Large Language Models (LLM) are changing how people access information, altering how consumers interact with the world around them. With them, the promise is to make customers feel digitally understood, resulting in more relevant experiences. For companies, the flexibility and nuances of this technology present an opportunity to build meaningful relationships with their customers.
"The ability to create a feeling of being understood is powerful and much needed," the study points out.
According to a questionnaire, the study highlights that 42 per cent of respondents feel comfortable using conversational AI to find product recommendations. This represents a paradigm shift: where information discovery used to be done in "search mode", it is now done in conversational mode.
The Age of AI
New tools like ChatGPT are combining search and service into a singular response. This represents a new way of getting exact answers. In this scenario, other LLMs are also beginning to gain ground, such as Auto-GPT, which makes it possible to create a to-do list to achieve one or more goals, whether personal or professional.
"AI is now doing things for people through autonomous agents: trained AI entities that can carry out tasks independently," concludes Accenture Life Trends 2024.
Less than a year after the launch of ChatGPT, 12.9 per cent of individuals who have used this technology say that the tool (or a similar one) would be their main method for planning a trip.
Virtual "companions" capable of holding a natural conversation, such as "Pi", bring a dimension of emotional intelligence to chatbots. How? Through empathy in personalised responses that recognise the user's current situation (within context).
"A shift is emerging that could be very important. The shift from search to two-way chat with Generative AI enables conversational experiences, providing more engaging interaction and promoting inclusion. People can seek clarification, ask questions and receive support in real-time, promoting deeper satisfaction."
By using natural language processes, there is an improvement in consumer engagement. This mitigates the need for specific questions and creates increasingly intuitive and personalised experiences.
But what does this mean for brands?
Intelligent conversational interfaces can help brands understand their customers more precisely and flexibly. The result is clear: stronger, more personal relationships between brands and consumers.
However, the implications are also significant, as customers will come to expect a gradually more personalised product and/or service offering. Finding a new harmony between maintaining global brand consistency and delivering relevance to each consumer will become crucial.
Accenture predicts that LLM will change the relationship between people and companies. Whether they manifest as a virtual person or in some other creative way, brands can come to life through conversational AI interfaces.
The next steps
With the pace of change showing signs of accelerating, brands should now consider what LLM can help them achieve. Brands that successfully utilise this technology will become part of a new dynamic that positively impacts their relationship with consumers while allowing brands to be better understood. Therefore, brands should consider the following aspects:
Common user problems across all digital interfaces will become spaces of opportunity for brands and platforms, from search to visibility and service.
Is the company's goal to lead the creation of a new interface paradigm or wait for others to do it? Is your data ready?
How quickly will consumer expectations change as the ecosystem integrates Generative AI into everyday interface interactions?
For these questions, the study leaves the following suggestions:
- Analyse your data to identify the unique value that is created when built on an LLM;
- Explore now, but remember this is more than a technological innovation. Changing human behaviours and expectations will be a significant and rapid change to which companies must adapt;
- Integrate your approach and expertise into your core teams;
- Organise and plan continuous customer engagement to unify your marketing, sales and service processes through conversational interfaces.
Find out more here.