Companies are investing in AI to cut customer service costs and improve self-service options, but a prediction from Gartner throws into question the assumption that the technology is cheaper than humans.
The consultancy predicts that costs per resolution for generative AI will exceed $3 by 2030 — a rate that’s higher than many offshore agents.
Gartner points to rising data center costs, AI vendors pivoting from subsidized growth to seeking profitability, and complex use cases as reasons for AI costs to soar.
Return on AI investments “is far from guaranteed,” according to Patrick Quinlan, senior director analyst in Gartner’s Customer Service and Support practice. “Full automation will be prohibitively expensive for most organizations; instead, leading organizations will use AI to drive customer engagement rather than to cut costs,” he said in a prepared statement.
Though consumers’ use of AI tools has grown, many continue to be wary of the technology. Still, some brands are plowing ahead, betting that the money saved from AI customer service will be worth any resistance.
But AI isn’t the cheap technology it’s often made out to be. AI tools come with unanticipated ancillary costs, such as managing access credentials for autonomous agents or acquiring new data sets.
“Historically, we have invested in less expensive technology to replace more expensive talent, and currently what we are looking at is investing in a more expensive technology solution to replace a less expensive talent source,” Emily Potosky, senior director of research at Gartner, told CX Dive, earlier this month. “And I do not know economically if that is going to pay off.”
Beyond costs, customers want the right to talk to a human, especially for complex or sensitive issues.
Kinsta, a company that specializes in WordPress hosting, is hiring more customer service representatives for that reason, according to Roger Williams, community manager at Kinsta.
“There's so many different ways things can go wrong, especially with WordPress where you can add plug-ins and themes, and you can easily customize the code without knowing anything about code,” Williams said.
The ability to reach out to a human representative and say, “I did something. I don't know what I did. Help,” and have someone figure it out quickly is a valuable service, Williams said. “Your day is better in minutes.”
That’s not to say AI isn’t a useful tool. AI can be a differentiator, but it will cost money.
Businesses that lead AI adoption will “look beyond cost optimization to other benefits, such as increasing customer lifetime value, repurchase rate and brand loyalty,” Quinlan said.
