Chatbots and Automation – Are They a Threat to the Customer Service Sector?
Each individual is moulded differently – we are shaped by different characteristics, values, and quirks that make us unique. It’s no surprise that a “one-size-fits-all” approach fails to work particularly in the customer service sector, where the challenge is to deal with a plethora of personalities and resolve their problems quickly.
In a sector where efficiency is key, there are also little touchpoints that cannot be neglected, such as a personal touch and the assurance of an emotional human connection.
But can these customer demands be fulfilled in the world we live in today? Insert: chatbots. With artificial intelligence and bots getting smarter every day, it seems that these tools get things done at a snap of a finger, making the customer service process speedier and more productive. However, does efficiency come at the expense of customer service officers?
Here, we delve into the consequences chatbots and automation have on the customer service sector and evaluate the landscape of customer service in our increasingly digital society today.
Why Automation?
There are many pros to having an AI chatbot on your customer support team. In a nutshell, automation helps to pacify impatience – this often means faster responses and higher turnaround times. With no limit to the number of customers these chatbots can serve at any given moment, wait-times are eliminated and customer queries can be answered almost immediately.
Indeed, automation might serve as a quick fix to most customers’ problems: according to the Harvard Business Review, 81% of all customers attempt to resolve their own problems before engaging a customer service officer.
What are the Trade-offs of Automation?
To the uninitiated, automation might seem like a godsend. After all, what’s there to lose? However, there are clear downsides to automation – responses become cookie-cutter and tone becomes overly professional or sometimes even devoid of emotion. Relevancy might even become an issue; what happens what an answer to a question falls outside what has been programmed into the chatbot?
In addition, customers like to feel empowered. They know when they’re being served robotic replies and they don’t appreciate it when the chatbots don’t give them what they are after. Indeed, according to a study done by psfk, 75% of customers prefer human-aided support when looking for in-depth answers.
In other words, customers appreciate receiving fast solutions, but they get increasingly frustrated when they’re not the responses they need. Yes, chatbots can answer queries quickly and efficiently, but are they able to answer more complex questions accurately? It all boils down to which customers prioritise – efficiency or accuracy – over the other.
What does this mean for Customer Service?
Chatbots are cheaper and faster than their human counterparts, which make the rise of automation a cause for concern for those currently employed in the customer service sector. In fact, a global survey done by Forrester in 2017 found that 57% of firms interviewed are already using chatbots or plan to do so – this number is expected to rise in 2018. In line with this trend, businesses are likely to be pressured to move with the times and continually digitise their operations.
In spite of all this, there still seems to be a place for humans in the customer service sector. Technology might achieve speed, but it lacks compassion and empathy. Humans offer the ability to think outside of the box and have the critical capacity to navigate even the trickiest of solutions.
Creating a power tag team of both chatbots and humans allow businesses to achieve efficiency while still attaching a human face to their brand. With chatbots and automation handling simple low-stakes queries and requests, customer service officers can work on other high-value interactions where greater attention and expertise is required.
Canon in the wake of Chatbots and Automation
Here at Canon, we understand the importance of interpersonal relationships in fostering excellent customer service standards while also recognising that digitisation is an inevitable reality. Our customer service benefits from the best of both worlds – our using technology to complement their work process, our human service staff work more efficiently and effectively.
Solutions such as Canon’s ThereforeTM Document Management Solution, eMaintenance software, and eBusiness Portal are some examples of how we integrate technology into our customer service department, and many of our clients, such as Ferroro Asia, have successfully streamlined their processes with these implementations. These solutions not only make our service team more productive but also improves the overall customer experience.
Perhaps the dilemma that exists now is not whether customer service jobs will become obsolete, but whether businesses will embrace the challenge of integrating technology with human interaction. Are businesses able to use technology to enhance and improve their current operations, or will they see it as a hindrance?
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