Efficiency is the name of the game for most businesses. Reducing the amount of time employees spend on tasks that could be automated frees them up for the social or creative work that can only be done with a human touch. Natural language processing (NLP) is a valuable subset of artificial intelligence technology that companies are using to simplify and automate tasks, improve workflows, and increase efficiency. Learn about natural language processing benefits and use cases, and see how those NLP benefits could improve your work life.

The Role of NLP in Modern Technology

Natural language processing in AI is a technological tool that focuses on the interactions between AI tools and humans through the use of natural languages. Natural language processing applications use a combination of speech recognition software and sentiment analysis to both comprehend human language and create natural-sounding written languages. 

NLP use cases vary across industries. NLP and AI can perform a number of tasks, from providing customer feedback to translating natural languages into programming languages. And AI tools that combine natural language processing with deep learning bring new advancements to this field every day. So, while there are limitations to NLP, natural language processing benefits are becoming more apparent as time goes on.

Benefits of Natural Language Processing

NLP has some barriers, such as limitations of machine learning methods, difficulties understanding context or sarcasm, and a strong potential for built-in biases. Still, there are inherent benefits to NLP that make this technology worth ethically integrating into your workflow.

Here’s a closer look at some of the top natural language processing benefits.

Improved Data Processing and Analysis

One of the benefits of NLP is that it can analyze large chunks of data to look for patterns or information, even when that data is unorganized. Consider, for example, a company looking to understand overall customer sentiment based on a batch of emails that had come through in response to customer satisfaction surveys.

Normally, this would require hours of human effort, and the results would be skewed by personal biases and the power of individual observations. Psychological phenomena like the serial position effect could contribute to human perception of customer experiences. 

With NLP technology, businesses can receive more accurate, valuable insights about the content in emails. NLP data processing and analysis technology are capable of combing through those large swathes of unorganized data and summarizing key takeaways that come up again and again. Businesses can then make decisions based on these key findings while limiting human errors and biases. 

Enhanced Customer Support and User Experience

Another way to use NLP technology in an ethical and helpful way is to install NLP technology into business websites to serve as a first-line customer experience operator or virtual assistant.

A large percentage of customer questions are redundant. Different customers ask virtually the same questions over and over again. Companies can train virtual assistants to recognize the similarities between questions written in natural languages and provide pre-written answers from FAQ pages or other company documentation.

Virtual assistants can still forward customers with hard-to-answer questions to trained customer service representatives. But for customers who simply need a quick question answered, NLP chatbots can enhance customer support, reduce hold times, and improve the overall user experience. 

Automation of Repetitive Tasks

NLP software can be used to automate repetitive tasks. Programmers can use natural language processing with Python, for example, to recreate redundant lines of code so that they don’t have to rewrite them over and over again. Other people might use NLP software to reply to emails, generate content ideas for social media posts, or even choose new topics to learn about. 

Real-World Use Cases of NLP

Now that you have a better understanding of natural language processing benefits, let’s take a look at some real-world NLP examples to see how machine translations of natural languages lead to real-world gains in the workplace. 

NLP in Chatbots

NLP is already being used in chatbots to help customers navigate websites, learn information about companies, and answer quick questions about products or services. NLP chatbots empower companies to respond to customer questions 24/7 without having to hire extra hands. In a fast-paced digital world where companies work with customers in different time zones all around the world, these timely responses are a critical way companies can stay competitive.

NLP in chatbots also benefits customers, who can have quick questions answered without slogging through long wait times or arduous call center answering services.

Sentiment Analysis for Market Research

Market research is another major industry that benefits from NLP. AI technology can comb through search engines and popular review websites for mentions of a company, check customer feedback, and provide relevant insights that business decision-makers can use to improve the overall customer experience. 

NLP in Healthcare and Medical Records

NLP is used in the healthcare industry to keep medical records up-to-date. Speech recognition technology can convert spoken or handwritten notes into structured electronic health records. This means that providers don’t have to spend as much time worrying about data entry and can spend more time seeing patients — a critical improvement during a time when America is facing a critical healthcare provider shortage. 

NLP can also be used to examine existing medical records and scholarly journal articles to help providers find the most up-to-date information and make better recommendations for their patients. This includes helping with disease surveillance and flagging troublesome trends in the medical industry, all of which can help providers improve decision-making and ultimately save lives. 

Leverage NLP and AI with Consensus Cloud Solutions

Like any software, NLP has its limitations, including ethical concerns that are worth talking about. But at the end of the day, natural language processing benefits far outweigh its limitations. Companies can leverage NLP and AI to improve workflow efficiency, reduce human errors, combat implicit biases, and provide an improved customer experience. 

Consensus can help. Our AI technology is designed to address real-world needs like parsing through high volumes of unstructured medical data and helping business owners make decisions that benefit their customers. Request a demo today.