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AI Call Centers: Prepare for a Special Kind of Hell
So, AI is coming for call centers, huh? Big freakin' surprise. I mean, who hasn't fantasized about replacing those soul-crushing phone calls with… well, anything else? But before we start celebrating the robot revolution, let's be real about what this "improvement" actually means.
Chatbots: From Bad to Worse?
This article mentions Evri's chatbot, Ezra, screwing up a delivery. Classic. You ask a simple question and get a canned response that's not even remotely helpful. I've been there, we've all been there. And the "solution" is to throw AI at the problem?
Like that's going to fix anything.
According to Gartner, 85% of customer service leaders are "exploring, piloting, or deploying AI chatbots." Great. That means 85% of companies are about to waste a ton of money on tech that will probably make things worse. Only 20% of these projects actually meet expectations? That's not a success rate, that's a freakin' coin flip!
And DPD had to disable their chatbot because it started swearing at customers? You can't make this stuff up. Will AI mean the end of call centres? explores similar issues and the potential impact of AI on the future of customer service roles.
The "Human" Touch (or Lack Thereof)
Salesforce is training its AI to be more sympathetic. They realized that just "opening a ticket" ain't gonna cut it. No kidding! Apparently, it also had to be told not to trash-talk competitors when customers asked about integrating Microsoft Teams. Seriously? Did they think people wouldn't notice the agent's suddenly evasive behavior?
It's like they think we're idiots.
Here's the thing: customer service is already a minefield of fake smiles and scripted apologies. Slapping an AI label on it doesn't change that. It just makes it colder, more sterile, and even more frustrating.
And this line from Joe Inzerillo at Salesforce? "You have a huge amount of documentation, and that's all really great stuff for the AI to have when it is going to take over that first line of defence." Translation: "We've already squeezed every last drop of productivity out of our human workers. Now it's the AI's turn."
I'm sorry, but who's actually choosing to interact with an AI agent? Salesforce claims 94% of customers do. Give me a break. That's either a flat-out lie or they're not giving people a real choice.
My own experience is that you keep hitting "0" or yelling "AGENT!" until a real human being (hopefully) picks up the phone. Until that is an option, I am not buying it.
Offcourse, there's a reason companies are drooling over AI. It's not about better service; it's about cutting costs. Salesforce allegedly cut customer service costs by $100 million. I bet those "redeployed" employees are thrilled.
The Future is Bleak (and Automated)
So, what's the endgame here? A world where we're all screaming into the void, begging a machine to understand our problems? A world where empathy is a "feature" that you have to pay extra for?
I'm not sure which is worse: dealing with a bored, underpaid call center worker who clearly hates their job, or arguing with an algorithm that's programmed to gaslight you into thinking your problem doesn't exist.
So, What's the Real Story?
This ain't progress, it's a race to the bottom. We're sacrificing actual human connection for the illusion of efficiency. And honestly, I am not looking forward to it.