In an industry where care and human connection are of the utmost importance, inorganic and unnatural-sounding synthetic voices can create a disconnect between pharmacies and their customers.
While text-to-speech (TTS) technology has allowed pharmacies to increase efficiency in outbound calling and prescription reminders, operations, accessibility, and overall customer experience can also be improved using state-of-the-art advances in voice technology.
This next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) voice doesn’t just turn text into a string of phonemes, it can learn the speaker’s tempo, tone, intonation, and speaking style to create a hyperrealistic and conversational audio experience. Rather than recombining units of recorded speech, AI voices leverage machine learning techniques to uncover patterns between the audio and corresponding text in the training corpus. Once trained, AI voice models can emulate the speech and voice characteristics of the target speaker using mathematical inference. Thus, it is possible to adjust nearly every parameter of the spoken signal.
As a result, AI voices are a fantastic option for pharmacies that are looking to create more organic experiences for their customers—after all, who wants to discuss something so personal with an automated, choppy-sounding robotic voice?
Additionally, the power of AI voice models is their flexibility and ease of integration with other technologies, allowing pharmacies to reap the benefits of conversational AI and large language models (LLMs). AI voice enables pharmacies to connect with their customers in their authentic brand voice that is differentiated from their competition.
Summary
In this blog, we’ll look into:
- How pharmacies can implement AI voice
- How pharmacies can improve customer service experiences with AI voice
- Why it’s important to combine human effort with AI for optimal use
How Can Pharmacies Use AI Voice?
Today's AI voice is conversational-level and much faster and more cost-effective than it used to be. AI voice technology can be applied in various use cases within pharmacies to enhance customer service and operational efficiency. Here are some examples:
- Medication Information: AI voice can provide customers with information about specific medications, including usage instructions, potential side effects, and dosage guidelines. Customers can inquire about over-the-counter medications or ask for explanations of prescription labels, enabling them to make informed decisions about their health.
- Allergy and Interaction Warnings: AI voice can help customers identify potential interactions or allergies between medications. Customers can provide information about their current prescriptions, and artificial intelligence can cross-reference that data to warn about any potential conflicts or contraindications.
- Dose Reminders and Medication Compliance: AI voice can assist customers in setting up medication reminders and tracking their medication schedules. It can provide reminders at designated times, ensuring customers adhere to their prescribed dosing regimens and improve medication adherence.
- Refill and Prescription Status: Customers often need to check the status of their prescription refills or inquire about the availability of a specific medication. AI voice can provide real-time updates on prescription status, inform customers when their refills are ready for pickup, or recommend alternatives to ask about if a particular medication is out of stock.
- Appointment Scheduling: AI voice can assist customers in scheduling appointments with pharmacists or other healthcare professionals. Customers can inquire about availability, book appointments, or receive reminders for upcoming consultations, contributing to a streamlined and convenient appointment management process.
- Health and Wellness Advice: Customers can receive general health and wellness advice, such as tips for managing common ailments, recommendations for over-the-counter remedies, or guidance on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This can provide customers with quick and accessible information to address minor health concerns.
- Language Support: One of the biggest draws of AI voice and machine learning is its ability to translate messaging into multiple languages without sacrificing accuracy or the tone of the brand. Customers can interact with the AI voice in their preferred language, facilitating effective communication and overcoming language barriers.
- Customer Feedback and Surveys: AI voice can gather customer feedback and conduct satisfaction surveys about their pharmacy experience and identify areas for improvement.
- Insurance and Payment Inquiries: Customers with insurance-related questions, such as coverage details, copay information, claims processing, or billing inquiries, can interact with AI voice for 24/7 support.
These are just a few examples of how AI voice technology can empower pharmacies to deliver more personalized, efficient, accessible, and organic-sounding customer service. While some of these use cases have been explored using traditional text to speech technology, the combination of LLMs and more expressive AI voice has opened up a whole new dimension of customer engagement and brand connection.
How Can Pharmacies Improve Customer Service With AI Voice?
Using AI voices for customer service in pharmacies can directly impact customer experience—a critical metric for the healthcare industry. Some benefits include:
Consistency
AI voices provide a consistent customer service experience. They can deliver information and respond to inquiries in a predictable manner, ensuring that customers receive the same level of service regardless of the specific employee or time of day. This consistency helps build trust and reliability in the pharmacy's customer service.
Availability
AI voices are available 24/7, allowing pharmacies to provide customer support even outside regular business hours. This is particularly crucial for emergency situations or when customers have urgent questions or concerns. With AI voice, customers can access important information and assistance whenever they need it and without sacrificing a human-like quality, improving overall customer satisfaction.
Multilingual Support
AI voices are available in multiple languages. This feature is highly beneficial for pharmacies serving diverse communities where customers may speak different languages. It ensures that language barriers are mitigated, enabling effective communication and understanding between customers and the pharmacy staff.
Accessibility
AI voices can enhance accessibility for customers with visual impairments. By offering text-to-speech capabilities, pharmacies can provide an inclusive and accessible customer service experience, ensuring that all customers can access information and support equally. Pharmacies can also adjust the speed and tone of the AI voice when necessary.
Efficiency
AI voices can handle multiple customer inquiries simultaneously without the need for additional staff resources. This increased scalability allows pharmacies to efficiently manage customer service demands, reducing wait times and enhancing overall service efficiency.
Cost-Effectiveness:
Implementing AI voice technology can be more cost-effective compared to hiring and training additional human customer service representatives. While human staff remains crucial for certain complex inquiries, leveraging AI voices for routine or common questions can help optimize operational costs without compromising service quality.
AI Voice: Working With Humans, Not Against
It's important to note that while AI voice offers numerous benefits, the technology should be used in conjunction with human support to provide a well-rounded customer service experience—especially in healthcare.
Today's advanced AI voice technology allows for hybrid media that combines human and automated voices, resulting in more genuine and harmonious experiences for listeners. The focus should be on engaging customers by speaking with them, fostering a greater sense of connection and inclusivity.
Combining the strengths of human capabilities and AI automation can lead to a comprehensive and efficient customer service strategy for pharmacies, and one of the ways this can be accomplished is by creating a custom AI voice of a brand representative or voice actor with Veritone Voice.
To learn more about Veritone Voice and how it can benefit your organization, contact one of our team members today.
