Customer support is a critical function for any business looking to succeed in today‘s highly competitive landscape. Research shows that good customer service leads to increased customer loyalty, higher revenues, and reduced churn. This is why more and more companies are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to upgrade their customer support capabilities.
AI-powered customer support tools offer businesses the ability to provide fast, personalized and efficient service to their customers, at scale. They utilize technologies like natural language processing (NLP), machine learning and conversational interfaces to automate simple queries and enhance human agent performance.
In this comprehensive guide, we will discuss the top 10 AI-based customer support tools to help you boost customer satisfaction and improve business growth.
What are AI Customer Support Tools?
AI customer support tools refer to software solutions that leverage artificial intelligence to deliver smarter, faster and more effective customer service. This includes:
- Chatbots – automated bots that can handle common customer queries and perform routine tasks like checking order status, address changes etc.
- Virtual agents – human-like AI assistants that can have natural conversations with customers via chat or voice.
- Sentiment analysis – emotion and tone detection to identify frustrated customers.
- Intent recognition – determining customer needs and reasons for contacting support.
- Knowledge bases – stores of information that agents can leverage to solve issues faster.
Some key ways AI transforms customer support include:
- 24/7 availability – AI chatbots and virtual agents work round the clock
- Increased efficiency – AI automates repetitive tasks freeing up human agents
- Enhanced personalization – Models are trained on customer data to provide tailored recommendations
- Higher consistency – AI ensures standardized service delivery across channels
- Valuable insights – Data analysis reveals areas for improvement
Now let‘s look at 10 top AI customer support tools on the market today.
1. Freshdesk
Freshdesk is an intuitive cloud-based customer support platform powered by the Freddy AI assistant. Key features include:
- Omnichannel support – Email, live chat, calls, messaging apps and social media
- Conversational ticketing – AI bots automate routine ticket management
- Skills-based routing – Matches tickets to the best agent based on abilities
- 360-degree customer context – All interactions tracked in unified profile
- Slack integration – Manage tickets directly within Slack channels
Pricing: Starts at $15 per agent per month
2. Zendesk
Zendesk is a popular help desk solution providing seamless AI-enhanced experiences.
Key capabilities:
- Answer Bot – Automates response to common questions
- Topic modeling – Analyzes support conversations to identify trends
- Agent assist – Contextual information and suggestions to improve productivity
- Customer sentiment tracking – Detect negative emotions
- Salesforce integration – Syncs customer data across platforms
Pricing: Starts at $5 per agent per month
3. Intercom
Intercom is a conversational relationship platform driven by AI assistants.
Features include:
- Chatbots – Handle FAQs, qualify leads, collect feedback
- Journey intelligence – Personalize engagement across different touchpoints
- Segmented support – Tailor service by customer attributes
- Proactive conversations – Initiate outreach based on behavior
- Product tours – Interactive walkthroughs to boost adoption
Pricing: Custom quote
4. Ada Support
Ada Support is an enterprise-grade AI platform optimized for customer service.
Capabilities:
- Omnichannel – Email, web, mobile, social media and messaging support
- Conversational AI – Understands intent and provides relevant answers
- Reporting dashboard – Key metrics like CSAT, handle time, resolution rate
- Integrations – Zendesk, Salesforce, Oracle + other CRMs and ticketing systems
- Built-in NLP – Multi-language understanding out of the box
Pricing: Custom quote
5. Amelia Concierge
Amelia is a best-in-class AI assistant for customer and employee support from IPsoft.
It provides:
- Omnichannel engagement via chat, voice and email interactions
- Seamless hand-off to live agents when needed
- Consistent service delivery with tireless performance
- Effortless integration with backend systems
- Continuous learning – Gets smarter from every interaction
Pricing: Custom quote
6. Acquire.io
Acquire provides an AI-powered conversational platform tailored for support teams.
Key features:
- Intuitive bot builder – Visually create complex dialog flows
- Omnichannel – Support via web, social media, email and messaging apps
- Smart ticket routing – Uses NLP to categorize requests
- Integrations – Help Scout, Intercom, Salesforce + more
- Sentiment Analysis – Detects frustration signals
Pricing: Starts at $99 per month
7. Chatfuel
Chatfuel enables anyone to create AI chatbots without coding on messenger platforms.
Notable capabilities:
- Conversational interface – Intuitive flows for natural dialogs
- Plug and play templates – Get started quickly
- Built-in NLP – Automatic intent and entity recognition
- Analytics dashboard – Track key metrics for optimization
- Chatbot personalization – Customize by user attributes
Pricing: Starts at $15 per month
8. Bold360 AI
Bold360 is an scalable AI-powered customer engagement platform from LogMeIn.
It offers:
- Chatbots – Handle common inquiries with ease
- Agent assist – Next best actions and relevant knowledge base suggestions
- Unified profiles – Single customer view across channels
- Omnichannel engagement – Chat, email, SMS, social media and voice support
- Seamless human handoffs – Escalate complex issues with context
Pricing: Contact for quote
9. ServiceNow Virtual Agent
ServiceNow provides an enterprise-grade conversational AI assistant.
Capabilities include:
- Omnichannel support – Web, mobile app, email, messaging platforms
- Seamless CRM integration – Share info across customer profiles
- Natural conversations – Understands intents and entities
- 24/7 availability – Handles high volume traffic with ease
- Continuous improvement – Learns from conversations to get smarter
Pricing: Contact for quote
10. Talkdesk
Talkdesk is a cloud contact center solution powered by customer service AI.
Key features:
- Intelligent routing – Matches requests based on agent skills, availability and customer history
- Real-time interaction analytics – Identify trends and improvement areas
- Talkdesk interact bot – Automates routine customer inquiries
- CRM integrations – Connect customer data across platforms
- Omnichannel – Support across voice, digital and self-service channels
Pricing: Custom quote
Key Considerations for Choosing an AI Customer Support Tool
Here are some top factors to evaluate when selecting an AI customer support solution:
- Integration capabilities – Assess how easily it connects with your existing systems like CRM, ITSM tools etc.
- Scalability – Evaluate ability to handle large volumes as your business grows
- Analytics – Choose a platform providing rich insights into customer journeys and tool effectiveness
- Customization – See if flows, dialogs and front-end UI can be tailored to your needs
- Data security – Review safety standards, encryption methods and access controls
- Pricing – Factor in all direct and indirect costs relative to your budget
- Ease of use – Consider the level of technical skills required for implementation and maintenance
Prioritizing these elements will help you select the ideal AI platform fitting your specific customer support environment and strategic objectives.
The Future of AI in Customer Service
While AI customer service tools have already had immense impact, we are still just scratching the surface of how artificial intelligence can transform customer experiences.
Here are few key developments we expect to see in the near future:
- Wider adoption of empathetic AI assistants that build an emotional connection with customers
- AI identifying issues and proactively solving them even before the customer asks
- Blending of bots and human agents into a unified customer support team
- AI managing end-to-end customer journeys rather than just resolving tickets
- Hyper personalized recommendations and tailored engagement based on individual preferences
- The emergence of AI-driven products like self-help portals and virtual advisors
As AI capabilities grow more advanced, they will work symbiotically with human agents to deliver exceptionally smooth, swift and satisfying customer experiences. Adoption of AI is key for forward-thinking businesses looking to get ahead of the curve.
