Using ChatGPT for Customer Service

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Introduction

Customer service bots of old can often feel robotic, rigid, and painfully predictable. But enter ChatGPT: the fresher, more dynamic contender in the bot arena.

ChatGPT isn't just another bot. It's been meticulously trained on a vast sea of text and code, equipping it to grapple with questions that would stump its predecessors. And it's not limited to just customer queries; this versatile bot can craft a range of text formats, from poems to programming snippets.

But the standout feature? ChatGPT's touch of humour. It's not just about answering questions; it's about engaging in a way that's both informative and entertaining. So if you're in search of a customer service experience that's more captivating than the norm, it might be time to chat with ChatGPT.

Onboarding ChatGPT: A Quick and Easy Guide

Ready to set sail with ChatGPT? Here's your easy guide to make sure you're all set and ready to roll:

1. Obtain the API Key: First, you'll need to get an API key from OpenAI. This is like your secret password to the world of ChatGPT. To get an API key, head to the OpenAI platform and sign up. Once you're signed in, go to the API section and click on "Create New Key."

2. Integrate ChatGPT with Your System: Once you have your API key, you can integrate ChatGPT with your system. This is like introducing ChatGPT to your system and making sure they're friends, ready to work together smoothly. To integrate ChatGPT, you'll need to add your API key into your system's code. The specific steps involved will vary depending on your system, but there are many resources available online to help you. Here is an example of how you can do it in Python:

import openai
import os
# Initialize OpenAI API Client
api_key = os.environ.get("OPENAI_API_KEY") # Retrieve the API key from environment variables
openai.api_key = api_key # Set the API key
 
# API parameters
model = "gpt-3.5-turbo"  # Choose the appropriate engine
max_tokens = 150  # Limit the response length

3. Fine-Tune ChatGPT (Optional): ChatGPT is super smart, but sometimes you might need it to learn some specific stuff about your company. That's where fine-tuning comes in. To fine-tune ChatGPT, you can provide it with training data that is specific to your company. This could include product information, customer service FAQs, or even just examples of the types of conversations that you want ChatGPT to be able to handle. Fine-tuning is not required, but it can help to improve the performance of ChatGPT on your specific tasks. [https://www.packtpub.com/article-hub/fine-tuning-gpt-35-and-4].

And that's it! With these three steps, ChatGPT will be all set to jump in and take your customer service to the next level. Ready, set, ChatGPT!

Utilise ChatGPT for Seamless Question Answering

In the ever-evolving world of customer service, stand out by integrating ChatGPT into your service channels, making real-time, accurate response a seamless experience for your customers.  Let’s delve into an example to understand the process better.

Example: EdTech Site with Online K-12 Courses

Imagine operating a customer service bot for an EdTech site with online courses for K-12. You want to ensure that the bot provides answers only on relevant questions, enhancing the user experience and ensuring the accuracy and efficiency of responses. Here's how you can achieve this:

1. Pre-defined Context:

Initiate the conversation with a system message that sets the context for the bot’s role.

role_gpt = "You are a customer service assistant for an EdTech site that offers online K-12 courses. Provide information and assistance regarding the courses, enrollment, and related queries."

 This directive helps guide the model's responses, ensuring they align with the expected topics.

2. Keyword Filtering:

Implement keyword filtering to review user’s queries for relevance to topics the bot handles. If the query includes keywords related to courses, enrollment, etc., the bot answers; otherwise, it informs the user about the limitation. Here's a basic example of a keyword filtering function in Python. This function is_relevant_query checks if the query contains certain keywords related to the services offered by the EdTech site.

def is_relevant_query(query, keywords):
""" Check if the query contains any of the specified keywords. :param query: str, the user's query
:param keywords: list of str, keywords to check for
:return: bool, True if query contains any keyword, False otherwise """
query = query.lower()
return any(keyword in query for keyword in keywords)
# Usage example:
keywords = ['enrollment', 'courses', 'k-12', 'online learning']
query = "Tell me about the enrollment process."
is_relevant = is_relevant_query(query, keywords)

Next, we combine the bot role and user query to build the complete message

messages = [
{
    "role": "system",
    "content": f"{role_gpt}"
},
{"role": "user",
"content": f"{query}"}
]

We now make the openAI API can only when the question is relevant:

is_relevant = is_relevant_query(query, keywords)
if is_relevant: # Process the query with ChatGPT
     # Make API call
response = openai.ChatCompletion.create( model=model, messages=messages )
# Extract and print chatbot's reply
chatbot_reply = response['choices'][0]['message']['content'
print("ChatGPT: ", chatbot_reply)
 
else:
print("I'm sorry, I can only answer questions related to enrollment, courses, and online learning for K-12.")

To elevate the user experience, prompt your customers to use specific questions. This subtle guidance helps funnel their queries, ensuring they stay on-topic and receive the most relevant information quickly. Continuous observation of user interactions and consistent collection of their feedback is paramount. This valuable insight allows you to refine your bot, making it more intuitive and adept at handling various questions. Further enhancing the bot's efficiency, enable a feature where it can politely ask for clarification on vague or ambiguous inquiries. This ensures your bot continues to provide precise and relevant answers, solidifying its role as an invaluable resource for your customers.

Utilise ChatGPT to tackle Frequently Asked Questions

Amidst the myriad of queries in customer service, frequently asked questions (FAQs) create a pattern. With ChatGPT, transform the typical, monotonous FAQ experience into an engaging and efficient one.

Example: A Hospital Chatbot

Consider the scenario of a hospital chatbot. Patients might have numerous questions before and after appointments. They might be inquiring about the hospital’s visitor policies, appointment scheduling, post-consultation care, or the availability of specialists. A well-implemented ChatGPT can swiftly and accurately tackle these questions, giving relief to both the hospital staff and the patients.  Here is a tentative role setting for such a bot:

role_gpt = "You are a friendly assistant for a hospital, guiding users with appointment scheduling, hospital policies, and post-consultation care."

This orientation anchors the bot within the healthcare context, offering relevant and timely patient information. For optimal results, a finely tuned ChatGPT model for this use case is ideal. This enhancement allows for precise, context-aware processing of healthcare-related queries, ensuring your chatbot stands as a trustworthy, efficient resource for patient inquiries.

The approach outlined above can be seamlessly adapted to various other sectors. Imagine a travel agency, where customers frequently inquire about trip details, booking procedures, and cancellation policies. Or consider a retail setting, where questions about product availability, return policies, and shipping details abound. Universities can employ ChatGPT to assist students and parents with admission queries, course details, and campus information. Even local government offices can utilize ChatGPT to provide citizens with instant information about public services, documentation procedures, and local regulations. In each scenario, a tailored ChatGPT, possibly fine-tuned for the specific industry, can provide swift, clear, and accurate responses, elevating the customer experience and allowing human staff to focus on more complex tasks. The possibilities are boundless, underscoring the transformative potential of integrating ChatGPT in customer service across diverse sectors.

 Adventures in AI Land

🐙 Octopus Energy: Hailing from the UK's bustling lanes, Octopus Energy unleashed ChatGPT into the wild world of customer inquiries. Lo and behold, handling nearly half of all questions, ChatGPT isn’t just holding the fort – it’s conquering, earning accolades and outshining its human allies in ratings!

📘 Chegg: Fear not, night-owl students! The world of academia isn’t left behind in the AI revolution. Chegg, armed with the mighty ChatGPT (aka Cheggmate), stands as the valiant knight ready to battle those brain-teasing queries when the world sleeps at 2 AM. Say goodbye to the midnight oil blues!

🥤 PepsiCo: Oh, the fizz and dazzle! The giants aren’t just watching from the sidelines. PepsiCo, joining forces with Bain & Company, bestowed upon ChatGPT the quill to script their advertisements. Now every pop and fizz of their beverages echo with the whispers of AI, making each gulp a symphony of allure and refreshment.

Ethical Considerations for Customer Service ChatGPT

In the journey of enhancing customer service with ChatGPT, companies should hold the compass of ethical considerations steadfast. Navigate through the AI world with a responsible map that ensures not just efficiency and innovation but also the upholding of ethical standards. Below are the vital checkpoints to ensure the ethical use of ChatGPT in customer service:

• Transparency: Uphold honesty by ensuring customers know they are interacting with a machine learning model. This clarity builds a foundation of trust and sets the right expectations.
• Data Privacy: Safeguard customer data with robust security measures, ensuring protection against unauthorized access and adherence to relevant data protection regulations. For further analysis or training, use anonymized data, safeguarding customer identity and sensitive information.
• Accountability: Keep a watchful eye on AI interactions, ensuring the responses are accurate, relevant, and appropriate. Establish a system for accountability and continuous improvement.
• Legal Compliance: Keep the use of AI in customer service within the bounds of relevant laws and regulations, ensuring compliance with AI, data protection, and customer rights laws.
• User Autonomy: Ensure customers have the choice to switch to a human representative, maintaining their comfort and ensuring their queries are comprehensively addressed.T

Conclusion

To Wrap it Up (with a Bow), if you're all about leveling up your customer service game, ChatGPT's your partner-in-crime. But like any good tool, it's all about how you wield it. So, gear up, fine-tune, and dive into this AI adventure!

Author Bio

Amita Kapoor is an accomplished AI consultant and educator with over 25 years of experience. She has received international recognition for her work, including the DAAD fellowship and the Intel Developer Mesh AI Innovator Award. She is a highly respected scholar with over 100 research papers and several best-selling books on deep learning and AI. After teaching for 25 years at the University of Delhi, Amita retired early and turned her focus to democratizing AI education. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the non-profit Neuromatch Academy, fostering greater accessibility to knowledge and resources in the field. After her retirement, Amita founded NePeur, a company providing data analytics and AI consultancy services. In addition, she shares her expertise with a global audience by teaching online classes on data science and AI at the University of Oxford.