COLUMBUS, Ohio – November 16, 2017 – DeviceBits, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) software company, released results of its latest industry survey and white paper: “The Path To The Customer Service Experience”. The paper addresses today’s journey customers take with brands when attempting to resolve questions or issues, and identifies key areas, including use of search engines, traditional phone support, and chatbots where brands are still missing the mark with consumers. Click here to download the paper.
The Use of Search Engines for Customer Service
Search engines play a major role in the overall customer experience for shopping, from initial research to sales and even customer resolution. According to a DeviceBits online survey presented to approximately 2,500 U.S. consumers, nearly a third (31%) said they use a search engine when trying to resolve customer service inquiries by trying to find answers to their questions online. Only 19% said they utilize a company’s 800-number with a live agent, which shows people today would rather find their own resolution online.
However, search engines are too big for true customer service use. Many search queries on today’s popular search engines yield thousands of entries, with many results not even close to the customer’s true issue. The survey also showed that 50% of those polled get frustrated because search results leave them even more confused.
The white paper reveals that brands need to do a better job housing their own, downloadable customer support materials, available on their own branded websites through destination portals, and available to customers 24/7 without the need to access a search engine. This method will help funnel the most relevant search results for the consumer, and will help reduce consumer exposure to false or even misleading information published on a search engine.
Where Chatbots Still Miss the Mark
Despite all the rage for chatbots, the white paper also sheds light on the fact that most brands still misuse them through improper engineering up front, leading to frustrated customer interactions and tarnishing the brand experience. Nearly a quarter of those polled (21%) said they never utilize a chatbot when it appears, and nearly half (45%) said they rarely get the answer the need from a chatbot.
What’s Needed: A Bot+ Approach
The educational impact from the paper comes from the explanation that brands should incorporate an intelligent Bot+ approach that doesn’t solely rely on human capital to train or maintain and help the bot learn over time. Successful brands that utilize the right bot+ approach will leverage and apply practical AI and machine learning technologies, tied into self-support downloadable materials accessed by customers. This integrated approach is the only way for bots to truly learn over time, along with NLP, that will ultimately provide each customer with the best possible bot interaction and experience, and will keep customers coming back for additional engagement and successful use.
To download the white paper, click here.

About DeviceBits
DeviceBits delivers any service provider, application developer, telecommunications company, consumer electronics manufacturer and Internet of Things (IoT) provider an AI powered software platform to enable consumer self-service and agent assisted destinations across all digital channels. Our mission is to change how customers buy and receive support for through AI and machine learning, leveraging the vast amount of data available in their knowledge based systems and online. With this approach, we can predict consumer behavior and adapt the customer service destinations. For more information visit www.DeviceBits.com.

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