As businesses embrace AI, often blindly following a corporate mandate, many have slapped on AI chatbots or automation routines that push customers away and damage years of trust and loyalty built with much effort.
While these AI efforts may help cut costs and boost efficiency, they are not great for helping customers who need genuine help. Indeed, only 4 per cent of Singaporeans would choose a chatbot for customer support, according to Sinch, a company that provides communications tools to reach consumers.
Trust and personalisation cannot be “nice-to-haves” but should be the foundation of good customer service, says Wendy Johnstone, vice-president for Asia-Pacific at Sinch.
The key is knowing when AI adds value, and when a human touch is non-negotiable,” she tells Techgoondu in this month’s Q&A on customer service. “AI is great for scale and speed, but when a conversation gets complex, emotional, or sensitive, people still want to talk to people.”
NOTE: Responses have been edited for brevity and style.
Q: We have seen banks and telcos, among other “digital first” companies, push customers to chatbots and digital channels to cut costs. This cannot be good for customer communications, can it?
A: While it may be true that many “digital-first” companies see AI as a way to cut costs, that approach alone can be short-sighted and often comes at the expense of customer trust.
Across Asia-Pacific, we see a strong demand for more seamless, digital experiences. But our research shows that only 4 per cent of Singaporeans would choose a chatbot for customer support.
And when the issue is urgent, like suspected fraud, more than half prefer speaking to a real person. This clearly shows that when the primary driver is cost-cutting, you risk creating a frustrating, disconnected experience.
The way forward is not to avoid AI, but to use it in a way that builds confidence. AI works best when it enhances the human experience, not replaces it. The companies getting this right are using automation for efficiency, while keeping people at the centre when it matters most.
That balance is what builds loyalty. In Singapore, consumer confidence depends on knowing that businesses will protect their privacy, personalise responsibly, and offer a human when it really matters.
And we see a similar trend across Asia-Pacific, where digital adoption is growing quickly but trust remains the deciding factor. That is why trust and personalisation cannot be treated as nice-to-haves, they are the foundation of the customer experience.
Q: Briefly, in what cases does AI work best to improve customer communications and service?
A: AI works best when it supports the customer experience, not when it replaces it. Its real value lies in handling high-volume, repetitive, or low-stakes tasks – the types of interactions that do not require empathy but still need to be fast and accurate.
For example, AI can provide instant, 24/7 support for basic questions, like order status or store hours. It can intelligently route queries to the correct human agent or department, so customers are not passed around.
It can also serve as a “wingman” for human agents, pulling information in real-time so they can respond faster and more accurately.
In these situations, AI removes friction and gives customers faster outcomes. But just as importantly, it frees up human agents to focus on the more complex or emotional moments – the ones that really shape how a customer feels about a brand.
That is the sweet spot. Not AI versus human, but AI with human, working together to deliver the kind of service customers can trust.
Q: How does a company balance the efficiency of AI and the human touch? Are there examples where this has worked?
A: The key is knowing when AI adds value, and when a human touch is non-negotiable. AI is great for scale and speed, but when a conversation gets complex, emotional, or sensitive, people still want to talk to people.
We have seen this in action with ATOL, a leading optical retail chain in France. They used Sinch’s conversational AI and rich messaging to help customers choose and buy new glasses. AI managed the simple steps, but customers could instantly connect to a real advisor if they had more specific questions. That flexibility created a smoother, more trusted experience.
This is the bigger lesson. Across Asia-Pacific, this balance is what customers expect. The companies doing this well are not treating AI as the only option. They are using it to improve service, not to remove the human touch.
And in a world where every business can offer digital speed, trust becomes the real differentiator. Customers want to feel confident that their information is secure and that a real person will be there when it matters.
Delivering that kind of confidence is not simple. It requires connecting the systems, channels, and teams behind the scenes, so the experience feels seamless to the customer. That includes AI knowing when to hand a conversation over to a human agent and passing along the full context, so the customer does not have to start again.
That is exactly what Sinch provides – secure, reliable engagement at scale across messaging, voice, and e-mail. As more businesses in Asia-Pacific move toward more AI-driven engagement, we give them the foundation to balance efficiency with the human touch that builds trust.
Q: Mass personalisation has always been the goal of businesses selling to consumers. How far away are we from such customised experiences, given that AI is often known for cookie-cutter responses, or worse, hallucinated replies today?
A: We are closer than people think. The issue is not just the technology – it is how AI is powered and connected. Today’s AI models can personalise at scale, but only if they have accurate, real-time customer data and if that data flows seamlessly across systems. Without that foundation, you end up with the kind of generic or duplicative replies that frustrate customers.
As our State of Customer Communications report highlighted, 44 per cent of consumers are only open to AI-driven suggestions if they are genuinely relevant. So, there’s clear demand, but also a high bar for trust.
That bar can only be met with both the right intelligence and a connected tech stack. Businesses need to unify signals from across their systems to avoid irrelevance and build experiences that feel consistent.
That is not easy when businesses rely on a complex mix of disconnected platforms. This is where Sinch helps. We provide the omnichannel infrastructure that feeds customer signals into AI models, giving businesses the foundation to act on intelligence in real time.
Just as importantly, we enable seamless handoffs between bots and human agents, preserving context so customers do not have to repeat themselves. That way, businesses can personalise with confidence, while keeping the experience secure and compliant.
On top of that, we are seeing new rich messaging channels like Rich Communication Services (RCS) add exciting possibilities. Delivered through the phone’s native messaging inbox, RCS supports interactive features, verified sender identities, and dynamic content. It gives businesses a way to personalise with purpose, creating richer, more engaging conversations in a trusted and secure environment.
While RCS is still gaining traction in parts of Asia-Pacific, the potential is clear. As adoption grows, it could become a clear enabler for brands looking to personalise in ways that feel local, secure, and genuinely useful to the customer.