How to use artificial intelligence to boost sales and customer experience
Artificial intelligence is making a major leap from theory to practice, including virtual personal assistants, voice recognition software, and self-driving cars. At the foundation of artificial intelligence is machine learning, which teaches a machine how to assimilate information incrementally rather than pre-programmed from the start.
One of the best examples is in retail. For example, AI-powered search and product recommendations drove additional revenue for retailers during the 2019 winter holiday season, as 10% of digital orders and 5% of digital revenue came from AI-powered recommendations, according to the vendor’s 2019 Holiday Shopping Report.
As the Middle East continues to build mega-malls and connect shoppers, artificial intelligence is set to make a major impact in personalising marketing and retail experiences. For example, the recent State of the Connected Customer survey shows that 64% of customers worldwide expect organisations to tailor their customer engagement based on previous interactions, and in turn, 62% of customers expect companies to adapt their personalisation.
Banks can analyse data points to detect fraud, and call centers can deploy chatbots to improve customer interactions. Additional common use cases are personalising shopping experiences, analysing social media sentiment, or enhancing supply chains. Meaningful metrics such as conversion rates, qualified leads, and customer lifetime value can demonstrate how artificial intelligence can optimise costs and revenue.
Financial services professionals now have predictive guidance and recommended actions built directly into day-to-day client engagement. Pre-built industry-specific templates—such as client financial goals and interactions, referrals, deposits and fees—enable front-line wealth advisors and retail bankers to begin using analytics immediately.
Einstein, the Salesforce AI platform, already delivers more than 3 billion predictions every day, helping our customers make smarter, more impactful decisions by acting as a smart CRM assistant across sales, service, marketing, commerce and more. With the ability to talk to Salesforce on any device, Einstein Voice Assistant and Einstein Voice Bots will empower everyone to be more productive and work smarter—from anywhere.
Marriott’s AI-powered new customer recognition platform, powered by Salesforce solutions including Einstein Bots, enables 83 million guest conversations to continue from interaction to interaction across messaging platforms, mobile apps, websites, call-centers, and 7,000 properties.
Middle East organisations face a balance in their artificial intelligence features. While many organisations show a high level of interest in artificial intelligence, they also express concerns about how it will impact their current workforce. Artificial intelligence will never replace human beings in the workplace, rather artificial intelligence can help to download the repetitive work with no added value, to facilitate the next best action, and to deliver great accuracy on forecasts.
In order to prepare for the workplace of the near future, Middle East organisations may have to reassess their teams’ skillsets, refocus their talent to deliver more complex tasks, and improve the overall level of service that they deliver in their business.
Key takeaways
- Einstein, the Salesforce AI platform, delivers 3+ billion predictions every day, helping customers make smarter decisions.
- While organisations show interest in AI, they also express concerns about how it will impact their workforce.
- In order to prepare for the workplace of the future, Middle East organisations may have to reassess their skillsets.
- Marriott’s AI-powered customer recognition platform, powered by Einstein Bots, enables 83 million guest conversations.
By Thierry Nicault, Regional Vice-President for Enterprise Business Unit, Middle East, Africa, and Central Europe, Salesforce.
