How (and where) AI is showing ROI in customer support

Customer service leaders aren’t just launching pilot projects with AI. They’re beginning to scale AI-powered self-service, conversational support, and advanced ticketing capabilities, according to a wide-ranging new Freshworks customer service study.

The Freshworks Customer Service Benchmark Report, based on anonymized usage data from 19 million Freshdesk tickets and 37 million Freshchat conversations across 25+ industries between January 2023 and April 2024, reveals that both agent- and customer-facing bots, along with other automation features, can significantly boost customer service KPIs such as first-response and resolution times. 

Customers today expect a seamless, efficient experience, regardless of industry. “They want everything available at their fingertips and expect minimal contact. This means companies need to adopt new tools to meet these expectations,” says Murali Krishnan, senior VP of customer service at Freshworks.

Key findings show how companies are revamping CX with AI.

• Chatbots take on huge workloads: On average, businesses can deflect up to 85% of customer queries to AI chatbots. It’s a win-win for everyone—faster self-service for customers and more time for agents to tackle complex queries requiring a human touch. 

• Gen AI shows ROI: Optimally using generative AI features such as a conversation/ticket summarizer and rephraser helps businesses slash resolution time by up to 38% and improve customer satisfaction scores by up to 6%. 

• Streamlined ticketing: Setting up automation rules to assign tickets to agents can reduce first-assign time by 12 minutes and 31 seconds per ticket.

• Knowledge base speeds resolutions: Setting up a knowledge base significantly enhances service efficiency. For instance, businesses that use self-service FAQs could halve resolution times compared to those that do not. 

• Change the channel: Email, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger are the most widely used support channels across industries. B2C industries lean toward mobile-first channels, while B2B industries use more email.

In addition to these findings, the report also provides benchmarks for critical customer service KPIs such as average first-assign time, average resolution time, and resolution SLA percentage that every company should track. 

To learn more, read the full report.