Why AI is Ruining Customer Support (And No One’s Talking About It)

*100% Organic Human Writing

AI in customer support is like a bad doctor's visit - let me tell you why.
From the content of my blog, you can realize that I'm a big AI aficionado, an AI-philic, but it's time to stop so much nonsense, from my point of view.

"The first wave of generative AI content creation is happening right now, with marketers exploring apps to generate marketing blogs, web banners, posts, posters and more. Generative AI can unleash the power of advanced creative tools to companies large and small, with the flexibility to iterate and regenerate at the press of a button."

— Alexis Zamkow, IBM Marketing Global Offering Leader

The AI Content Fatigue Is Real

I know we are still surfing the AI hype, and I accept that from a marketing point of view saying "AI powered" can lead to more sales because the general public is still a bit in the dark about GenAI, but do we really need an AI powered toothbrush?

Let’s be honest – most of the content out there is AI-generated. I can even tell which model wrote it just by reading.

We already, thanks to social media and TikTok, need to fight for customers and consumers attention. Companies spend significant money on creative strategies to catch and retain it. So why would anyone think long-form content would work? (Probably the same destiny awaits this post). Customers will use AI to summarize or find the specific answer they need when landing on your website.
How can you provide value with generic AI copy? No matter how good the prompt is - if it lacks your brand's signature and vision, it's useless.

Fair, you could argue it is for SEO. Sure, you rank first and have hundreds of entries. But… do you actually sell?

All this was triggered while I was doing "IBM's Generative AI for Executives and Business Leaders" course. I really didn't agree with most of the content. I understand they are trying to sell their solutions, but should we blindly follow every trendy recommendation? Let's not jump on each passing train - let's stop, check the available destinations, and only then choose one. Yes, I know, metaphors again, Viktoria. But hey, that's just my style of communicating.

AI-Powered Everything – But Do Customers Actually Want It?

How long do you think this "powered by AI" hype will last? Till the end user gets used to it, overwhelmed by it and feels sick by seeing it everywhere knowing that no added value comes with it; it's unsustainable.

So, while doing the course, I was also suggested that all customer support must be replaced by AI bots. That’s when I realized this could end catastrophically. Let’s get back to basics.

When Customers Become Patients: A Different Perspective on Support

Hold on – let me Google the definition of customer support. I’ll be right back.

(30 seconds later)
Definition: Customer support – A team that helps customers when something goes wrong with a product or service.

Alright, let’s get one thing straight, a happy customer/consumer (from now on, I will call them *patients, it's more organic for me due to my background) will not contact the company ever. If they feel very generous, they may leave a good review or buy again, but never contact support.

The Whole Customer Emotional Journey

So why do they contact customer support? Please don't be mind-blown, but the answer is because they have an issue.
Yes, they have a problem with your product or service, I repeat, they have a problem and they’re not happy. Not furious yet, but frustration is building fast. By contacting support, they are still trying to give you a second chance ... to make things right. (Take notes, this also happens in relationships)

So they go to your website, and contact you through some channel. You probably have a chatbot, contact form or a phone number, unfortunately businesses are increasingly less likely to leave a phone number thinking that clients don't contact through there. They will, if it's urgent. Chatbots just redirect and repeat questions. Maybe you did a great job tuning it - but let’s be real, it’s wasting your patients’ time.

I need you to understand this, if a patient CALLS, it is usually due to something urgent, or they are old school. If they call and a bot answers the phone, asks for ID, or client number, doesn't really understand what the patient is saying, asks to repeat, gets cut off, by then, patient's frustration levels ESCALATED DRASTICALLY (relationship's 'do what you want' scale) than if a human had answered, or just a human voiced answering machine (this sounds old school but has a high psychological impact). Now, what was negotiable with the patient most likely will no longer be possible, they will ask for return, refund, or cancel service, whatever your product is.

Let's give a medical analogy: Just put yourself in the shoes of a patient - your belly hurts, you call, you speak to a bot, you get anxious, scared and uncertain. Would you want that? Now imagine a nurse or receptionist answered, reassured you, and immediately set an appointment. Feels better, right?

So why deny your clients/patients that same human touch?

Sure, we're all getting a little more introverted - but one thing never changes. When we're scared or need help, we want someone to help us. Not something. And definitely not an AI-powered toothbrush.

#MakeEarthlingsRelevantAgain

The End