It’s a problem all too familiar to business owners: some customers don’t pay their bill on time. In fact, as of 2022, 32% of Americans had paid a bill late in the last six months. If a third of your customers aren’t paying on time, you’ll find yourself not only cash-strapped but also tied to your desk trying to track those customers down.
You didn’t start or join a business so that you could spend hours each month contacting delinquent customers. It’s time to let the best assistant in the game take over bill reminders: artificial intelligence.
AI is always on time
Artificial intelligence (AI) is ready and waiting to contact your customers for you. In fact, implementing an AI program will allow you to become proactive instead of reactive when it comes to bill reminders.
AI can send each of your customers multiple reminders leading up to the due date of their bill. It can also send late notices once the due date has passed. The best part is, once you install the software, the program can run completely hands-off. You don’t have to worry about forgetting to collect payment from anyone; AI will remind them.
In addition, AI can let you know when a customer has received a certain number of reminders—say, three past-due notices—so that you can choose to intervene at that point if you desire. Imagine if you only had to contact a handful of customers each month instead of all of them!
AI is respectful
At this point you might be thinking, “That all sounds great, but I don’t trust a robot to interact with my customers. My company has a reputation to uphold.” That’s understandable. Many people fear that AI is not yet ready to interact with customers in a non-offensive, respectful manner, especially if there is any part of the program that allows two-way dialogue.
This is why the type of AI program you pick matters. It’s true that many AI integrations are still in their infancy, blundering along and leaving destruction in their wake. This is especially the case for AI companies that are only a year or two old, or those that don’t have much human oversight. It’s important to do your research on any type of software you want to invest in.
When selecting an AI solution, be sure to opt for human-guided AI. This type of program acknowledges that AI is at its best when human abilities are augmented, not replaced. Some companies even offer full-service solutions that include direct human-to-customer interaction if any issues arise.
AI will reduce costs and decrease wasted time
It’s true that there will be an upfront cost to implementing AI into your bill reminders workflow. As you weigh the cost-benefit analysis, consider the amount of human hours you are currently expending to manually or semi-automatically send out reminders now.
In addition, with a reliable reminder system, your cash flow will become more consistent month to month. Not only will this allow you to pay your own bills and employees on time, but it could also lead to opportunities to use your profit margins to expand your business.
If you think an artificial intelligence system could improve your bill reminder workflow, look no further than Pipes.ai. Launched in 2018, Pipes.ai is a full-service, human-guided AI solution that has a variety of use cases including bill reminders. It comes fully compliant with FCC regulations out of the box, so you don’t have to worry about any unforeseen fines.
Schedule a free consultation with Pipes.ai today so we can show you how our AI will help take your business to the next level.
