New independent study commissioned by LivePerson finds that most companies are struggling to respond to consumers' increasing demands for personalized, effective and easy interactions

Only about a third of businesses feel they can react to consumers' wants and needs in real time, highlighting a critical need for a blend of AI and humans to provide value-added support in line with consumer expectations.

News provided by

LivePerson, Inc.

May 28, 2019, 11:00 ET

NEW YORK, May 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- LivePerson, a leading provider of conversational commerce solutions, today released a new research study conducted by Forrester Consulting and commissioned by LivePerson. The thought leadership paper, entitled "Use Automation, AI, And Chatbots To Improve Customer Engagements: Engagement Technology Helps Companies Combat The Rising Tide of Customer Interactions," was developed from the findings of a survey of 331 director-level and above decision makers influencing customer engagement and commerce strategy at enterprises in North America, EMEA and APAC.

The study focused on understanding the changing landscape of customer interactions and how brands are adapting to provide better customer service. Consumers are turning to conversational commerce -- the ability to ask questions, purchase products and services, and get help through popular messaging apps, SMS and voice assistants -- to interact with brands. The study states that businesses should "embrace AI and automation to deliver better customer experiences ... Conversational commerce offloads routine, repetitive tasks from customer-facing personnel, allowing them to focus on value-added, complex interactions, while arming organizations with the right content, data, and insights." Companies using AI, chatbots, and automation reporting exceeding revenue and customer satisfaction score goals.

Additional key findings include:

79% of decision makers believe that consumers are more impatient than ever before and an equal number believe consumers will dismiss them if they don't receive value in their first interaction.
Consumers expect their interactions to be "personalized," "effective," and "easy"
Only about one-third of companies feel confident that they can respond to consumers in real time and take the steps required to track their journeys
Over the next two years, companies expect a decrease in phone and in-person interactions, while anticipating an increase in online chat, social and messaging interactions, as well as increase in the use of chatbots and automation

"The study highlights a shift we've been seeing among innovative brands for several years -- a move away from traditional channels like the phone and self-service on the web and apps to conversational channels through messaging and voice assistants, which allow consumers to simply say or text what they want," said Manlio Carrelli, EVP, Enterprise Business Group at LivePerson. "LivePerson is ushering in a new wave of automation which is redefining how companies are using AI to drive business gains, with tools that make it possible for frontline employees to build and manage bots and Maven, our AI engine that reviews every exchange in a conversation and recommends next best actions for agents and bots."

The study recommends that companies use AI and automation together with human talent to deliver better, more personalized experiences. AI can be used to gather intelligence throughout the customer journey as well as help increase organizational agility by handling routine tasks. Lastly, companies must now begin to plan for the impact AI and automation will have on workforces.

About LivePerson, Inc.
LivePerson makes life easier by transforming how people communicate with brands. Our 18,000 customers, including leading brands like HSBC, Orange, and The Home Depot, use our conversational commerce solutions to orchestrate humans and AI, at scale, and create a convenient, deeply personal relationship — a conversational relationship — with their millions of consumers. For more information about LivePerson (NASDAQ: LPSN), please visit www.liveperson.com.

MEDIA CONTACT
Jennifer Sutton
LivePerson
PR (at) liveperson.com

SOURCE LivePerson, Inc.