1. Plivo CX—best for omnichannel automation

Plivo CX is an omnichannel customer support platform that allows you to reach out to customers on their preferred channels, whether it’s SMS/MMS messaging, live chat, voice calls, WhatsApp, or email. 

Plivo CX's intuitive drag-and-drop workflow builder empowers businesses to create custom customer journeys across all communication channels (SMS, chat, voice, email) for efficient issue resolution and tailored support.

This cloud-based tool integrates home-grown systems and multiple popular tools, including Zendesk, Zoho, HubSpot, Shopify, and Salesforce. It also excels in compatibility with home-grown systems, enabling personalized customer service without the need for major changes to your existing tech stack. 

Moreover, you can record calls for training your agents and analyze live metrics like customers in the queue, average wait time, average handle time, and average wrap-up time.

2. HelpDocs—best for knowledge bases

The knowledge-based software solution HelpDocs simplifies creating and managing knowledge-based articles and FAQs.It is the solution of choice if you want to create self-serving content that customers can use to solve their queries quickly. 

3. Olark—best for live chat automation

Olark allows for the personalization of chatbots with a few clicks. Plus, based on visitor behavior, you can send custom messages and boost the speed of your workflows. Like Plivo CX, Olark offers intelligent routing to direct chat-based queries to the right department.

Moreover, Olark’s live chat analytics monitors customer satisfaction, chat volume, and agent performance. 

4. Buffer—best for social media automation 

Buffer is a social media automation tool that automates social listening and communicating with customers on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok.

If a large number of your customer queries are coming through social media, Buffer is your customer service solution of choice. 

From a customer service perspective, Buffer compiles and highlights the most important unanswered comments on your posts in one place, helping you respond to customers quickly. It uses machine learning to identify whether a comment has negative sentiment or comments about a purchase, helping you prioritize the right conversations.

5. Hiver—best for Gmail support automation

Hiver converts your Gmail account into an omnichannel customer service dashboard that integrates voice, live chat, and WhatsApp. 

Start by installing Hiver on a common Gmail account that your team uses to handle customer queries (such as support@yourcompany.com). The tool then lets you assign incoming emails to team members, categorize them based on the query type, resolution status, and priority, and collaborate on them to resolve customer issues.

1. Reduced cost of customer service 

Process automation helps save up to 46% of business costs. Customer service automation is a type of process automation that enables you to save (and make) money in two ways:

• Robotic process automation (RPA)—RPA automates manual, repetitive, and rule-based tasks, such as responding to frequently asked questions or routing queries to the appropriate department. The result is reduced human involvement and labor costs
• Intelligent automation (IA)—IA uses artificial intelligence to mimic human behavior and communicate with customers in natural language. It improves customer experiences and lead-generation activities that ultimately increase revenue

An example of this comes from The Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB). They successfully implemented a chatbot, which resolved 80% of customer queries without human intervention. This led to a 20% reduction in call center volume, translating into $2.7 million in annual cost savings.

2. Improved omnichannel performance

Automated customer service software integrates various communication channels, such as phone, email, chat, and social media, to ensure consistent support experiences regardless of customers' preferred channel.

For example, a customer may start an inquiry via email but later prefer to continue the conversation through a live chat on the company's website. An omnichannel customer service tool will make the interaction history and context available to the agent, enabling them to provide uninterrupted personalized support.

3. Data for personalization

Customer service automation tools (such as chatbots and email responders) collect customer data, such as:

• Customer preferences
• Purchase history
• Browsing behavior
• Demographics
• Frequently asked questions

Analyze this data to create detailed customer profiles and better understand their needs and preferences. This lets you tailor product recommendations, offer personalized promotions, conduct sentiment analysis, and provide targeted assistance based on individual preferences.