As Applied celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, we are reminded of how far the insurance industry has come in its adoption and use of technology—especially in customer experience.

Technology has allowed our industry to evolve in exciting ways. In-person experiences are still important, but with the help of the right tools, agents can digitize low-value, administrative tasks and focus their energy on the more meaningful interactions that truly enhance their customers' experience.

Here are three ways artificial intelligence (AI) is helping independent insurance agents continue this evolution in customer service:

1) Agents can spend more time interacting with clients. In an ideal world, agents would be able to spend their whole day connecting with customers. However, someone needs to handle the administrative tasks that come along with servicing those customers. Integrating AI can take some of the burden off agents.

For example, using AI to automate workflow prompts allows the agency management system to learn from past workflows. By recording which activities and data were used, the system can suggest and trigger actions for future tasks, saving massive amounts of time—especially as new agents ramp up.

2) Agents can provide better coverage and information to customers. What's the easiest way to please customers and provide a great experience? Make sure they are fully covered and that they understand their coverage. That is, after all, why they came to their agent in the first place. AI can analyze data to identify gaps in coverage and provide new policy recommendations to cover those gaps or to replace upcoming expiring policies.

Comparing documents during renewals and policy changes is a tedious but necessary task. When AI is integrated into agency management and policy-checking platforms, it can provide summaries of the differences between the documents and catch errors that are easily overlooked when reviewing manually.

Once those coverage gaps have been pinpointed, it's the agent's responsibility to educate their customers on the potential risks they are facing due to those gaps, as well as the scope of their current policy and any new coverage options recommended to better meet their needs. Creating educational materials to do that can be daunting and time-consuming. However, using generative AI to draft these materials allows agents to provide the relevant, educational information customers are looking for without eating up the agents' time.

3) Agents can meet customers where they are. In today's digital world, customers are accustomed to having instant access to information and resources. They want to interact with their agents whenever and wherever they want. This creates a dilemma for agents, who are human and can't always be available.

Enabling an AI-augmented chatbot for claims within a customer mobile app allows clients to access a virtual claims assistant in their time of need. For example, after an auto accident, the client can open their mobile app and begin a claim directly from the chat function. The AI claims assistant will ask for pictures and all the information needed to submit the claim, taking the stress away from the client with 24/7 support and providing the agency staff with the information they need to process the claim during regular office hours.

Many things have changed over the past 40 years. One thing that hasn't: Personal interaction is still the basis of a good customer experience. Utilizing the right tools and embracing AI can allow agents to focus on the most important and high-value interactions that will ensure their customers are satisfied.

Trevor Bunker is chief customer officer at Applied Systems.