Generative AI continues to transform how businesses engage with their customers. Buy-now-pay-later-giant Klarna is the latest to grab headlines for integrating an AI customer service chatbot that manages the equivalent workload of 700 employees. Klarna’s bosses have hailed AI as delivering superior experiences for their customers, saying its chatbot has a customer satisfaction score similar to human agents. However, studies find AI is no panacea for customer service success just yet.
AI vs the human touch
AI can undoubtedly play a major role in automating more routine queries. It provides a dynamic augmentation to the agent’s role by providing consistent, relevant information to the agent’s fingertips. But in many instances human interaction is an invaluable part of the customer experience.
In addition, customers have a variety of needs not least when it comes to those with vulnerabilities. The latest report from ArvatoConnect found how consumers that self-identify as being vulnerable said they prefer some level of human interaction when seeking help from a business. AI tools are unlikely to fully understand their unique needs.
A separate study by Smart Money People also highlights that nearly half of financial services customers (48%) are frustrated by a lack of access to human support. And an over-reliance on chatbots (24%) from firms. This epitomises the challenge facing customer services transformation projects in financial services and other categories. How can businesses get the right balance between AI and the human touch to optimise the customer experience? And what are the risks to getting the balance wrong?
Humanising the digital, digitising the human
Undoubtedly businesses can drive efficiencies in customer service operations with the help of technologies. These include AI, machine learning for analysing customer data, and robotic process automation (RPA) for handling repetitive tasks like extracting data from financial documents and using next generation chatbots. They allow human agents to focus on more complex issues, bringing empathy and creativity to their interactions.
Combining AI and human agents can then enable what we call ‘humanising the digital and digitising the human’. It represents a hybrid approach. For example, live speech AI analytics can provide helpful prompts or insights for agents, during conversations with customers, while freeing up their time.
Automating quality assurance and using generative AI to summarise customer interactions is helping to boost agents’ productivity while driving upskilling and training. Sentiment analysis and conversation analytics can also help agents to identify triggers for vulnerability. This can help them to provide the right level of support customers need and identify the next best action to take.
Developments of these customer service technologies will continue to drive transformation. Advanced tools can assess past and present customer data, suggest personalised next steps and guide agents through complex interactions. This helps ensure they deliver the right outcomes quickly and effectively to all customers.
Addressing the imbalance
Encouragingly, addressing the balance of AI and human agents is on the radar of businesses. Nearly a third (29%) of financial services businesses told us in a separate study that they planned to move the focus away from AI to human contact.
However, this compares to 51% in our study saying they planned to introduce more technology, such as AI and automation, to support the customer experience.
Understandably, many businesses see such technology as a route to saving money. But cost savings can still be reaped by empowering human agents with the right digital tools.
Companies can set clear goals for which processes need improvement, design solutions that meet those specific needs, and take a people-first approach. What this means, is using technology at the right times, in the right places – what we call ‘digital orchestration’ – and always knowing why it’s being used and what it’s expected to deliver.
Supporting vulnerable customers with AI
This is even more important when it comes to vulnerable customers, tailoring options like access to a human, to avoid the risk of alienating a large customer base
Nearly half (47%) of people in the UK identify as vulnerable, according to the Financial Conduct Authority. These individuals may face one or more of a wide range of unique challenges like mental or physical health issues, or have experienced difficult life events like bereavement.
Our study, which polled 250 individuals who self-identify as vulnerable, found that more than three-quarters (78%) of vulnerable consumers said that they prefer some level of human contact when seeking help, as many feel AI tools fail to fully understand their unique needs, leading to delays and frustration.
Nearly half (48%) of those who identify as vulnerable also admitted to avoiding businesses entirely when they do not provide adequate support tailored to their needs: largely in the form of inadequate human interaction.
However, 56% of those surveyed felt that AI and technology could meet their needs just as well as a human could. This reflects a growing acceptance of digital solutions, indicating that while many still prefer human contact, there is an openness among some vulnerable customers to engage with AI-driven assistance, as the impact of this advancing technology continues to permeate all in society.
Critically, in striking the right balance between humans and AI, businesses need to understand the preferences of their customers and how they want to interact with the organisation.
Looking ahead
Many business leaders will be turning to their IT and customer experience directors to see how they can replicate the apparent success of businesses like Klarna in adopting AI while reducing agent capacity. Yet any customer service transformation project must consider the risks of failing to balance AI and the human touch and what impact it might have on customers.
Businesses have the most to gain by using technology in a way that supports and enhances the human experience, for both the agents and the customer – creating personalised and genuine interactions that solve customer issues in the shortest amount of time.
James Towner, Chief Growth Officer, ArvatoConnect
- Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
