[Generated Title]: Call Centers Run by AI? Yeah, That's the Future We Deserve.
So, the robots are coming for call center jobs, huh? Big shock. I mean, who hasn't fantasized about strangling a customer service rep after being on hold for an hour listening to elevator music? Maybe AI overlords are exactly what we need.
The Rise of the Machines (and My Impatience)
This article I saw talks about how AI is going to "autonomously resolve 80% of common customer service issues by 2029." 80%? That sounds optimistic, considering my recent experience with Evri's chatbot, Ezra. "Get this resolved straight away," it promised. Instead, it showed me a photo of my package at the wrong damn door. And that was it. Conversation over. It's like talking to a brick wall... a brick wall programmed by a sadist.
Evri's throwing £57m at the problem, apparently. Good for them. Maybe they should invest in, I don't know, actual delivery people who can read house numbers. But no, let's automate the incompetence! Offcourse, DPD had the opposite problem – their AI chatbot started cussing out customers. You just can't win.
And here's the kicker: Gartner (whoever they are) says only 20% of AI chatbot projects are "fully meeting expectations." So, we're replacing humans with something that's only marginally better, and probably more expensive. Genius!
The Training Data Grift
Here's where it gets really interesting. Salesforce's chief digital officer, Joe Inzerillo, says call centers in places like the Philippines and India are "fertile training grounds" for AI. Translation: we're going to exploit cheap labor to train the machines that will eventually make those same workers obsolete. It's the circle of corporate life, ain't it? Will AI mean the end of call centres?
They feed all that documentation, all those scripts and training manuals, into the AI's gaping maw. Then, poof, the AI becomes a customer service "expert." Except, it still needs to be taught basic empathy. Salesforce had to train their AI to say "sorry to hear that" because apparently, robots are even more heartless than your average call center employee. I didn't think that was possible.
And get this – the AI wasn't allowed to talk about competitors. So, if you asked about integrating Microsoft Teams, tough luck. "The agent refused to help because Microsoft appeared on our competitor list." What a joke! It's like dealing with a toddler who can only see the world in black and white.
Salesforce claims 94% of customers are choosing to interact with AI agents. Are they choosing, or are they being forced to? Because let's be real, most of the time, you can't even get a human on the phone anymore. You're stuck navigating a labyrinth of automated menus and dead-end chatbots until you finally give up and scream into the void. Maybe I'm getting old, but what ever happened to good, old-fashioned human interaction?
