AI-powered virtual assistants and the future of VAs

Virtual assistants can now give a more personalized experience in general. Many things have become digital in recent times, with more people working from home. This has caused us to become very dependent on technology, and many customers are also benefiting from this way of working. We have all been moved out of offices and are now working in more closed spaces. Email and SMS are starting to become more important well as it is becoming a major form of communication.

It is estimated that a total of 3.5 billion is going to be spent on virtual assistants in the near future.

Consumers already have virtual assistants with them like Google home, amazon, ossisto.com, echo, etc. The technology used in these systems is very similar to the ones being used in many workplaces now. Instead of having a person as an assistant, you can have a virtual assistant, and this can make it easier to work. Work can be done more efficiently, and a lot of money is saved. This can increase the overall revenue. Within the next two years, there is a prediction that about 25 percent of talks with employees will be done through a virtual assistant.

AI and virtual assistants are not just good for businesses but also for consumers. If a company can work faster, then the consumer will start to benefit from it. If a company saves money, then that money can be used in better ways to make better products. Consumers also want a better product, and a virtual assistant can help us do that.

AI-based assistant technologies have improved a lot since they started out, and it continues to grow.

History of the virtual assistant

People and machines first communicated with each other in the 1960s. It wasn’t until the 1970s that voice recognition started to play a part in this. The first virtual assistant came about in the 1990s. This was a collaboration between IBM and Phillips. We saw the first chatbot in the 2000s. This chatbot started, and it could tell you the weather, look at facts, play games and converse with the users.

The age of smart speakers and virtual assistants

The first time that we saw a digital virtual assistant on a smartphone was on the IOS in February 2010. Siri, the virtual assistant, was launched as an application initially. Later on, it became a feature on the iPhone 4s in 2011. Other virtual assistants followed quickly after this. Cortana by Microsoft, google assistant by Google, Alexa by Amazon. This started off with the smart speakers for consumers am dot has become a very big business. These speakers were used for consumers, but there were also big advancements in the use of virtual assistants for business.

Future of virtual assistants for enterprises

Conversational AI has made great strides in 2020 itself, and there have been continuous improvements. Microsoft Azure, google cloud, and amazon web services are now being offered for people who want to use these services on a large scale. Now the AI has become very good, and it can actually solve problems. Here is how AI has impacted the retail and technology industries.

Use of virtual assistants in retail

After the pandemic started, retail has had a big impact. It has become very important to have the equipment for virtual stores, chats, and live videos. Most of the shopping has shifted to online stores away from physical stores. Chatbots and virtual assistants have become very important because consumers might buy products in the morning or at night. Chatbots have become very useful to take care of consumer support. Automating many tasks has made things easier for companies. Now they do not have to focus on these jobs, and they can focus on things that are more important, and this benefits the company.

AI has reported reducing the number of calls and emails made to customer care because now people’s problems are getting solved much quicker. There are instances where you can visit an online store and have a virtual assistant with you recommending products. There are many websites that can make customer recommendations within a few seconds by using a virtual assistant. Even B2B businesses have got a huge benefit from using virtual assistants.

Use of virtual assistants in technology companies

Any technology company can benefit from using AI. This is because there is a personal touch to the interaction that you have. There is more revenue generated per customer because you’re saving money in so many ways. The work of the sales and marketing team also gets reduced because it is being taken care of by the virtual assistants. The AI can also speak in many different languages, and this can take down the language barrier that could be a problem for many companies. Different products could also have different assistants assigned to them so that everything can be carried out smoothly.

Conclusion

Virtual assistants have changed the way the workforce is used. So many hard jobs are now done by AI, and this has increased speed and customer satisfaction. Most importantly VAs save money when compared to a person doing the job. They also don’t take breaks so you can do the job all day and night.

There is special VAs made for different teams like sales, marketing, etc., and they all have different jobs to do. VAs had come a long way from when they started out, and there is still some development that has to be done, but it is quite good now. We can all get the benefits from this virtual assistant, whether it is in our homes or in companies.

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