Cloud Based Help Desk: AI-Powered Service Desk and Ticketing System

A cloud-based help desk refers to online help desk software which is hosted externally by a service provider. Since it is on the cloud, any agent from around the world can access it at any time. Some examples of well-known cloud help desk service providers include ServiceNow, Salesforce, and Zendesk.

• A cloud-based help desk removes the substantial cost of maintaining user data with on-premise hardware and managing the help desk software from the business to the cloud vendor. Since it is managed and maintained by the service provider, the business is not responsible for storing or retrieving customer data, auditing security, or updating the software.
• Cloud-based software provide more flexibility for your agents, and given the rise of remote work, accessibility, and mobility are crucial features missing from legacy on-premise solutions.
• Implementation for cloud-based help desk solutions is much faster than traditional methods, going live on a scale of several days as opposed to several weeks. For many services, it’s as easy as connecting your company’s communication channels.
• Cloud-based help desks offer the convenience of a well-connected experience to customers, which is left wanting by on-premise solutions. Additionally, online help desks also include multi-channel integrations like email, web, social media, and voice.
• Cloud-based help desk ticketing systems integrate with knowledge bases to help customers help themselves. Uploading tutorials and FAQs online gives customers access to answers without the need for agent assistance.

So far, we’ve seen how a cloud-based help desk software provides a distinct advantage versus its on-premise counterpart. However, when it comes to scalability, the cloud-based help desk could use a little bit of help of its own.

The traditional process of submitting a ticket and waiting for an answer starts to struggle when thousands of users are submitting tickets each day (with an untold number of them being repeated questions). This leaves support teams with a large ticket backlog and users with no timely answers. A company can always add more agents but this drives up costs and may not necessarily be the most effective solution. Despite the larger workforce, agents will still end up answering repeated questions, leading to an unfulfilling experience, lower agent productivity, and higher burnout rates. With all of these places for improvement, what if there was an even smarter way to manage this flow?

Through an amalgamation of Natural Language Processing, Understanding, and Generation (NLP, NLU, and NLG respectively), enterprises are leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) for their cloud-based help desks to deliver exceptional end-to-end service to their users.

AI works together with support agents to alleviate the more banal daily tasks and enhance the customer service experience. This is done through smarter Virtual Assistants, workflow automation platforms, smarter ticket systems, and reinforcement learning.

Traditional Chatbots use predefined, “canned” responses when interacting with customers, but are limited to whatever flows have been programmed into them. Relying on a Chatbot becomes less viable when the request is more complex or deviates from what was programmed. If the Chatbot cannot answer a question, it either displays an error message or apologizes for offering an insufficient answer and routes the customer’s issues to the next available support agent.

For instance, an AI Virtual Assistant based on Aisera’s Conversational AI platform can understand and respond to questions much as a real person would. An AI chatbot can respond to questions flexibly and precisely, regardless of how the question is phrased.

This is a game-changer because customers no longer need to guess how they should structure their query and can feel empowered to resolve their issues with the Chatbot instead of a live chat with a support agent, which saves time for both parties.