With the advent of chatbots and other artificial intelligence-powered support tools, a startup business can expand its capabilities significantly. But while it is a welcomed development, it also raises an important question. Does this spell the end for human assistants? Let’s dive in and find out.
Why Is It The End Of Human Virtual Assistants (Or So They Claim)?
Arguably one of the biggest draws of artificial intelligence for virtual assistance is that they can work 24/7. That is vital, as your business operations can continue beyond the usual nine to five. These AI assistants also handle repetitive tasks in the background, which will help you streamline your work significantly.
And as the technology develops, you can expect these AI-powered virtual assistants to grow in functionality. Right now, we are seeing the growth of AI in the language department. Whereas before, chatbots respond to only a small number of predetermined questions in short answers. Now, they can answer a larger set of questions by going through an extensive database. That lets chatbots sustain long conversations with users.
AI-powered virtual assistants are also seen as being more cost-effective. With their processing speed, they can handle work that might require several agents. Because of this, you can streamline your startup business team further.
The Limitation Of AI-Powered Virtual Assistants
With all of the above and the continuing growth of technology, it’s not hard to see why some think they will eventually overtake human agents. But while it is an interesting prospect, the reality is that it is still far off in the future. For all its advancements, the technology still has limitations that prevent it from fully realizing its potential.
One of those limitations that AI assistants face is that they don’t sound quite “human” just yet. While they might be able to respond to longer conversations, AI chatbots can\’t discern various nuances found in human language.
You might ask what that has got to do when the AI assistant is only supposed to do simple tasks and answer queries. But even in these routine tasks, there are still some nuances in the results you would want to get. As they can\’t take on these effectively, you might still find yourself a bit unsatisfied with their work.
Additionally, there is the matter of interaction. Humans naturally want interactions with others, even for simple work-related tasks. It is one way for us to get new insights that help us to do our tasks. Having to engage with just a machine throughout the day can also make for a boring workday.
Making The Case For Human VAs In Your Startup Business
For their part, human assistants can give something more to your startup business than just doing tasks faster and round the clock. They can deliver things that AI is not capable of providing. All of these add a surprising amount of value to your startup business operations.
The Ability To Act Independently
One thing that sets human agents apart from AI-powered virtual assistants is their decision-making capabilities. They can take actions based on what they believe will provide the best results for the work. And they make those decisions independent of your input.
This is vital, as it allows them to respond to situations that a machine can\’t handle. For instance, your human assistant can opt to resolve an issue with customers without having to go through complicated procedures. This saves you a lot of time, ensuring that the work is not disrupted because of those instances.
Problem-Solving Skills
Along with independent decision-making skills, human agents also have greater problem-solving skills. This can sometimes be underappreciated, but an agent with good troubleshooting skills can help you resolve issues that you might be encountering for the first time. They do this by going out of the box and presenting you with solutions that you might not have thought of initially.
Another great thing about agents with good problem-solving skills is that they can anticipate those issues you might not even be aware of. They can then provide you with a solution before you even need it. That proactivity will save your startup business a lot of trouble down the line.
Soft Skills
The last factor in the case of having human VAs is the soft skills they bring into your startup business. These soft skills have a significant impact on how they would work for your business.
For instance, good communication skills will help them better disseminate your instructions to the different teams. And they can effectively relay feedback to you, along with some expert insights of their own. This helps you make more sound decisions for the business.
Bringing Human And AI Virtual Assistants Together For Your Startup Business
At Virtua Outsourcing, we don’t believe in all this claim about AI being the end for human assistants. Instead, we see this as an opportunity for the latter to expand their capabilities further. Thus, it is our goal to provide you with VAs that can effectively work with AI-powered tools.
Think of it as our agents being the heart of your virtual assistant system. The machines handle repetitive tasks like creating your schedules and sending out messages. On the other hand, our agents will take on more sophisticated tasks like coordinating with suppliers or stakeholders. And we provide you with insights on what works and what doesn’t. Our agents can all tell you what you can do to improve the system.
Another essential part of our effort to provide a more collaborative environment for human and AI agents is in creating a more seamless integration of the two. Our VAs are themselves well versed in the latest AI assistance tools. Thus, we can use these tools to make the work we do for you more efficient. For instance, we rely on these tools and our expertise to create better schedules for your office tasks.
Get The Best Of Both Worlds For Your Startup Business
Thus, you don’t need to decide whether to get human VAs or AI assistants for your startup business. With our help, you can get the benefits of both and more. Contact us today so we can help you make that leap.