Scholars' Insight

Revolutionizing Customer Experience: The Born of AI Service Bot Agents

Image Source: Freepik
Narrated by Nurhafihz Noor
Edited by Alfian B. Primanto
 
Summary. The rapid advancement of AI technology has significantly impacted daily tasks and business operations, notably through chatbots and virtual assistants that offer 24/7 customer service, enhancing customer satisfaction and streamlining internal processes. Conversational commerce, powered by AI, is transforming shopping experiences by providing personalized, human-like interactions. Despite these advancements, there's a lack of tools to measure AI service quality effectively. The development of the AISAQUAL scale represents a step forward in assessing AI service quality across six dimensions. Future research should extend AISAQUAL's application to other AI technologies, examine the impact of AI's human-like qualities on user satisfaction, and compare consumer expectations with actual experiences to further understand AI's role in service quality and satisfaction.
In recent years, the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has led to the introduction of numerous applications that enhance our daily tasks and business operations. AI involves technologies like machine learning and natural language processing that allow software to perform tasks usually requiring human intelligence, such as solving problems, in a way that aims for the best outcome with the information given.
AI is considered a major driver in the growth of the service industry, having a wide-reaching impact on businesses. For example, chatbots and virtual assistants are now key tools for businesses, offering advantages like 24/7 customer service without human staff. This increases customer satisfaction by ensuring queries and requests are handled anytime..
Beyond customer support, these AI-powered tools are instrumental in marketing and sales strategies. They analyze customer data to offer personalized product recommendations, enhancing the shopping experience and potentially increasing sales. Additionally, chatbots and virtual assistants streamline various internal processes, including human resources and technical support, making operations more efficient and responsive.
Conversational commerce is revolutionizing the way we shop by blending human-like conversations, detailed content, and tailored suggestions into one seamless shopping experience, making it possible to interact with brands in any language. This approach enables everything from simple queries about products to making complex purchases from various brands in a single chat.
Imagine planning an entire vacation or outfitting a new home with just a few messages. Digital interactions are becoming more complex yet more natural, offering quick and personalized responses previously only available from human consultants. For businesses, embracing conversational commerce is essential to meet the changing expectations of consumers and stay ahead in the competitive digital marketplace.
Powered by advanced AI, conversational commerce guides shoppers from the start of their journey to the final purchase. It starts with exploring products through a mix of simple listings and sophisticated, data-driven recommendations. During the comparison stage, it aids customers in making well-informed choices with the help of detailed product comparisons and real-time inventory updates. The journey ends with a smooth transaction process, enhanced by opportunities for strategic upselling. Initially limited to companies' websites, the future promises to expand into digital marketing realms through Chat Engine Optimization and Chat Engine Marketing, leveraging third-party Large Language Models for monetization and enhanced consumer engagement.
However, despite the growing use of AI service agents in services, there's a gap in measuring their service quality. The AISAQUAL scale, developed by Noor, aims to fill this gap. It's the first scale designed to evaluate AI service quality, using chatbots and virtual assistants for validation. The scale includes six aspects: efficiency, security, availability, enjoyment, contact, and anthropomorphism, with 26 specific measures. It provides a new way to understand how consumers evaluate AI service quality.
Future research should further explore AISAQUAL's application, including its use for other AI technologies like social robots, and delve into how AI's human-like qualities affect user satisfaction without causing discomfort. Research should also compare what consumers expect from AI services versus their actual experiences to identify areas for improvement. Broadening the research methods and considering long-term changes in consumer attitudes towards AI will help deepen our understanding of AI's role in service quality and satisfaction.
Scholars' Insight, a segment in Jema: Jurnal Ilmiah Bidang Akuntansi dan Manajemen from the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Islam Malang, offers innovative research ideas from global scholars. It enriches insights in accounting and management, sharing collaborative findings and best practices. Readers gain inspiration for further research and a deeper understanding of current developments, fostering academic networks and cross-institutional collaborations.

A Lecturer in Marketing at James Cook University Singapore with 10 years of industry experience. His research interests include services marketing, technology adoption (AI), and Halal and hospitality, and has been published in over 20 academic articles, book chapters and industry reports. He serves as an advisor for various organizations and is an editorial board member of several journals. Dr Hafihz received his PhD with full scholarship from the University of Adelaide, his MSc from the University College Dublin and a BBA from the National University of Singapore. He is a Fellow (FCIM) and Chartered Marketer at the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
A dynamic individual with a passion for academia, research, and digital technology, Alfian boasts a distinguished career spanning both academic and industry realms. His accolades include international recognition as a Certified Professional Marketer from the Asia Marketing Federation and as a Data Analyst certified by Google. Beyond his academic pursuits, he plays a pivotal role in Grafihouse, a startup specializing in AI technology services, data analysis, and digital marketing solutions. With a proven track record in academia and a keen eye for technological innovation, He is at the forefront of bridging the gap between theory and practice in the digital era.