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Today, it seems like ChatGPT has an answer for everything, and across many industries, job security may seem shakier than ever before. One of the fields that is in danger is the one of assistants. People are already employing human virtual assistants (virtual assistants working remotely), but now, some are considering switching to AI-powered virtual assistant apps.
Still, we’re quite far away from digital assistants ever replacing human assistants. If anything, with the help of some of these modern tools, human virtual assistants may be more efficient and useful than ever before. Here’s how!
1. Collaboration platforms
Let’s start with the big one – collaboration platforms. These tools are designed to give you everything you need to run a successful project. First, collaboration platforms provide you with a simple interface with a graphic representation of all the projects and tasks split into cards and tabs.
These projects usually help make scheduling efficient since everyone can see their tasks and their due dates and have simple tools to change the status of the project.
The biggest advantage of a collaboration platform is your ability to give or restrict access to anyone depending on their tasks and responsibilities. You see, most of the time, issues discussed within these projects will be trade secrets. Therefore, you want to keep everything on a need-to-know basis. The simplest way is to choose who gets assigned to which project and who can see which tasks.
Since remote employees usually don’t undergo the same vetting process, more and more entrepreneurs felt comfortable hiring virtual assistants when these collaboration platforms became standard in companies. They’ve made things easier for everyone and made virtual assistant services even more popular.
2. Communication software
Modern communication tools are so sophisticated that the communication between people working across the world is simpler than ever. Therefore, remote employees and virtual assistants can stay in touch with everyone in real-time.
First of all, IM platforms like Slack can let you chat and exchange files with your team members quickly. Even people working on the same office floor use Slack to avoid walking across the room every time they have to exchange a few words with a colleague.
Next, there are so many conferencing tools that you can use. Zoom, Skype, and Google Meets are just some (free) examples. In the past, people wasted as many as 31 work hours on unnecessary meetings each month. Today, you can either send an email or start a 5-minute meeting. This way, people don’t even have to leave their seats (or tasks) to attend a meeting, which means they cause less distraction.
In some fields, the ability to communicate this way can help virtual assistants coordinate with field teams.
3. Calendar and scheduling software
One of the core tasks of an assistant (even before virtual assistants) was to manage your appointments and schedules. With the help of modern calendar and scheduling software, this is easier and more convenient than ever. The calendar is updated in real-time, and the notification system ensures you never miss an appointment again.
Other than this, these calendars and scheduling software platforms are also great for subsequent analytics and reporting. Did you meet all the deadlines? How were your estimations, and what should you do better next time?
Most importantly, since the modern workforce is mostly global, calendar and scheduling software helps clear out any potential misunderstandings surrounding the difference in time zones. Since these notifications and schedules are available via mobile, any member of your team (no matter where they are on the planet) has a chance to check the current status.
Most importantly, these tools help virtual assistants protect your reputation. No more missed meetings or being ill-prepared because you forgot the meeting is tomorrow. A notification handles all of this effortlessly.
4. AI, NLP, and chatbots
AI, NLP, and chatbots provide so many assistants; instead of replacing traditional assistants, they’ll just usher in a new era and help them be more productive (and helpful) than ever before.
These tools automate many tasks and free your human assistants to focus on the most creative and responsible part of their work, which requires a human in that position.
Chatbots can handle the majority of your customer service and even handle a triage to determine what goes to a human operator. Handling multiple queries simultaneously is a challenge for even the most talented of virtual assistants, but for a chatbot, it’s the simplest thing there is. Most importantly, they’re available 24/7.
Now, the main reason why this is so important is because assistants lose a surprising amount of time in customer support. Now, they no longer have to.
An assistant can use ChatGPT to create a brief meeting outline in seconds and then polish and deliver it reliably whenever you need it. They’re also amazing for quick information retrieval in scenarios where you must get data as quickly as possible.
5. Task automation tools
With task automation tools, a single assistant can do the job of an entire department. They can save time, reduce the likelihood of human error, and even increase the consistency of their work.
Instead of focusing on menial, repetitive tasks, their main goal will be to worry about strategic initiatives like branding and outreach.
We mentioned a struggle between human and digital virtual assistants in the introduction. Well, doesn’t it make sense that these two types of aid would help you the most when working side-by-side? This way, they get increased productivity without increasing the overhead by too much. This type of workflow optimization is what most enterprises have been looking for all along.
In a way, these automation tools are also beneficial to their career. The modern workplace is oriented more and more toward automation. Once they master some of these tools, their career is bound to advance.
Wrap up
As business technology advances, it always brings more productivity. There’s always talk about the human workforce becoming obsolete (ever since the Industrial Revolution), but this has yet to happen. All that happens is that this new technology becomes a part of this productivity arsenal. The same will be true in the virtual assistant field.
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