Research pick: Time for an AI chat - "Enhancing the customer experience AI-chatbot: service quality, emotional intelligence, and personalisation"

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used widely in many different areas of our lives, including healthcare, education, finance, retail, tourism, and e-commerce. It is allowing business to change the way in which they interact with their customers through the advent of chatbots. Research in the International Journal of Trade and Global Markets has looked at how the evolution of AI-driven chatbots can be integrated into the systems businesses use to interact with their customers.

Minh T.H. Le, Khoi Minh Nguyen, Ngan Thanh Nguyen, Nghi Hoang Vo, Khang Trieu Tran, and Duc Trung Dao of the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam analysed 335 completed questionnaires which asked correspondents about their experience with AI chatbots. AI chatbots can operate day and night, seven days a week, and give customers prompt responses to their queries. The team explains that such chatbots seem to improve customer experience by boosting quality perception, customer satisfaction, and personalization. Moreover, these AI services appear to cultivate trust and loyalty among customers, which has a positive effect on overall brand relationships.

Earlier studies have tended to focus on the technology itself. This latest work considers the human response. The team explains that the use of AI chatbots allows businesses to streamline operations, tailor their customer interactions, and also to gain useful insights about consumer behaviour. This, they add, is helping with business automation and sales forecasting.

One negative point that arose from the analysis that many people are still worried about the lack of “emotional intelligence” in AI chatbots. This represents an ongoing challenge to maintaining customer satisfaction and trust and is an issue that future developments in AI may well address. Indeed, now is the time for companies that wish to make the most of this emerging technology to encourage and support appropriate development in the AI sector that balances the technological demands with the human experience.

Le, M.T.H., Nguyen, K.M., Nguyen, N.T., Vo, N.H., Tran, K.T. and Dao, D.T. (2024) ‘Enhancing the customer experience AI-chatbot: service quality, emotional intelligence, and personalisation’, Int. J. Trade and Global Markets, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp.111–132.