Artificial Intelligence Is Revolutionizing Chatbots

Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly changing how organizations engage and communicate with employees and customers. One of the major changes is the evolution of chatbots, which, with the introduction of AI, become dynamic solutions to answering common questions.

Defining Artificial Intelligence

Let’s start by defining artificial intelligence. To demonstrate the power of AI, I asked Microsoft Copilot, an AI tool based on OpenAI’s GPT-3 model, this question: What is artificial intelligence? Here is the response it generated (with some light editing):

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of machines or computer systems to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as reasoning, learning, decision-making, and natural language processing, using various techniques and algorithms. However, there is no single or definitive definition of AI, as different domains and contexts may have different criteria and expectations for what counts as intelligent behavior.

AI and Chatbots

• Better natural language processing. AI helps chatbots understand and process human language. This means they can have more natural and human-like conversations, improving the user experience.
• Customization. AI allows chatbots to learn from previous interactions and adjust their responses to each person.
• Predictive analytics. AI enables chatbots to anticipate user needs and preferences, allowing them to proactively provide relevant information and support.
• Faster answers. AI helps chatbots process user queries faster and more accurately, reducing the waiting time and frustration for users.
• Reduced call center volume. AI enables chatbots to handle common and repetitive questions, freeing up human agents to deal with more complex and urgent issues. This can reduce operational costs and improve customer satisfaction.

Chatbots in the Benefits World

Human resources teams are using chatbots to save time and resources, reduce bias, and improve the quality and diversity of talent.

For recruitment and hiring, chatbots like Olivia by Paradox, MeBeBot, Radancy, Ideal, and HireVue can help HR teams automate tasks, such as screening candidates, scheduling interviews, answering FAQs, providing feedback, and enhancing the candidate experience. These chatbots use natural language processing and machine learning to understand the needs and preferences of both employers and job seekers, and to match them accordingly.

Show me the numbers: According to the Paradox website, Olivia is used by over 500 companies worldwide, and the results are impressive! Olivia cuts the time to hire in half, has increased applicant conversions by 5 times, and has a 99.78% positive experience rating from candidates.²

Another chatbot that is transforming the HR landscape is Sofia by Businessolver. Sofia is an AI-driven personal benefits assistant that can provide 24/7 support to employees and HR managers in 27 different languages. Sofia can answer questions about benefits eligibility, enrollment, coverage, claims, and more, with efficient and empathetic responses. Sofia can also guide employees through the benefits selection process, offer personalized recommendations based on real-time data, and help them make informed decisions.

Show me the numbers: According to the Businessolver website, in 2022 Sofia handled over 2.1 million chats with a same-day resolution rate of over 90%.³

By integrating AI into existing benefits tools, natural language processing and machine learning can help to comprehend employees’ needs, preferences, and goals. This simplifies, accelerates, and enhances the benefits experience process for employees, while easing the workload for human resources. Human resources teams can benefit from less administrative work, more employee engagement, and a better overall benefits experience.

Risks of AI in Chatbots

While AI has the power to transform chatbots, there are also some potential risks:

• Data privacy and security. AI chatbots often gather and store a lot of data, which can raise issues about data privacy and security.
• Copyright violations. AI chatbots can generate original content or copy the style and voice of other authors, which can violate intellectual property rights. For example, using a famous quote or a song lyric without permission or attribution could be plagiarism or infringement.
• Bias. A chatbot is only as good as the data. AI systems can show bias if the data they are trained on is biased. Plus, people who create and train AI systems can introduce bias by selecting, preprocessing, labeling, or evaluating data or models inappropriately.
• Lack of empathy. While AI can enable chatbots to have more human-like conversations, they still lack the ability to really understand and empathize with human emotions. This can result in unsuitable or insensitive responses.
• Accuracy. Generative AI uses large language models (LLMs) to predict which words or phrases should come next based on patterns it has learned. Generative AI can be subject to hallucinations, where it makes up content that doesn’t exist or is inaccurate.

Human Hesitations

A 2023 survey found that only 8% of respondents are “very comfortable” using an AI chatbot for medical advice, while 28% are “very comfortable” using an AI chatbot to order food or drinks.⁴ Our willingness to use AI chatbots depends on the information we are searching for and the impact it could have on our lives. A messed-up lunch delivery is a lot easier to deal with than a misdiagnosed medical condition.

Leveraging AI for Engagement and Communications

Organizations have to make sure that their AI chatbots are of high quality, accurate, and reliable. To avoid AI errors and abuse, organizations need to set up safeguards and be transparent and responsible for their AI chatbot experiences. This way, they can foster trust and loyalty with their employees, customers, and stakeholders and use the advantages of AI chatbots without damaging the organization’s values and reputation.

At Segal Benz, we understand the potential of AI chatbots to transform the way you communicate and engage with your employees and customers. Whether you want to implement a chatbot for your benefits portal, intranet, website, or any other platform, we can help you design and implement a chatbot solution that aligns with your goals and values. If you’re still exploring AI as a potential solution, we can help you develop a governance plan that ensures your AI implementation is ethical, transparent, and reliable, and we’ll help ensure that you have the right processes and policies in place to monitor and improve its performance.

If you’re interested in learning more about AI chatbots and how they can transform your communications, we are happy to talk to you and share our expertise and insights.

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