Artificial Emotional Intelligence: The New milestone in CX

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Humans pride themselves on their ability to understand each other (well, mostly). But recently, we are faced with a new technology, namely, artificial intelligence (AI). Plenty has already been said about it in the recent past. Truth be told, this is just the beginning. According to a survey, when it comes to communication, 94% of global consumers think it is important that AI devices can understand and communicate using natural human language. AI is here to stay. However, the big question is – Will AI alone suffice? Maybe not because it still lacks essential components like empathy, morality, etc. Thus, we need to add an element of emotional intelligence (EI) to artificial intelligence.Integrating EI with AI is the new way to transform the customer experience (CX) to build brand loyalty.

What is Artificial Emotional Intelligence?

It is quite self-explanatory. Artificial Emotional Intelligence (AEI) is the integration of emotional intelligence with artificial intelligence. By definition, emotional intelligence refers to the ability to engage in sophisticated information processing about one’s own and others’ emotions and the ability to use this information as a guide to thinking and behavior. Whereas, even though artificial intelligence as a technology has seen some advancements, it is still more of a support system for human assistance. One way to make the AI even bigger and more meaningful will be to integrate it with Emotional intelligence.

Business Benefits of Artificial Emotional Intelligence

AI has already proven to be quite a useful technology. So much so that, most of us encounter it on a daily basis, one way or another. We have Siri, Alexa, Cortona, etc. available at our one command. Robots and machines are already being used in the manufacturing industry. Along with that, AI has played a substantial role in improving customer service in the travel and tourism industry.

Customers are becoming more demanding and technology needs to advance at the same pace. We already have mobile apps and chatbots powered by sentiment analysis and natural language processing (NLP) to cater to the needs of the customers in an effective and efficient manner. But, currently, they are only trained to identify emotions such as happiness, anger, frustration, based on certain keywords and respond accordingly. Integration of EI will take them a level up. Chatbots and other AI enabled devices will not just be able to identify the emotions but will be able to empathize as well.

Improving Customer Experience with AEI

According to a USC study, people are much more willing to discuss their problems with virtual avatars than they are with real people. The key reason for this is the virtual human’s ability to build rapport using empathetic listening with facial expressions and nodding.The test subjects felt that the avatar would not judge them, unlike humans. This is an apt usage of AEI in the healthcare industry. Similarly, the hospitality industry can incorporate this technology to better understand the customers and solve grievances faster.

Taking a cue from this, organizations should learn how to include AEI in their business strategy. If the customers feel that a brand cares about them, values them, it makes them loyal to it. A happy customer is your most credible and best brand ambassador.

Conclusion

Artificial intelligence is projected to grow into a multi-million dollar industry in the near future. But, unless organizations don’t keep up with the ever-changing demands of the customers, they will lag behind. Integrating emotional intelligence with artificial is the next natural step. AEI will enable the brands to really understand their customers rather than a superficial one.

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