Can Your AI Agent Communicate in All Channels?

Your insurance customers want to engage with you using the most convenient channel at the moment – messaging/chat, SMS/text, email or voice. On any given day, a policyholder or broker could choose different communication channels at different times, depending on whether they’re in their car, at their desk or out for dinner. If your AI solution only works on one communication channel, you’ve got a problem. Your AI agent should communicate in every channel and move seamlessly between them – just like humans!

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Consumer Communication Preferences Vary

There’s no denying that SMS is a popular communication channel, often beating phone and email. According to CBS News, 90% of Gen Zers are anxious about talking on the phone. Plus, AARP says adults aged 50 to 69 generally prefer text messages to email. 

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Insurers need to offer texting options to appeal to modern consumers – but this doesn’t mean they should ONLY allow customers to communicate with them through texting. Although many people prefer texting, some prefer other communication channels. To boost satisfaction, engagement, and retention, you need to offer multiple options.

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In fact, a single communication channel might be insufficient to appease everyone. According to Salesforce, 76% of customers prefer different channels depending on the context.

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Imagine you have a policyholder who prefers to use email for most of her communications. Then, she has a claim. She needs urgent help and has a lot of questions. Emailing is too slow – she wants to speak to someone on the phone.

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Delivering a Suite of AI-Powered Communication Options

When you select an AI solution, consider whether it supports all four of the primary communication channels.

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• Messaging/Chat: For everyday communications, messaging tools tend to be the most convenient. For example, your underwriters may want to use chat tools integrated into the underwriting workbench. This allows them to ask questions and request information without having to leave the system. 

• SMS/Text: Since many consumers prefer text messaging for most communications, this is an essential option. For example, policyholders who need to follow up on a claim may want to use texts to receive updates and ask questions. 

• Email: Email remains a solid communication channel for many requests. Some policyholders may prefer to use email for certain tasks, such as when they have a complicated question that’s too long for a text message. Your insurance team may also prefer emails when communicating with vendors and partners outside the company.

• Phone: Some people still prefer to contact companies by phone. This is also a good channel for customers who have urgent issues, such as a claim to report. 

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Channel Switching Needs to Be Seamless

Consumers switch from one communication channel to another depending on the specific circumstances. Those transitions need to be seamless. 

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Many companies are failing to deliver on this front. According to Gartner, 62% of customer service channel transitions are high effort. However, when companies succeed in delivering a seamless transition, 93% of respondents report a high level of customer satisfaction. 

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This is an easy win for insurance companies. Consumers want to be able to switch from one channel to another. If you make this easy for them, you stand to make a big improvement in customer satisfaction, which can help your policyholder retention rates. An AI solution that supports multiple channels can help you achieve this goal. 

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AI Solutions to Convert Speech to Text

Sometimes, talking is the most convenient way to relay information, but it may not be the most convenient way to receive information. An AI solution can help by converting speech to text.

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Consider a policyholder who calls to report a claim. The policyholder prefers to talk because it’s the easiest way for him to provide all the necessary information. He doesn’t want to write a long email or type answers to multiple questions. Now, your claims handler needs to review the information. Since the claimant was speaking quickly and tended to ramble – understandable considering the stressful nature of the situation – listening to the recording is not ideal. Instead, the claims handler uses the AI solution to access a transcript and written summary. Underwriters can also use speech to text to dictate emails. 

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Don’t Forget About the Language Barrier

There’s one more communication issue to consider: translations. 

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Language barriers can impede communication and contribute to policyholder frustration. With an AI solution that enables translations, this is no longer a problem. For example, a claimant could report a claim over the phone by speaking in Spanish. The AI tool could convert the speech to text and then translate this text into English. Finally, the claim handler can review the English translation as well as an English summary created by the AI tool.

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Does Your AI Solution Support All Communication Channels?

If your AI solution doesn’t support text, chat, email, and voice, and seamlessly transition between them, it’s not meeting all your communication needs. Liberate’s platform supports all four communication channels as well as speech to text and translation. Learn more.   

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