- November 12, 2022
- Author: Scott
Chatbots and AI are not there yet when it comes to providing world-class customer support and having a human agent is a superior customer experience.
It seems like every company is getting on the AI bandwagon. Chatbots are becoming increasingly common, and everyone from restaurants to car manufacturers is using them. You’d think that this means customer support with AI must be perfect by now, right? However, as much hype as there is about AI, it’s still in its infancy when it comes to providing stellar customer experience. There are many instances where bots and AI just aren’t up to scratch yet when it comes to handling customer queries and concerns. While they have their place in a well-oiled customer service operation, they aren’t a complete replacement for humans just yet. Here are five reasons why:
AI isn’t great at answering complex questions yet
AI is great at quick, simple tasks, such as scheduling a meeting or booking flights, but when it comes to more complex issues, it’s barely usable. That’s not to say it can’t improve — and it will — but for now, it’s just not ready for complex customer queries. For example, if a customer asks about a specific account, an AI may not be able to associate the query with your company. It might also struggle to know where the relevant information is stored. Human operators, on the other hand, are fully aware of how your organization functions, where information is stored, and how to access it. This allows them to provide a much better service. It’s also worth noting that even if AI were up to the task, a customer might not actually receive an answer to their question. This can be especially true if the query is particularly complex. In such cases, a human operator is definitely needed.
AI has trouble with language understanding
Another reason why AI isn’t yet ready to provide world-class customer support is that it has trouble understanding what the customer is saying in the first place. The way we speak can be imprecise, and a customer support AI might interpret this in its own way. This can lead to misunderstandings and mistakes. Researchers are working on ways to address this, but for now, customer support bots are not suitable for handling very sensitive issues. For example, if a customer has been sexually assaulted, an AI simply isn’t ready to handle this information. Human operators are needed to handle calls like these since they are trained to handle sensitive situations and know how to treat customers with respect. On the other hand, customer support AI can be great for handling customer queries that don’t require any special sensitivity. They can also be useful for handling simple questions and directing the customer to a human if required.
Customer support is all about empathy
When it comes to providing great customer support, AI is in its infancy. Customer support is all about empathy, and AI just isn’t there yet. Empathy means understanding customers as individuals and knowing how they feel. It’s being able to put yourself in their shoes and see the world from their perspective. Customer support AI just isn’t there yet. While customer support AI can provide general information, it just isn’t ready for supporting people who are upset or who are in a bad situation. It just isn’t capable of truly understanding what they’re going through. AI has trouble understanding complex emotions as well. It can’t recognize anger, resentment, or frustration. It simply can’t put itself in your shoes and understand how you feel. It can’t truly put itself in your shoes, and it can’t understand what you’re feeling. That’s why it just isn’t ready for handling customer support for the general public yet; it just isn’t ready for the job.
Bots don’t have the same problem-solving skills humans do
Another key difference between customer support AI and human operators is their problem-solving skills. Humans are great problem-solvers, but AI just isn’t there yet. When a customer is having an issue with your product or service, they want it resolved. They don’t want to be told that you’re working on it; they just want it fixed. Bots just aren’t ready for this. Bot-based customer support is still just too rigid. It can’t handle the nuances of human interaction. For example, if a customer is upset, a bot-based system may not be able to offer them what they need. The system might not have the right information available or be able to interpret the complaint correctly. Bots also just aren’t flexible enough to truly solve the problem.
Humans will be needed for a while yet
There are five reasons why customer support AI isn’t yet ready to replace human operators, but there are also three reasons why it will soon be able to do so. Firstly, a lot of the issues with AI in customer support are due to how the system is constructed. AI is just being built in the wrong way. It’s being built to try to be as close to human operators as possible, but without taking advantage of the things that only humans can do. For example, when a customer is upset, an AI might not be able to tell if the customer is angry, sad, or upset. It may not be able to interpret emotions correctly. With the right level of emotion recognition, though, customer support AI might just be ready to take over from humans. It might be able to respond to all types of customer calls and truly provide a great customer experience.
The hype surrounding AI has led many people to believe that it’s ready to rock the customer support industry. However, AI is in its infancy when it comes to providing a stellar customer experience. While it has its place in a well-oiled customer service operation, it’s not a complete replacement for humans just yet. There are many instances where bots and AI just aren’t up to scratch yet when it comes to handling customer queries and concerns. AI is great at quick, simple tasks, such as scheduling a meeting or booking flights. However, it has trouble with more complex issues, like understanding language or human emotions. It also has trouble with problem-solving, and it just isn’t ready for the nuance of human interaction.