Robots Are 5 to 11 Times More Efficient than Human Salespeople

By Raizel Albano
You may have had many encounters with robots more than you realize.
You may have had many encounters with robots more than you realize.  CNET.

A recent study conducted by Conversica, a company that sells Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based software for sales, marketing and online leads, shows that robots can be better salespeople than humans in tasks ranging from simple to complex ones.

The research features a case study on how well a human and a robot can perform multiple and difficult tasks in a prompt and efficient manner. Conversica got in touch with 548 websites and sent inquiries via online chat, online form, and email.

The results are staggering with Conversica not receiving responses from over a third of contacted human agents. Of the two-thirds that did reply, which account to 66 percent, the company only received acknowledgement responses. Subsequent questions were also not answered.  

AI-powered robots, on the other hand, reached up to 5 to 11 times more productivity than human agents. This means, what 5 to 11 humans can do can be achieved by just one robot. This is achieved because of AI's ability to automatically guess what should be answered based on inquiry leads. Prompts are regularly updated, and robots are able to readily gather information that would otherwise need some time for humans to properly curate.

A Conversica spokesperson says AI-powered robot agents offer big advantages over humans as they focus on tasks, without the cajoling of emotions. With a robot, gone are the sick days, busy days, mood swings, PMS days, and other excuses to leave work. The spokesperson says, "An AI automated assistant will happily engage with prospects as often and as long as is required."

It turns out more and more companies are turning to AI-powered robot agents. As of today, there are 15,000 live robot sales representatives under Conversica's wing, with clients from seven industries: automotive, education, finance and mortgage, insurance, real estate, technology, and membership services. Even Mercedes-Benz now uses robot agents to manage inquiries for its website. Other big clients include IBM and Sysco.

But Conversica CEO Alex Terry says AI has its limitations. "There's always a percentage of messages that are confusing for the AI, so we have a human team for when the AI is not confident and needs to forward it on to the sales person to do whatever is necessary to move the lead forward, close the deal and increase revenue," he explains.

It seems the best team-up is for AI-powered robots in terms of efficiency and speed, and humans for logic. Terry adds that prompts for Conversica robots are still growing so the more inquiries the robots receive, the more data these virtual agents can pull out from the information pool. "We've got the world's largest data set around sales conversations and that's part of why customers are growing with us," he says. 

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