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Dive Brief:
AI-powered chatbots often deliver strong results on simple tasks but consistently underperform on complex issues, according to a study by Bain & Company.
The research, based on Bain’s NPS Prism data of U.S. banks, found that on a scale of 0 to 100, digital channels score between 49 and 72 for basic tasks, such as transferring money, while human agents score between 44 and 54. For complex issues, such as disputing charges, digital channels score 31 and 53, and human agents score 44 and 63.
A hybrid customer service approach is most effective, the report says. Companies should let bots handle simple issues and escalate complex requests to AI-supported human agents to boost outcomes, loyalty and efficiency.
Dive Insight:
Businesses are rapidly deploying AI-powered chatbots to provide customer service and support at faster speeds and lower costs. However, they often fall short of expectations, frustrating consumers and prompting some companies to rehire human agents.
When it comes to complex issues, customers often want to speak with a human “to have someone to argue with,” the report says.
So, even if customers don’t get the result they want, they eventually move on because they can accept an unfavorable outcome from a human, according to Bain.
“It’s not that the bot is worse than a person, but rather that the customer won’t accept a bad outcome from a bot,” the report says.
But sometimes the bot is worse. Consumers say their No. 1 frustration with AI support is difficulty explaining their issue, according to CCW Digital data shared during a webinar Monday. Fewer than 2 in 5 consumers are confident in AI self-service as a support tool.
In the future, customers may be more willing to accept answers from AI-powered chatbots, potentially leading to a change in the number or types of calls handled by human agents.
But that could take years.
“In the meantime, companies risk alienating customers by forcing them into unsatisfying interactions,” the report says. “Forcing bots into situations where customers won’t accept them will only foster costly discontent.”
Taking a hybrid approach, on the other hand, can help agents find information, draft responses and handle routine workflows more efficiently.
“The fruitful path to effective customer service starts by understanding each customer episode, then mapping the pain points and matching the channel to the need,” the report says.