If 2023 was the year when AI disrupted previous business models and assumptions, and 2024 was the year that many businesses started seriously to incorporate AI platforms into their operations, then 2025 is the year that AI becomes ‘normalised’ for many businesses. A strong sign of this is the way that many businesses now see AI and automation as tools to enhance their human connection with customers rather than replace it. By investing in these technologies thoughtfully, SMEs can deliver better customer experiences while streamlining their costs and internal operations. Read on to find out more:
What Are The Latest Developments In AI And Automation?
1. Conversational Artificial Intelligence Is Getting More Intelligent
The intelligence of AI virtual assistants has become notably better over the last couple of years, enabling users to hold more natural and humanlike conversations. AI tools can now handle a wider range of complex customer service queries, deliver quick responses, and even adapt to a user’s tone and context. The ubiquity of AI assistants across various platforms, including messaging apps, search engines, and email servers, has also made customers more comfortable in engaging with AIs, increasing the range of applications for businesses.
Takeaway: Implement a website chatbot to answer frequently asked questions, guide your customers through purchases, or handle appointment bookings to save time for users and employees alike.
2. AI Takes The Guesswork Out Of Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics, driven by AI, is now making customer behaviour easier to anticipate for businesses. By analysing market trends and historical data, the latest platforms can forecast future trends, identify opportunities, and equip businesses to meet customer needs more effectively. This can help businesses reduce churn and deliver new products and solutions at the perfect time to meet customer preferences and needs.
Takeaway: Invest in an AI-driven analytics platform such as HubSpot to analyse your customer CRM data and predict upcoming customer service or operational opportunities, such as restocking a fast-selling product or creating a complementary service to boost cross-sales.
3. AI-Driven Self-Service Websites
Automation and AI are increasing the capacity of businesses to offer robust and secure self-service tools to their customers. Customers can now purchase complex products and services, find answers and resolve issues without necessarily having to wait for a human representative. This makes it cheaper for businesses to offer a faster and more feature-rich service than previously. AI-assisted bots will continue to evolve in this area, taking self-service to a whole new level in 2025.
Takeaway: Create an AI-enabled online knowledge base to help your users find answers to key questions and troubleshoot issues without waiting for human support.
4. Hyper-Personalisation At Scale
AI developments mean that marketing personalisation is no longer limited to knowing a customer’s name in an email campaign. Drawing on a variety of data points from a customer’s browsing habits, real-time interactions, and purchase history, companies can now offer content, services, and products that feel ‘tailor-made’ for each customer, and this is as achievable for a mailing list of thousands as it is for individual customers.
For example, a personalised email could be:
Hey Jamie, check out our latest spring sale for discounts on thousands of our bestselling drinks!
Hyper-personalised, this could look like…
Hey Jamie, as it’s your birthday next week, enjoy a few of your favourite beers on us [time-limited 2 for 3 offer on past purchases], and we also thought you’d appreciate a cheeky discount on some of our new products that we know you’ll love [personalised recommendation].
Takeaway: Integrate your marketing tools with a high-quality sales CRM, allowing AI algorithms to make use of your data to offer personalised offers and product recommendations with a greater chance of resonating with the customer. This can increase your results from email marketing and advertising.
Find Out More
For practical advice about how you can use AI and automation to redefine your customer experiences this year, please get in touch with one of the experts at JDR today by clicking here.
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