Understanding your options

Conversational AI is crucial for businesses looking to improve customer operations. In highly regulated EU markets such as finance, healthcare, and insurance, choosing the right AI solution is essential.

The EU presents unique challenges for conversational AI. Strict data privacy laws, like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), dictate how personal data is handled. The new EU AI Act adds standards for AI transparency, accountability, and safety. With 24 official languages and numerous dialects, advanced language processing is necessary. Cultural sensitivity, strict data rules, and ethical AI practices are also vital considerations.

When choosing a provider for conversational AI in the EU, you eventually have two main options if you don't build something yourself: specialized AI SaaS providers or built-in solutions from CRM platforms like Zendesk or Salesforce. Let's explore each and what to consider.

The case for built-in solutions

Platforms like Zendesk, Hubspot, Intercom, and Salesforce are comprehensive customer support and relationship management systems widely used across industries. They provide a suite of tools designed to enhance customer service, streamline communication, and manage customer interactions efficiently. These platforms often offer built-in conversational AI assistance capabilities that integrate seamlessly with their existing infrastructure.

The AI features of these platforms are particularly appealing for their existing customers seeking to enhance their customer support operations without special needs for extensive customization or additional infrastructure. Advantages are:

• Ease of Integration: Built-in solutions from platforms like Zendesk or Salesforce can seamlessly integrate into the system that you already use.
• Broad Functionality: These AI assistants usually integrate deeply into the features of the ecosystem of the CRM platform.
• Cost-Effective: Bundled with other services, these solutions can be cost-effective to start with, especially for smaller teams and if you're already using the platform.

Potential Drawbacks:

• Vendor lock-in can make it hard to switch systems.
• Limited integration options outside of the ecosystem of the CRM platform may not suit diverse IT landscapes and can limit proper AI training without expensive consultants.
• Deployment across various applications outside their ecosystem can be challenging, which could lead to limited use cases for the AI.
• A one-size-fits-all approach might not yield optimal results in specific niches, especially if industry-specific features, vocabularies and compliance requirements are important.
• The cost may increase rapidly when scaling your operations, because quite often the pricing model is based on the number of seats. The same applies when customization is required.

Why choose a specialized provider?

Specialist SaaS providers in the realm of conversational AI focus on delivering tailored solutions, usually for specific industries or business needs. Unlike general platforms, these providers possess deep expertise in niche markets, such as finance, healthcare, or insurance, allowing them to develop AI models that cater to the unique language, regulations, and operational challenges of these sectors.

Their solutions are highly customizable, offering advanced features like industry-specific compliance tools, enhanced data privacy measures, and specialized reporting capabilities. By focusing on particular industries, specialist providers deliver more precise and effective AI interactions, making them ideal for businesses that require a high level of personalization and adherence to strict regulatory standards.

• Tailored, End-to-end Solutions: These providers offer customized AI solutions tailored to several use cases, including support on your website, guidance in your product, and assistance for your team.
• Regulatory Compliance: Niche providers design solutions with specific regulations in mind, like GDPR, ensuring compliance.
• Broad range of integrations: Specialized providers are not bound to just a single ecosystem and can therefore offer a broader range of source integrations, allowing your to train your AI solution more effectively.

Potential Drawbacks:

• They may be more expensive initially, though customization costs are often lower or are included in the subscription.
• It requires proper overview of the AI provider landscape to find a specialist provider that caters exactly to your niche (in our case: regulated markets like finance, healthcare, and insurance).
• Evaluating quality can be challenging, requiring social proof to build trust. Ask around.

Key considerations for compliance

Although discussed extensively in our article on how to choose a conversational AI provider in the EU, the following considerations are so important that we mention them again. Especially for prepackaged AI solutions that are built by US companies, there are some complications with regards to compliance for AI specifically.

• Data Sovereignty: Ensure your AI solution complies with the data sovereignty laws in your jurisdiction. This is crucial in the EU, where GDPR dictates data handling.
• Cross-Border Compliance: If operating across multiple countries, consider how the solution manages cross-border data transfer and complies with local laws.
• The right to be forgotten: If an AI model serves as either a processor or a sub-processor under GDPR, it must be able to export and delete data at the request of any European citizen. However, AI models typically can only handle the export and deletion of interaction histories and external training data, not the internal model data itself. Therefore, it’s crucial to inquire how a provider addresses this challenge. Look for solutions like a privacy vault, which can indicate a commitment to compliance and help ensure that you adhere to EU laws.

Making the right choice

When selecting a conversational AI solution, consider your business's needs and regulatory environment. If customization and compliance are priorities, a niche-specific provider may be best. If integration with the CRM platform that you already use is your single focus, a built-in solution could suffice - assuming that they cover all your use cases and tick all the legal boxes.

Conclusion

Choosing between a niche-specific AI SaaS provider and a built-in solution involves more than functionality; it requires aligning with your business strategy and legal requirements. By evaluating your needs and the regulatory landscape, you can make an informed decision that supports your objectives and ensures compliance. Whether choosing a specialized or generalist approach, the right conversational AI can transform customer interactions and operational efficiency.