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Happy Wednesday! A lot of companies are looking to get rid off their customer service teams and replace them with AI chatbots. Not so fast. It seems customers still prefer a human to solve their problems.

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Can AI Replace Human Customer Service?

In the age of instant gratification, it might seem counterintuitive that customers would prefer to wait for a human customer service representative rather than receive immediate assistance from an AI chatbot. However, a recent survey commissioned by customer experience platform Callvu reveals that the majority of consumers are willing to hold the line for a live agent.

The survey found that 81% of respondents would wait at least some amount of time to speak with a human representative, with the sweet spot falling between four and five minutes. While 22% of respondents said they would hold for this duration, another 18% were willing to wait two to three minutes, and a patient 16% would stick it out for 11 minutes or longer. Only 14% of those surveyed said they would opt for an AI chatbot over waiting for a human agent.

These findings come at a time when companies are increasingly turning to AI-powered solutions in the wake of ChatGPT's public launch nearly a year and a half ago. From debt collection to dating apps and theme parks, it seems that no industry is immune to the allure of chatbots. However, Callvu's survey suggests that when it comes to customer service, humans still reign supreme.

In a head-to-head comparison, live agents were perceived to be better suited for 7 out of 10 critical customer service tasks, particularly when it comes to complex problem-solving and resolving issues in a single call. Respondents also believed that human agents would be more satisfying recipients for venting frustrations, highlighting the importance of empathy in customer service interactions.

That's not to say that AI assistants don't have their place in the customer service landscape. The survey found that chatbots were seen as more adept at handling basic functions such as answering simple questions quickly and providing consistently accurate answers. This suggests that companies are wise to invest in AI-powered solutions for certain tasks, but should not rely on them as a complete replacement for human agents.

Despite the potential benefits of AI chatbots, customers remain sceptical of companies' motives for implementing them. When asked why they thought so many businesses were launching customer service chatbots, a resounding 57% of respondents said it was to save money and eliminate jobs. While this may be an unsurprising conclusion, it underscores the importance of balancing technological innovation with the human touch in customer service. For ecommerce sellers, understanding consumer preferences is key. While integrating AI into customer service can streamline operations and cut costs, it's clear that maintaining human elements in customer support can significantly enhance customer satisfaction.

•  Chat GPT6 is already on the way and it’s going to be a lot smarter than GPT5. (just FYI we are still at 4 so a lot to be excited about)

• Gemini’s Youtube extension allows marketers to streamline a lot of their advertising

• A different approach to customer persona work - situational segmentation.

• OpenAI makes access to chat history available now for free and plus users.

• Amazon’s Q AI chatbot assistant is now available : specifically targeting businesses and developers.

• Customer engagement, sales efficiency and customer acquisition through the use of various AI tools.

🤖 Gobble bot - Digest your website, PDF, YouTube Video, Notion pages and more into one text file to upload to your GPT chatbot

🔮 Reducto - Convert complex docs into LLM ingestible chunks.

🌄 Pikzels AI - Create AI-generated thumbnails effortlessly

🤖 Trellus - AI sales coach on each and every call.

🌐 Zupyak - Do SEO research and create high-ranking content with AI, without using expensive agencies and contractors. Used by 400,000+ professionals.

🖮 RawuserAI - Personalized website customization using AI

😍It was great, all I needed

🙂Good, not great

🙄It sucked