM’s site offers further information on the report here. You can download the results of their study here.
