Do you know what your chatbots and customers are talking about?

Business Innovations

23 January 2019

Do you know what your chatbots and customers are talking about?

  • Posted by Awfis Editorial

Artificial Intelligence is here, and it is here to stay for good. As machine-learning technology advances, it is paving the way for better self-learning machines that are showing the promise of being able to do almost everything that we humans can.

The benefits are indeed countless and more businesses than ever are getting excited about taking AI from behind the scenes to a more customer-facing role. This could be as simple as offering customer support, to helping close sales or even creating content for a blog.

But as is the case with everything new and exciting, this is unchartered territory and it comes with its posse of risks. While it might not be as dangerous or life-threatening as The Terminator, it could still create mischief and hurt your business. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of having chatbots interact with your customers.

An employee that’s always working, but that means constant supervision

What makes machines better than humans is their indefatigable ability to work. Given a chance, with uninterrupted electricity, they could work all day long, all days of the year, year after year. No lunch break, no sick leave, no overtime, and no home to go to.

This is extremely beneficial when it comes to interacting with customers. An AI chatbot can take care of customer calls after hours or from anywhere across the globe. Or if all your customer representatives are busy (and haven’t we all been on the other side of the unending recording), a chatbot can step in and handle more routine calls or trivial cases.

However, AI cannot be 100% perfect all the time. You cannot afford to let your AI chatbot run free to handle the night shift all on its own. Perhaps your chatbot could face an unanticipated problem, or it could interact with a troll, or there could be a language issue. While this doesn’t mean someone needs to be managing it every moment, you do need to have in place a system that contacts specific employees when the AI is stumped. If you don’t maintain a supervisor in place, you could face unhappy customers or worse, loss of business.

AI finds the most efficient solution and repeats it perfectly, but it leaves no room for improvising

The beauty of AI is that it finds patterns; could be through trial and error, or through the analysis of large volumes of data. Once it finds the patterns, it knows how to replicate them perfectly, over and over again, without messing up ever. In customer service it could be about finding a solution to their problems; in sales it might mean convincing them to agree to a follow-up call or even buying a product.

However, AI will not be able to improvise, like a human can, and respond to that one situation that is outside of the established pattern. While a human will quickly improvise and come up with a response that deviates from the pre-written script, AI will struggle in this scenario.

Data collection happens easily, but it can make you a target for hackers

An AI chatbot is the prefect repository of information on a customer. As it talks to a customer, it collects and analyses data, and learns more about the individual and uses that information to improve the experience.

What is the kind of data that can be collected? It isn’t just restricted to likes and dislikes, or the types of offers a customer responds to. The data collected can include some valuable and personal information, such as addresses, bank details, payment information, full names, and other information that can be used for stealing an identity.

This makes the chatbot and your database a target for hackers. To counter that, a business needs to invest in high-level security which means virus protection, firewalls, long and complex passwords, and educating employees on security best practices.

AI can develop a personality through customer interactions, but that leaves you open for manipulation

Earlier AI chatbots were simply question-and-response systems that sounded robotic. But as technology improved, AI chatbots have only grown better. Today customers often don’t realise that they are talking to a chatbot. With the right interactions, it is quite possible to build a distinct personality that meets the needs of the brand better. This could mean including specific words, starting conversations in a distinct way, and even using memes and emojis.

The downside to this is that if people figure out, they are talking to an AI chatbot, they could try and manipulate it. We all know what happened to Microsoft’s AI chatbot Tay on twitter. In less than a day, trolls taught it to issue sexist, racist and Nazi propaganda tweets, while also insulting anyone that tried engaging with it.

In all likelihood, this will happen to your chatbot as well. To avoid this, you must have qualified people go through your AI’s behaviour meticulously to remove traces of any negative habits it might have picked up. You must also have specific blockers against learning negative habits, such as abusing, calling people bad names, inappropriate content, etc.

Conclusion

The possibilities with AI are only as limited as our imagination. Or that of the abilities of AI itself. This powerful technology, although a little creepy, can perform tasks in minutes that would take a human, weeks to complete. It can overcome prejudices and learn from its mistakes quickly. Is it any wonder that more businesses are jumping on to the AI bandwagon?

5 Apps to Increase Productivity at Work

Business Innovations

25 August 2021

5 Apps to Increase Productivity at Work

  • Posted by awfis

Life has become much easier with the advent of technology. With access to latest technology, work has become less strenuous. The biggest contribution to technology has been the invention of smartphones. They have not only made communication easy, but also play core to organize our lives. The hundreds of ‘add on apps’ have made life stress-free and have definitely helped increase productivity, in every possible way.

App

Here are some applications that we feel will help you outperform at work.

  1. WandurList:

As the name suggests WandurList is an app that helps you in maintaining a number of lists. It is a clean application which enables you to make multiple lists under various folders. It is available for Android, iOS and web users, but what makes it stand out is that WandurList enables you to access the lists from anywhere and from any device. The lists that you make are saved in the cloud, thus letting you share the lists with the other users. So the next time you are out of your office and need to assign work or access previous work, WandurList will be your go to app.
wunderlist.com

  1. Shoeboxed:

Tired of keeping track of your expense receipts before submitting for tax reduction every month? We have a perfect solution for you. Use shoebox and say goodbye to the strenuous process of filling out forms. Shoeboxed is perfect for people who are up and about in the name of the business. Shoebox can access either via android, iOS mobiles or also via the web. Scan the bills and Shoebox sorts out and collates the receipts for you and also generates an expense report.  By the end of the month all you will have to do is send it out to your accounts team.
shoeboxed.com

  1. Speek:

Conference calling is an important aspect of how work happens in the business world. With growing business environment one needs to connect to people from various parts of the world and that’s where Speek steps in. It is an application that enables you to have a con-call by eliminating the process of dialling the numbers and the pin codes. Speek gives you a personal link which has to be shared with the people you want to have the conference call with and all they have to do is click the link to join in via their laptop, smartphone or the computer. So want to make a conference call? It’s just a link away now!
speek.com

  1. Keeper:

Have a lot of passwords of various platforms to keep track of? Tired of sending email to the IT to retrieve your passwords? This application takes that burden of remembering passwords off your shoulders. You have one master password that has all the passwords stored in it. If any hack is attempted all the passwords are automatically erased to maintain secrecy. This application can be accessed via a phone, laptop or a computer with the android, IOS software or by using the web.
keepersecurity.com

  1. Prezi:

Need to make flawless presentations that capture your client’s attention? We have a unique cloud based presentation application – Prezi. This app lets you put down all the information on one canvas and mark it out instead of making separate slides. It uses Adobe Flash Technology to animate the presentation. The application is easy to use and is also compatible for Windows, chrome, iOS and the Web.
prezi.com

Try the apps out and see the increased productivity that these applications bring about in your work life!

Join our business centre in Bengaluru, or our co-working space in Delhi.

Freelancers Work Better in Office Spaces than Coffee Shops

Business Innovations

25 August 2021

Freelancers Work Better in Office Spaces than Coffee Shops

  • Posted by awfis

You would have seen freelancers and solopreneurs working intensely at coffee shops, buying a cup of coffee accompanied with something to bite on now and then, more to keep the table occupied rather than ordering by choice! But working out of a coffee shop comes with a set of challenges. Being in such a relaxed, casual ambience for work, you are not really motivated enough and you can only rely on self-motivation to keep you going.

Thankfully, this is something that can be resolved by working at collaborative office spaces. Leased workspaces and desks that you can find on a reliable collaborative working website like https://www.awfis.com/inspiration/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/shutterstock_3835072871.jpg.com will also give you access to all amenities that you need when you work in an office, like free Wi-Fi and unlimited tea and coffee to keep you fueled up.

Freelancers in office spaces

Freelancers are looking for offices spaces with a positive atmosphere to conduct their work. More often than not, freelancers have a lonely job. They are at their laptops doing their work. However, at home, they have several distractions to keep them away from their desk. Coffee shops do not make the best talking environments for productive business meetings as a plethora of distractions come your way. No such worries exist in a collaborative working space where you are paying rent to be at your desk for work.

Let’s talk about the motivation factor now. Because you are in a roomful of people working on their desks, you are motivated to be a part of that workforce. You can make some great professional friends. As a freelancer, you cannot deny that working alongside others is a much better feeling that being a lone wolf, especially on days when things are a bit rusty. The general working ambience keeps you afloat, something that you find in plenty of plug & play rented office spaces.

If you have not considered working in a collaborative working environment, now is a good time to do that. All your criteria will be met and your business will commence in a cheerful and inspiring environment. After all, your venture deserves only the best.

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For Young Entrepreneurs in India, Awfis is the New Office

Business Innovations

25 August 2021

For Young Entrepreneurs in India, Awfis is the New Office

  • Posted by awfis

As they say, all you need to succeed is a big idea!
However, in the fiercely competitive world, you have to be careful about how you use that big idea. When you start off, you have multiple challenges on your side, including the really daunting one of arranging for start-up capital. You will be surprised to know the number of Unicorns which started off on a shoestring budget.

Things have changed since. You no longer need to set up a big office space and buy all the furniture necessary to set off your own company. Welcome to a new way of working out of an office: Awfis! At Awfis, you will get exactly what you need for your start-up or your work as an entrepreneur: a highly productive space to conduct your business.

Awfis is your new Office

Collaborative working has been around for a while now, but it is only now that it is starting to catch up here in India. At the forefront of this change is Awfis. We have Pro-Working centres where you can work in your own leased offices, along with your own team of professionals. For those who are playing it out as a lone wolf now, this is a better opportunity to make your mark!

There are many reasons why Awfis is the new office today. For example, the meeting rooms which we have in the leading cities of the country are all located in premium destinations. The centrality of the location makes it easier for you to commute and network with people for meetings and discussions. Clients and customers will not shy away from visiting your office premises because it is far away. Your business is in a better position, location wise.

Additionally, you are working alongside professionals who can turn out to be excellent future business contacts for you. Who knows, you may get the next big project from the person seated right next to you in the collaborative working ambiance! Also you may not have to hunt around for a professional in a desired field because the person may be working in the next cabin. Collaborative pro-working spaces are an excellent choice for business networking.

Awfis ensures that you get the best technological and infrastructural support when you work in our Co-Working centres. You will appreciate the environment and that will certainly inspire you to work even harder, the wind beneath the sails that you need when you are starting off.