Every business will occasionally receive customer complaints. These could be anything from receiving the wrong item, late delivery, being incorrectly charged or struggling with using the service.
How you manage these complaints can impact how customers feel about your business and whether they will return in the future.
Dealing with complaints manually can be time consuming if there are multiple complaint channels. You might have to read through emails, respond to website queries, update information and follow-up.
AI can help with this.
AI Customer Complaints refers to using AI to understand customer complaints, organise, assign and allow faster responses. Some platforms will also help identify common issues within the complaints.
But will it automate all complaints?
Whilst the AI can help, more complex, sensitive or judgement-based complaints will still need to be dealt with by a member of staff.
In this guide, we’ll look at how AI can automate complaints, the benefits, common uses, key features and how to choose the right system.
What is AI Customer Complaints?
AI Customer Complaints uses AI to help understand, organise, assign and respond to customer complaints.
Traditionally, complaints would be dealt with manually. This means reading through each complaint, determining the issue, assigning to the correct department and tracking.
However, AI can help.
For example, if a customer sent an email stating:
"My order was supposed to arrive yesterday, but I still haven't received it. Can someone help?"
An AI powered system could identify this is a late delivery issue. Then organise the complaint, pull in any relevant order information from your systems and assign to the correct support team.
Some platforms can even provide suggested responses.
This will depend on the software you’re using.
How does AI Automate Customer Complaints?
AI can help throughout the entire complaint process.
Below are the key steps.
1. Receive Complaints from Multiple Channels
Customers may complain through various channels.
Some may prefer using a contact form on your website, whilst others prefer to email, live chat, social media or phone.
Using AI Complaint Management Software can help pull in complaints from all supported channels into one place.
This means your staff will have a better overview of the complaints.
For example, an online retail business may receive:
- Delivery complaints via email.
- Payment questions via live chat.
- Product complaints via social media.
- Returns via their website.
Depending on your software, all of these can be pulled in and managed from one support dashboard.
2. Understand Complaint
Customers may not always provide clear information.
One may state "My payment went through twice." Whilst another may write "I've been charged two times for the same order."
Both are complaining about being charged twice.
AI can use NLP (Natural Language Processing) to understand what the customer is saying.
This will help to determine what type of complaint they’ve made and what information they may need.
However, you should check the accuracy of understanding different languages, spelling mistakes and unclear complaints.
3. Automatically Categorise Complaint
Once understood, AI can help categorise the complaint.
Common categories include:
- Late or no delivery.
- Payment/refund issues.
- Damaged or incorrect items.
- Accessing your account.
- Technical issues.
- Poor customer service.
- Subscription / Billing issues.
This means that your support team know what the complaint is about.
For example, if it’s a damaged item it can be assigned to the returns/product support team.
4. Determine Priority Complaints
Some complaints will not be as urgent.
If it’s a general product question, it may not require an instant response. However, if it’s about unauthorised payments or a serious issue with the service, it may require a faster response.
Some AI systems can analyse the language and context of the complaint to determine how urgent it may be or identify negative language.
However, not all important decisions should be solely made by AI. Serious complaints should be reviewed by a member of staff and escalated according to your escalation rules.
5. Assign Complaint to Correct Team
Once categorised, AI can help assign the complaint to the correct team/individual.
For example, complaints about payments can be assigned to the billing team, delivery issues can be assigned to your order support and technical issues to your technical support. Refunds can be assigned to your returns team.
This will reduce the amount of manual work required.
It can also ensure that the customer isn’t being passed around.
6. Provide Suggestions or Responses
AI can help your support team respond to complaints.
Some systems will provide suggestions based on your company policies, past interactions and approved information. Then a member of staff can review and edit the response before sending.
Other platforms can provide automatic responses to simple queries if they have access to accurate information.
For example, if a customer asks how to return an item, an AI assistant can explain how they can return items.
However, if it’s a unique situation, payment dispute or sensitive issue then it should usually be reviewed by a member of staff.
7. Track Complaints
Once a complaint has been received, you will need to ensure it has been resolved.
Using an AI enabled complaint management platform can help track:
- Open complaints.
- Assigned to.
- Waiting for customer response.
- Unresolved.
- Resolved.
- Require further attention.
Some systems can also remind you if a complaint hasn’t had any updates.
This means your support team can keep track of the complaints and ensures they aren’t forgotten.
Benefits of Using AI for Customer Complaints
Using AI can help improve how your business deals with customer complaints. Below are some practical benefits.
1. Faster Complaint Handling
Manually reviewing and organising complaints can take time.
Using AI can help identify the issue, categorise and assign to the correct team.
This can reduce admin and allow your staff to start dealing with the complaint quicker.
2. Reduce Repetitive Work
Customer support teams often receive similar complaints.
For example, an online store may receive regular complaints about late deliveries, returns and refunds.
Using AI can help manage routine queries and provide responses using approved company information.
Your staff can focus on complaints that require research.
3. Better Organisation
If complaints come through various channels it can be hard to keep track.
Using AI Complaint Management Software can help manage the cases, categorise and assign to the right members of staff.
This will allow your teams to know what complaints are open.
4. Consistent Communication
Different members of staff may explain company policies in different ways.
Using AI can help provide suggestions using approved information such as refund policies, delivery policies and service policies.
However, you should review the responses.
5. Spot Common Issues
Using AI can help analyse the complaints and spot trends.
For example, you may find that customers often complain about:
- Late deliveries in a certain area.
- Confusing subscription charges.
- No information provided on products.
- Issues registering for their account.
This can help you identify any problems.
Rather than dealing with the same complaint, you can look into the root cause.
6. Improved Customer Experience
Customers want to know their issues are understood and dealt with properly.
Using AI can help acknowledge the complaints, organise requests and provide updates.
However, it’s not just about how fast you respond. You should ensure you’re providing accurate information, fair decisions and the ability to speak to a real person.
Common Uses of AI Complaint Management Software
AI Complaint automation can be useful in many industries.
E-Commerce & Online Retail
Online stores will often receive complaints about orders, payments, products and delivery.
Using AI can help identify what type of complaint it is and assign to the right team.
For example, if a customer received the wrong item it can be categorised as a product/order issue and the support team can review the order and explain the options available.
Banking & Finance
Finance companies may receive complaints about transactions, accessing their account, charges and payments.
Using AI can help organise the incoming messages and assign to the right department.
However, finance complaints often include sensitive information. Ensure you have the right security in place and important decisions are reviewed by authorised members of staff.
Telecoms
Internet and mobile service providers often receive complaints about network issues, payments and service issues.
Using AI can help categorise the complaints and spot common issues.
For example, if multiple customers are having similar connection issues you may be able to identify a wider issue with your service.
Travel & Hospitality
Hotels, airlines and travel companies often receive complaints about bookings, cancellations, refunds and overall customer experience.
Using AI can help organise the messages and provide information on relevant policies.
More complex complaints such as cancellation disputes or major travel disruptions may still require personal assistance.
Key Features to Look For In AI Complaint Management Software
Not all platforms will have the same features. Below are some features to look for.
Natural Language Understanding
The software should understand different ways customers may phrase their message.
This will help identify the real issue.
Automated Categorisation
Ensure the system can help organise complaints into useful categories.
You should also be able to review and change categories if the AI gets it wrong.
Sentiment & Priority Detection
Some platforms can detect negative language and highlight any complaints that may need to be prioritised.
Ensure you can create your own priority rules.
Handover to a Real Person
AI shouldn’t stop customers from speaking to a real person.
Ensure you use software that allows staff to take over conversations and review the full history of the complaint.
Reporting & Analytics
Having reports can help you understand what types of complaints you’re getting, unresolved complaints, responses and common issues.
This can help managers improve the customer support processes.
Security & Privacy
Customer complaints may include personal information such as their name, contact details, payment details etc.
Ensure you know how the provider will store and protect customer information, who can access it and that they meet the privacy requirements for your business.
How to Implement AI Customer Complaints
You don’t need to fully automate your customer support with AI.
Start small and test how the system works and spot any issues.
- Review existing complaints – Where are complaints coming from? What are customers complaining about most? How do you currently deal with them?
- Choose the right complaints to automate – Start with simple, repetitive tasks such as categorising, assigning and suggesting responses.
- Ensure you have accurate information – Ensure your policies, FAQs, product information and support information is organised so the AI can use accurate information.
- Decide what complaints can be automated – Decide what complaints can be dealt with with AI and what should be passed to a member of staff.
- Test – Use examples of real customer questions and complaints to see if the software can understand and categorise them.
- Review – Check how well the system is working. Are there any incorrect responses? Are any complaints being missed? What are customers saying? Are any complaints not being resolved?
- Update – If there are any issues, update your information, categories and rules.
Starting with a few tasks will make the transition easier for your staff and customers.
Potential Issues with AI Complaint Automation
Although it can make managing complaints easier, there are some things to consider.
Misunderstanding Complaints
The AI may not understand unclear complaints and categorise them incorrectly.
For example, a complaint about an approved refund may be categorised as a refund request.
By regularly reviewing and having clear categories this can help reduce errors.
No Understanding from a Real Person
Some customers may be frustrated, worried or have a serious issue.
An automated response may not be the best option.
Ensure it’s easy for customers to speak to a real person, especially if they are making a sensitive or complex complaint.
Customer Privacy
Customer complaint systems may include personal information.
Ensure you understand how your chosen provider will handle customer information. Ensure you have the right controls in place to ensure only the right people have access.
UK businesses should consider UK GDPR and relevant data protection requirements. US businesses should review relevant federal, state and industry specific rules.
Costs
AI Customer Complaints software may incur costs such as subscription fees, usage fees, integration and training.
The cost will depend on what platform you use and what features you need.
Consider what the costs are and whether it will actually solve your issues.
FAQs
1. What is AI Customer Complaints?
AI Customer Complaints uses AI to help understand, categorise, assign and respond to customer complaints. This can help reduce manual work and improve organisation.
2. Can AI automatically deal with customer complaints?
Depending on the software and information available some simple complaints and routine queries can be dealt with. More complex, sensitive or unique complaints should be reviewed by a member of staff.
3. How does AI Categorise Customer Complaints?
AI will analyse the language and context of the customer’s message. This can then be categorised into delivery, refund, payment, product and technical issues.
4. Can small businesses use AI Complaint Management Software?
Yes. AI can help small businesses organise customer messages, answer common questions and reduce repetitive support tasks. It will depend on your budget and how many complaints you get.
5. Is AI Complaint Management Software Secure?
This will depend on the provider. Ensure you understand how the data will be stored, who can access it, privacy policies and security.
6. Will AI Improve Customer Complaint Resolution?
AI can help organise, assign and communicate quicker. However, to successfully resolve complaints you should ensure you have accurate information, fair decisions, staff involved and the ability to fix the root cause.
Conclusion
AI can automate several aspects of customer complaints including receiving, understanding, categorising, assigning and tracking.
This can help reduce repetitive tasks, improve organisation and identify common issues.
However, it should be used to assist your staff. Some complaints will require personal attention, thorough research and decisions that can’t be reliably made by an automated system.
Start with simple tasks, ensure you have accurate information and regularly review how the system is working.
Using AI Customer Complaints responsibly can help your business manage customer issues in a more organised and consistent manner.
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