DENVER (KDVR) — Artificial intelligence is changing the customer service experience.
More than 1.5 billion people now talk mostly to chatbots used by businesses in the United States, India, Germany, the United Kingdom and Brazil, according to a Tidio study.
Shelley Brouwer told FOX31 she spent a week communicating with a chatbot and waiting on hold for customer service after her airline lost her bags.
“Aside from what I lost, not being able to talk to anybody has been absolutely miserable,” she said.
The Problem Solvers reached out to the airline, which confirmed that the customer was able to eventually get through to an agent. The staff quickly initiated a search for the bags.
Chatbot use growing in business world
Chatbots are used by commercial businesses, utility and property management companies and medical care facilities. Technology experts told FOX31 the cost-cutting software is often preferred because of high turnover in call centers and the need to reduce complaints about rude customer service agents.
The Tidio study showed that 90% of customer questions are resolved in 10 or fewer messages.
While 96% of people know what a chatbot is, the technology is so developed that some do not even realize they are not talking to a real person.
Technology security expert Mitch Tannenbaum of CyberCecurity told FOX31 that chatbots are becoming more popular in the business world.
“The main objective, I think, is saving money,” he said.
He said while bots are getting more sophisticated, they still have a lot of room for improvement.
“To the degree that a chatbot is programmed effectively to deal with the real problems the customers actually want resolved, then I think the chatbot could be valuable,” he said.
Chatbots can be a challenge for those with problems that need executive decisions, who are not proficient in computer use or who have disabilities.
“They give you the wrong answer or they say, gee, could you rephrase that question? And all they do is upset the customer,” Tannenbaum said.
Is there a way to avoid chatbots?
The Tidio study shows that 38% of customers would rather wait to talk to a human, while 68% would just use a bot. That depends, of course, on the kind of issue a customer needs to discuss.
Brian Cather of CP Cyber tries to hack bots while testing security systems. The Problem Solvers asked him about the best way to improve the chances of talking to a real person on a company’s website. He said the time of day can make a difference.
“From 9 to 5, you ask for a human, it gets you to a human. It hits 6 o’clock, you might ask for it, it might not give it to you,” Cather said.
Cather told FOX31 that the interaction with bots is stored and documented.
Brouwer said she realizes chatbots are here to stay but hopes the concerns of real people will not be left behind.
“It makes me really sad that that’s the way the world is headed,” she said.
Shaul Turner
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