How businesses are streamlining workflows with conversational AI

Summary

• Conversational AI helps businesses eliminate inefficiencies by automating repetitive tasks and improving workflows.
• From customer service to project management, AI-powered tools are freeing up employees to focus on higher-value work.
• Real-world examples show how industries like retail, healthcare, and marketing are already benefiting from these streamlined processes.
• While challenges like integration and adoption exist, businesses that embrace conversational AI are seeing significant time and cost savings.
• The future of conversational AI promises even greater capabilities, like predictive task management and hyper-personalized interactions.

Struggling with that ominous feeling of when you’ve got 100 tasks on your plate, and most of them are mundane, repetitive, or just plain time-consuming? 

You’re not alone. This is the reality for many businesses trying to keep up with day-to-day operations, get their inbox to zero, and stay on top of their life admin, too.

Enter conversational AI, a tool that helps businesses simplify and streamline their workflows. With its ability to automate tasks, improve communication, and scale operations, conversational AI is making it easier than ever for businesses to work smarter—not harder.

Let’s dive into how businesses are using conversational AI to transform their workflows and focus on what really matters.

What does it mean to streamline workflows?

Streamlining workflows is all about cutting out inefficiencies and making the workflow process smoother.

Let’s take an example of processing a refund, for instance. In a business that processes them manually, this simple task can drag on and get complex. Let’s look at the workflow behind a typical human-processed refund workflow.

1. First, the customer reaches out for helpThe customer emails or calls to ask for a refund and waits on hold or for someone to respond.
2. Next, the agent reviews the requestA customer service agent then manually checks the order details and refund policy. If the customer didn’t include everything needed, there’s back-and-forth to gather more info.
3. Approval is neededThe agent sends the request to a manager or another team for approval. This can take time if they’re dealing with other tasks or requests.
4. Processing the refund beginsOnce approved, the agent submits the refund in the system, which may take longer if they need to switch between different tools or systems.
5. Customer gets notifiedThe agent emails or calls the customer to confirm the refund, which might get delayed if they’re handling multiple requests at once.
6. Follow-up if there’s an issueIf the customer doesn’t see the refund in their account, they reach out again, restarting the process and causing more delays.

Just one simple refund is a 6 step process, with lots of steps in the workflow that happens over multiple days (or weeks!). No wonder the refund process costs businesses over $200 billion each year.

Improving this process using conversational AI would reduce this time, offer a better experience to your customers, and reduce the amount of money wasted on refund requests. Take a look at ElevenLabs in action.

Streamlining here means simplifying the way tasks are managed, automating repetitive processes, and ensuring everything flows smoothly from start to finish.

In a business setting, streamlined workflows mean faster results, reduced costs, and less stress for employees. Conversational AI is playing a major role in this transformation. 

Acting as a digital assistant, it helps businesses eliminate bottlenecks, improve productivity, and free up time for more strategic work.

5 ways Conversational AI improves workflows

But how exactly can AI help that refund process we looked at above? And how can it help businesses cut costs and offer a better customer experience? Let’s take a look at a couple of examples.

1. Automating repetitive tasks

Many business processes are repetitive and predictable—perfect candidates for automation. Things like buying from a repeat supplier, scheduling a meeting, or reconciling invoices are time-consuming tasks for humans but no problem for AI.

This is the same with AI agents that utilize conversational AI to work. Voice conversational AI agents can take over tasks like answering FAQs, booking appointments, providing order updates, answering the phone, speaking directly to the customer, or simply sending text messages.

For example, imagine a customer calling to reschedule an appointment. Instead of waiting for a human rep, they can interact with an AI assistant that handles the entire process in seconds. This not only saves time for the customer but also reduces the workload for employees, allowing them to focus on higher-value activities.

2. Improving internal comms

Internal communication can often be a bottleneck in business operations. 

Employees waste valuable time hunting for information, clarifying tasks, or resolving minor issues. Conversational AI acts as a virtual help desk, providing instant answers to common questions.

For instance, an employee might have questions like, “What’s the policy on expense reimbursement?” or “Who’s managing the latest product launch?” 

Instead of emailing multiple people or combing through documents to get the answer, they can get immediate answers from the AI. This ensures faster decision-making and keeps teams moving forward.

Even better, multilingual teams can streamline apps even further by translating internal content across countries and international organizations. Take ElevenLabs multilingual text to speech, for instance, which can turn any language into an AI generated voice response, perfect for training, answering questions, or providing onboarding information to new employees across the globe. See it in action here.

3. Speeding up customer interactions

Nobody likes being put on hold. 

Conversational AI eliminates this frustration by providing instant responses to customer inquiries, whether it’s through a chatbot on a website or a voice assistant on the phone. Take a look.

Customers can check product availability, reset passwords, or track deliveries in real time, without needing to wait for human assistance. 

Not only does this improve customer satisfaction, but it also ensures that service teams can focus on more complex or sensitive customer issues instead of routine inquiries.

4. Streamlining project management

Managing projects involves a lot of moving parts; you’re juggling deadlines, tasks, updates, and more. 

Conversational AI integrates seamlessly with project management tools to make this process smoother.

AI assistants can send reminders, update team members on task progress, and even answer questions like, “What’s the deadline for this project?” or “Who’s assigned to this task?” By automating these updates, teams spend less time chasing details and more time doing the work that matters (aka your actual job!)

5. Scaling business operations

Growth is great, but scaling operations can be a challenge. As you grow, you take on new team members, new responsibilities, and expensive new requirements.

Conversational AI helps businesses manage larger volumes of interactions without overloading their teams.

For example, during peak seasons like holiday sales, conversational AI can handle a surge in customer inquiries, ensuring no one is left waiting. 

On the internal side, businesses can use AI tools to onboard new employees efficiently, providing quick answers to common questions and guiding them through processes. This scalability ensures that businesses can grow without sacrificing quality or customer satisfaction.

Challenges in adopting conversational AI for workflows

So, the benefits are clear, but implementing conversational AI isn’t always smooth sailing. 

Businesses often face a few common challenges, but these can be addressed with thoughtful planning. Let’s take a look at a few below.

Integration with existing systems

One major hurdle is ensuring conversational AI works seamlessly with a company’s current tools and platforms. Conversational AI only works as well as the data you input, and that means giving the bot access to your internal comms and data to read, understand, and spit out again. 

Whether it’s your CRM software, project management tools, or customer service systems, compatibility is key, so businesses should find a conversational AI agent that integrates seamlessly and perhaps invest in a consultant to get it set up.

Choosing AI solutions, like ElevenLabs, with robust integration capabilities can make this process much easier.

Training and adoption

New technologies, AI or not, can be scary for your teams. There’s usually a period of upheaval around setting a new technology into place, so businesses need to stay on top of good change management policies to ensure they make the most of this new tech. 

A clear training plan that focuses on how AI supports their work—not replaces it—can ease these concerns and help teams adapt quickly. Also, choosing a conversational AI agent with a smaller learning curve can help your business get up and running faster.

Data privacy

With sensitive customer and business data at play, security is a top priority. Businesses must choose AI tools with strong encryption, transparent privacy policies, and compliance with data regulations. 

Building trust with customers and employees starts with protecting their information, and that means choosing a conversational AI tool like Elevenlabs, where you know that your data is safe.

The future of streamlined workflows with conversational AI

Conversational AI is just getting started. 

As the technology evolves, businesses can look forward to even greater capabilities.

Future conversational AI tools will be more proactive, using predictive task management to anticipate what needs to be done before it’s even asked. 

For instance, an AI assistant might suggest following up with a client or flagging a delayed task for immediate attention. Greater personalization will also take center stage, with AI adapting its interactions to each individual’s preferences and style.

As conversational AI becomes more sophisticated, it will redefine how businesses operate. 

Workflows will be faster, more efficient, and less prone to human error. 

By automating repetitive tasks, improving communication, and providing actionable insights, AI will enable businesses to focus on innovation and growth rather than being bogged down by daily operational challenges.

Create a conversational AI chatbot with ElevenLabs

So, are you ready to take the plunge in your business and start streamlining your workflows with the power of conversational AI? Here’s how you can get started. 

Step 1: Get started with ElevenLabsSign up for an ElevenLabs account and head to the Conversational AI Beta section to kick things off.

Step 2: Decide your chatbot’s purposeChoose what your chatbot will do, like answering FAQs, guiding users through purchases, or assisting with customer support. ElevenLabs offers specialized templates to make setup easier.

Step 3: Set up the basicsConfigure your chatbot’s personality and behavior. Pick the language it will use and choose your preferred AI model—like GPT-4 Turbo for detailed answers or Gemini 1.5 Flash for quick responses.

Step 4: Build its knowledge baseAdd the information your chatbot will need to respond accurately. Upload documents, input text content, or link to your website so the AI can learn and provide relevant, contextual answers.

Step 5: Customize its voiceFine-tune how your chatbot sounds by selecting a voice from ElevenLabs’ library or creating a custom one that matches your brand.

Step 6: Test it outRun your chatbot through real-world scenarios. Use ElevenLabs’ testing tools to make sample calls or interactions and tweak the settings based on performance.

Step 7: Launch and monitorIntegrate your chatbot into your platform using the provided widget. Add the widget ID to your website and adjust the design so it fits your brand’s look. Once live, keep an eye on its performance to ensure it continues to meet your goals.

The last word

Conversational AI is changing the game for businesses by streamlining workflows, automating tasks, and boosting efficiency, and ElevenLabs, with its impressively human-like speech and powerful AI tech, is at the forefront of it all.

So the question isn’t whether AI can improve your workflows; it’s how quickly you can start using it to transform your business. 

Get started with ElevenLabs here.