Customer Service, Artificial Intelligence and Chatbots

Can you see it in the email below? Maybe look a bit closer?

I recently made some changes in our Microsoft Partner programme and received this email a short while later. It took me a few glances, but there it is….

….‘Automated Solution Assistant’. Kristin Meyer is in fact, a bot.

We’re about to head into times where the use of Artificial Intelligence will become the norm, but in reality its been used by banks and larger organisations for a while. What will change is the rapid and increasing adoption in the customer services sector as the technology gets better and better, and more easily accessible to smaller businesses thanks to cloud computing. We’re almost at the point where its nigh on impossible to tell whether you’re interacting with a human or a well-engineered piece of software.

The use of chat-bots is expected to explode through 2020. I’m even involved in a business who can do just that because it’s great for smaller sellers and businesses in increasing customer satisfaction, offering a customised experience and aiding retention. Essentially, it's helping to automate the customer service role (to a point).

What I don’t know or have answers to, is at what point does this technology get so good where it can (in-theory) replace the majority of customer services roles in huge businesses, like customer service call-centres? Business will always look to reduce operating costs so as technology gets better, what effects will it have on employees and looking at the bigger picture, socially?

As we move into times where automation becomes a driving factor and is more heavily adopted using technology, what overall challenges do you envisage because I’m very interested to hear your thoughts?