Businesses have relied on receptionists, front desk attendants, and customer support executives to serve customers. It takes considerable money, time, and effort to acquire paying clients in every industry, and there is no denying that customer support is a crucial part of business operations. With AI taking the forefront across domains, can and should you replace your human receptionists with an AI voice agent? Companies like Signpost have AI receptionists that offer many benefits, and in this post, we will discuss why this might be a great move.
Ensuring 24/7 availability
Whether you use virtual assistants to save costs or have a full-time customer support team, these are real humans and only work for a fixed number of hours. An AI receptionist, on the contrary, is available 24/7, which means your business will never miss a call. Whether the caller needs product or service support or wants to know more about your offerings, AI will ensure they get an immediate response.
Easy onboarding
Think of all steps that go in hiring a front desk receptionist. From the initial recruitment costs to training, salary, and other benefits, the expenses can be exorbitant. The onboarding process is also time-consuming. That’s not the case with AI receptionists. Depending on the service, you can update the knowledge base and forward calls to AI within minutes.
Simplified & cost-effective training
Many business owners, especially smaller companies, have concerns whether AI would be accurate in offering support and responses. The good news is new AI models rely on advanced natural language processing, machine learning, and speech synthesis to offer exact solutions to callers. Furthermore, you can change responses, tailor answers, and include more information in the knowledge base to train your AI receptionist. Compared to that, training humans will take more time and money.
AI receptionists are cheaper
Pricing models for AI receptionists may vary by service providers, but there are two aspects that largely determine this. The first one is the average call duration. Longer calls are charged more than shorter calls. The second aspect is the volume of calls. The good news is many services offer flexible monthly packages, and you can upgrade as required.
Scalability ensured
If your small business offers contracting, HVAC, or electrical services, the chances are high that seasonal demands may increase. Expanding your human team for those busy months may not be entirely possible, and that’s where AI receptionists can step in. An AI voice agent can answer all calls immediately and the additional call volume wouldn’t cost as much.
Happy customers mean more business
Customers spend their hard-earned money when buying a product or service, and they expect prompt and accurate response for requests, updates, and complaints. With AI receptionists, calls are answered without fail, and even if AI cannot help in more complex situations, it can always forward the call to a human agent to resolve the issue.
Choose a hybrid model
Does using an AI receptionist mean you don’t need real customer care executives? Not really! As we just discussed, AI may not be the ideal option when a caller needs customized support or has a complex problem. Having a hybrid model, where AI receptionists are backed by real humans is the best choice for small and large businesses alike. You can keep the costs in check, focus on superior service, and remain accessible to customers and leads.
If you haven’t checked out an AI receptionist yet, it’s time to get a demo. Many AI models are advanced and designed to offer natural and conversational responses, ensuring your customers never feel the difference.