The Promise of AI in Customer Service: Putting an End to Bad Service

There’s growing concern that artificial intelligence (AI) will replace jobs and leave people unemployed. While this may be true in some cases, AI often takes on tasks that are currently not being done or are done poorly. One area where innovation is desperately needed is customer service.

Think back to your last interaction with your telecommunications company. Maybe you had a question about your mobile plan, needed to fix your internet, or had a billing issue. Typically, you make the call, navigate through a maze of confusing prompts, hope you chose the right option, and then wait on hold before finally speaking to a representative.

When you do connect, you’re asked to authenticate yourself, explain the problem, and wait while the agent looks up your records. You often need to repeat what service you have and what the issue is. After some scripted responses, you’re told you’ll be transferred to another department, where you’ll explain the problem all over again.

Throughout the process, you might feel like you’re speaking to someone who lacks the experience to resolve your issue or doesn’t understand your specific setup. After much back and forth, you’re given a ticket number and asked to call back later to follow up, restarting the process. This experience is not only frustrating but also time-consuming and often leaves you without a satisfactory resolution.

How AI Can Transform Customer Service

In an AI-powered world, the customer service experience could be dramatically improved. Imagine interacting with a bot—or a person assisted by AI—who immediately recognizes who you are and has instant access to all your records and preferences. AI systems can tap into a vast corporate knowledge base, providing troubleshooting tips tailored to your specific setup. It’s like having the most experienced person in the company working on your case.

Let’s say you have an internet issue. When you contact customer service, the AI already knows it’s likely about your internet because it detected slow speeds on your connection. The bot informs you that there are no known outages in your area, runs an automatic line test without you asking, and cross-references its records to identify patterns of similar issues.

It then detects a known problem with services on your street and informs you that a technician has already been scheduled to resolve the issue within three hours. In the meantime, the system checks your modem logs to confirm your backup mobile internet is operational. Once the technician completes the work, you receive a confirmation message that your service is back up and running—no need for you to follow up or endure additional calls.

The Future is Now

This type of seamless, proactive service is no longer science fiction. It’s entirely possible with today’s AI technology. By adopting these systems, service-based businesses can significantly improve the customer experience, eliminating the frustration of traditional support processes. Let’s hope more companies embrace AI and put an end to bad service once and for all