Dive Brief:
- The vast majority of consumers — 87% — rank the phone as their preferred channel for customer service, according to a survey of more than 27,000 consumers released Wednesday by ServiceNow. Customers prefer human interaction when their reason for calling is making an inquiry or seeking advice, according to the study.
- Despite this, three-quarters still say they prefer to try self-service before they call. Self-service is preferred for simple tasks like making purchases or payments or receiving loyalty or reward offers.
- Only about one-third of respondents say they prefer contacting a human over a machine for customer service. The results show AI isn’t a surefire solution — nearly half of respondents say modern chatbots fail to understand their questions and concerns.
Dive Insight:
Empathy is an essential part of customer service for many customers, and it’s where AI tends to fall flat while live agents shine.
Even though 40% of respondents say they are experiencing improved speed and efficiency due to AI in customer service, half cite the technology’s lack of empathy as their top frustration, according to the ServiceNow study.
The best way to overcome the “empathy gap” between machines and humans is knowing when a customer should stay in an automated channel and when they should be connected to a live agent, Lauren Villeneuve, senior director analyst of customer experience, service and support at Gartner, said.
“AI tools should be built to recognize context and emotion and quickly escalate sensitive situations to a human,” Villeneuve said in an email.
One example of this is training automated voice systems to detect sensitive circumstances, according to Villeneuve. This provides an opportunity for the AI to respond with appropriate language, such as “I’m so sorry to hear that,” before transferring the customer to a human.
Transfers aren’t just for customers who need the empathy only a fellow person can provide, according to Villeneuve. Customers should never feel trapped with self service, and it’s just as important for automated tools to provide clear options for switching to a live agent.
“When a handoff does happen, it should be a warm transfer, passing along conversation history and a summary so customers don’t have to repeat themselves,” Villeneuve said.
