The Pros and Cons of AI Customer Support

If you’re the type that likes to stay in touch with the latest tech trends, then it’s highly likely you’ve heard a word or two about artificial intelligence.

Like a thunderstorm, AI has taken over the tech world, one publication at a time. More and more companies are looking into how they can integrate AI into their workflow. So it comes as no surprise that in the past couple of years AI has revolutionized the customer support industry. But just like any business innovation, artificial intelligence is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of setting up an artificial intelligence system to take care of your customers.

Pros

1. Cost – No agents means no pay. Even if you’re using some type of SaaS customer support system, chances are that it will cost you just a fraction of what you would have paid for a single agent.

2. 24/7 – AI doesn’t need weekends. It can handle the requests as they come, no matter if its in the morning, evening, holiday, you name it and AI is there to handle it.

3. Progression – Machines are becoming more intelligent by the second and the smarter they get, the better they resolve all types of different tasks and issues.

4. Consistency – Unlike humans, AI systems don’t get burned out and they don’t need lunch breaks. Their productivity is always at a consistent level and they are free from mood swings.

5. Security – While it’s debatable just how secure any computer system may be, there really is no argument that trusting you business details to a machine is much safer than trusting them to an employee.

Cons

1. Contact – Humans desire contact with other humans. Just ask your friends and you’re likely to find at least one person who was disappointed when he first reached a virtual helper.

2. Maintenance – AI can become very expensive to maintain. Even if you are using someone else’s software, being dependent on AI can lead to a situation where you are left unable to service your customers, for example data loss.

3. Judgement – For the time being, programs can’t replicate a human sense of judgement completely. They act as they are programmed and this can lead to some difficult situations.

4.Creativity – Machines lack creativity. This simple fact is what really separates AI from people. Even if you can replicate a human-like voice, you can’t replicate the entire creative solution thinking process.

5. Security – Yes, we listed this one in the pros, but it must be said that a security breach of your AI can lead to much worse consequences than an unruly employee.

Ultimately a case can be made both for and against using AI in your customer support solution, depending on the scale and specifics of your business. Take a look at the pros and cons and decide which are of most importance to you. I personally would recommend looking into a mixed solution: letting AI handle the more mundane tasks, while your employees hand the really difficult stuff.

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