Why AI Is the Smarter Way to Manage After-Hours Calls

Traditionally, call agents are responsible for handling account inquiries, addressing customer queries and concerns, and providing information about products and services. But what about the numerous calls outside office hours that go unanswered? Small businesses lose many potential leads because of this operational drawback. This is where an AI solution for small businesses comes in to save the day. With an AI solution like a chatbot, a call agent, or simply an answering service, after-hours calls can be easily managed and used to improve customer experience.

Why Traditional Solutions Do Not Work Anymore

Let’s quickly establish why the mainstream solution of hiring numerous customer service representatives does not work anymore. 

• Costs of Hiring: One person can take one call at a time, so there is a very limited call-handling capacity. To counter this, a small business will have to hire multiple representatives to handle the call flow, which results in increased costs.
• Training takes time: Call agents are often the first interaction customers have with a business, and so it is important that their tone matches the company’s vision, objectives, and values. For this, they need to be trained rigorously, which takes up time.
• Quality Inconsistency: Outsourcing customer service representatives is also a widely used technique. However, it creates inconsistencies in the quality of service and compromises customer experience and brand image.
• Delayed Response: Customers often have to wait in long queues and have their calls forwarded multiple times until they reach the right person. Or if they call after hours, a call back is recommended within the next working day and customers’ concerns remain unaddressed.

How AI Can Handle Calls Without Extra Staff

Since traditional methods fall short, automating calls is often the most efficient solution. Launching an AI-based solution handles the task without the typical call center stress. Here’s how it helps you manage after-hours calls:

24/7 Availability

It is impossible to expect a human to work all day, every day. However, an AI system can work without breaks. An AI call agent ensures availability throughout the day, which reduces the amount of lost leads or missed calls. You get to deliver exceptional service to your customers, with no endless wait times and a loop of transferring calls. And the best part? AI is not affected by holidays or time zones, and does not require sick days. So, it helps maximise productivity and customer satisfaction.

Smart Features

AI is now programmed to understand customer intent, emotions, and reactions and knows how to respond accordingly. Aside from this, it is also equipped with smart features like helping you schedule a meeting after verifying availability on both ends. 

Since an AI call agent is well-versed with the business’s offerings, it can be trained in advance for frequently asked questions, so it can respond and guide customers with accurate, timely information.

No Language Barrier

One common concern that an AI call agent bypasses is the language barrier. The AI can be developed in a way that allows it to respond to different languages, understand dialects, and respond. This not only personalizes the customer service but also eliminates the need to hire multilingual staff, making the process smoother, faster, and far more scalable.

Unlimited Call Handling Capacity

With AI, you can hold multiple conversations at the same time. This removes the biggest constraint faced through traditional methods of one call per person, at a time. 

Whether it is five calls at once or fifty, an AI system does not get overwhelmed and can successfully handle all calls simultaneously, with no wait times or delayed responses to the customers. 

Consistent Customer Experience

Since it is an AI call agent handling all the calls, you can rest assured that the quality of calls will remain consistent and aligned with your brand standards. A high number of calls will not wear out the AI agent, resulting in service degradation. Instead, each call will have consistent energy, and the information delivered will be accurate and aligned with your business’s voice.

Conclusion

It will be no surprise that an AI calling agent or chatbot is the better way to handle after-hours calls, and just calls in general. It not only has no language and call-handling capacity constraints but also guarantees all day long availability and smart features. As a small business looking for an AI solution for your unattended calls, you should consider a simple, customizable AI that can answer, route, and schedule calls