Can Customer Service Roles Be Staffed By Computers?

Thanks to incredible advances in technology, customer service has changed greatly over the last 25 years.? In the not-too-distant past, every aspect of our interaction with a company and its services was handled through 1 on 1 human interaction.? But nowadays ? whether we?re Googling for kitchen faucet repair instructions, searching for directions on our GPS navigation system, or asking Siri for directions to the nearest seafood restaurant ? we?re relying more and more on technology to guide us through our daily lives.? Technological progress has greatly reduced the need for us to have other people solve our basic problems.

In customer service, the search for low-cost solutions has led companies to replace human interaction whenever and wherever possible. ?Without a doubt, many CEOs would be ecstatic if there were a way to cut support expenses completely by eliminating the large customer support staff necessary in any moderately sized company.? Presently however, high-tech customer support solutions can only replace humans for less-complex issues.? For example, customers can be shown a list of potential solutions to their problem before being permitted to send off a request or question to technical support staff.? On the phone, automated phone screening systems may be used to direct customers to pre-recorded answers to common queries.? However, humans are still needed when a customer has a unique or complex question, when a customer wants further explanation, or even if they simply want to hear a friendly human voice address their problem.

While we?re not at the stage where customer service reps can be replaced by artificial intelligence, are we potentially facing a future where call center outsourcing and face to face customer service is obsolete ? replaced instead with a bank of highly intelligent computers?

To answer that question, we need to briefly examine the historical role of technology in customer service.? Much of the self-serve customer service platforms we now take for granted were once positions filled by a trained, human representative.? For instance, prior to the invention of the ATM and before online banking, something as simple as a cash withdrawal or a bill payment had to be done face to face at a local bank.? Before the internet, airplane bookings had to be done in person or over the phone and then manually logged by human staff.

As technology advanced and computers and software became widely available and relatively inexpensive, businesses quickly realized that many processes once served by call centers and local brick and mortar locations could be replaced by systems staffed not with humans, but with a customer friendly self-serve software platform.? Not only did companies benefit from the scalability and cost-effectiveness of these systems, customers greatly appreciated their efficiency and accuracy.? There are countless examples of innovations that have gradually phased out the need for human service in all aspects of industry, commerce, and day to day living.? All of this seems to suggest the possibility that one day, many of the human-to-human interaction we assume is necessary will be phased out in the name of progress.

While technological innovation will continue to offer new automated solutions to old customer service problems, we?re still far from the day when customer service staff will be replaced by avatars.?

As technology advances, businesses will continue to demand low-cost, scalable customer support solutions.? And just as surely, customer acceptance for automated solutions to their service needs will increase as the speed and accuracy of alternative customer service solutions continue to progress.

Despite all the technological progress, at the end of the day, customer service is about providing the customer with what they want.? Will there be a day where artificial intelligence can answer our questions as effectively as a human?? Do we face a future where friendly robot waiters take our orders and pushy robot salespeople make us uncomfortable?? Perhaps one day.? But as long as there are customers looking for a friendly, helpful voice to answer their questions, 1 on 1 human interaction will continue to have an important role in customer service.? Until technology finds a way to replace the customer demand for personalized assistance, humans will continue to have a role in customer service ? even as the scope of that role continues to be enveloped by technology.

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Can Customer Service Roles Be Staffed By Computers? by David Veibl. David is writing about customer service for Capita Customer Management. Capita Group specializing in business process outsourcing and?technical support outsourcing in the UK.

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