I know AI in customer service is not new and is now becoming the norm (??) but seriously, how do we make it human? People complain all the time.
Greg Jackson (Octopus Energy CEO)shared how they handled a huge increase in customer queries during the UK’s 2022 energy crisis. Calls doubled, and each one took much longer than usual.
So they used generative AI to support their customer service team. By May 2023, about 45% of their emails to customers were written by AI, but always checked and approved by a real person. The AI also helped by summarising call transcripts, looking through customer history, and spotting possible problems on accounts. This meant staff had more time and clearer info to help customers quickly.
The team didn’t feel replaced. In fact, they liked using the AI because it took care of the repetitive work and made their jobs more interesting. From the team's perspective, I think this could somehow make it easier for them to be actual 'human'.
But from the customer's perspective it is much less so.
Just wanted to ask
- Do you think AI helps or gets in the way when it comes to good customer service?
- If the end result is helpful, does it matter if AI wrote the email or take the call?
Curious to hear your thoughts or any experience!
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