Welcome to the forefront of conversational AI as we explore the fascinating world of AI chatbots in our dedicated blog series. Discover the latest advancements, applications, and strategies that propel the evolution of chatbot technology. From enhancing customer interactions to streamlining business processes, these articles delve into the innovative ways artificial intelligence is shaping the landscape of automated conversational agents. Whether you’re a business owner, developer, or simply intrigued by the future of interactive technology, join us on this journey to unravel the transformative power and endless possibilities of AI chatbots.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has rocketed the adoption of virtual agent technology (VAT) into hyperdrive. For emergency situations, when speed and simplicity are mission critical, out-of-the-box implementations can go live in a matter of hours. However, companies that thoughtfully design, develop, and deploy VAT have the potential to unlock even more value for their organizations and their users, be they customers, employees, or human agents.
Until now, actual data about VAT performance has been limited to individual case studies, making it difficult for organizations to derive meaningful comparisons. So the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV), in cooperation with Oxford Economics, surveyed 1,005 respondents across 12 industries and 33 countries to gather performance data from organizations employing VAT daily, in live situations, for periods from six months to just over four years.
99% of respondents report an increase in customer satisfaction as a result of using virtual agent technology.
As we embarked on this research, we knew organizations needed answers to four key questions:
Our analysis revealed that VAT is having a positive impact on nearly every measure, including customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and revenue, and an exceedingly high proportion of respondents (96 percent) have achieved, or expect to achieve, their anticipated ROI.
96% of respondents have exceeded, achieved, or expect to achieve their anticipated return on investment for their virtual agent technology implementation.
Lessons from the leaders
Our analysis identified a small group of virtual agent technology pioneers we have identified as leaders. Each leader demonstrates three critical attributes that decision makers directly influence:
Comprising 10 percent of our sample, leaders span all industries and regions surveyed, as well as all three types of VAT implementation, in almost equal proportions. Leaders also report outperforming their competition on revenue and profitability for the last three years. And they outperform other respondents on core metrics used to measure the efficiency of VAT.
Virtual agent technology leaders outperform their peers in three key areas 
Learn what sets these leaders apart—and how virtual agent technology can help your organization realize customer, agent, and financial benefits.
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Originally published .
Improve customer and employee experiences with market-leading conversational AI.
Empower customers and agents with essential customer service.
IBM Watson Assistant is a service on the IBM Cloud to help you build and deploy virtual assistants.
Improve customer and employee experiences with market-leading conversational AI.
Empower customers and agents with essential customer service.
IBM Watson Assistant is a service on the IBM Cloud to help you build and deploy virtual assistants.
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