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ZDNET's key takeaways
82% of people prefer human customer service reps to AI.
Overreliance on AI could cause reputational damage.
Some companies are reinvesting in humans over AI.
This time three years ago, most people had never heard of generative AI. Today, the technology is a cultural behemoth, and businesses across virtually every industry are facing huge pressure to embrace it.
Also: OpenAI's Altman calls AI sector 'bubbly', but says we shouldn't worry - here's why
At least at first glance, customer service would seem to be a field that's particularly ripe for AI-powered automation. Chatbots specialize in fielding simple queries, while newer and more powerful agents can access a business's internal files to provide up-to-date information, send follow-up emails, and perform other complex tasks. Little wonder that a fleet of companies like Salesforce and Microsoft have been replacing human customer service reps with AI.
New research, however, suggests this could turn out to be a mistake -- that despite the huge amount of marketing gusto that's been poured into selling generative AI-powered customer service tools to businesses, the technology could in fact be doing more harm than good.
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