Chatbot frustration UK sees customer satisfaction slump | Daily News Byte

The human touch is still central to top customer service, according to UK consumers – a third of whom believe customer service has deteriorated in the past two years. More than half say chatbots and AI-powered customer service tools “never understand” requests or problems.

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly heralded as a “game-changing tool for businesses”; But the reality often fails to live up to that grand billing. An estimated 85% of AI-related business projects fail; And while – like cryptocurrency, blockchain, metaverse and many other perennial ‘breakthrough technologies’ – proponents of AI often argue that these failures are simply because businesses are ‘not finding the right use cases’, the potential for relevant use cases seems Decrease by day.

Most notably, AI has long been championed as the future of customer services work. In particular, AI-powered chatbots were once widely sought after by large companies, as a means to quickly deal with customer feedback and take care of simple tasks – while allowing companies to reduce headcounts and reduce the salaries of remaining call-center staff. The fact is, however, that many businesses are increasingly moving away from chatbots – for the simple reason that customers widely hate them. And if the results of Capterra UK’s new poll are anything to go by, it’s not hard to see why.

62% of the 1,000 consumers polled said that chatbots cannot solve complex or specific issues. Meanwhile, 51% of consumers added chatbots “never understand their requests or needs” – not “sometimes misunderstood” or “often misunderstood”; “Never”. On top of this, 50% of registered chatbots create frustration by repeating themselves and running in circles – potentially making customer retention less likely.

That’s because three in ten consumers told Capterra UK they would stick with a brand that offers good customer support even when cheaper competition exists. So, to ensure that customer base stays with the business, leaders would do well to remember that only 3% of all customers said they would choose chatbots as their top channel for help.

Captera UK content analyst Eduardo Garcia Rodriguez commented, “AI technology has the potential to enhance the customer experience, but businesses need to ensure that different customer demands are met. Asking for feedback from their customers will help them improve their services and leverage this technology to its full potential and develop a stronger, more personalized customer experience.”

In contrast, UK respondents still indicated a preference for old-fashioned phone-based customer service with human agents. Getting customer support by phone was voted the top choice by 42% of consumers surveyed, while 89% of all respondents expressed their preference for a human voice over a synthetic one. The main benefit of phone calls identified by 74% of customers was that they allowed them to explain themselves and ask more questions.

At the same time, companies downsizing their call-centers in favor of chatbots may have negatively impacted even the most popular mode of contact. 79% said that the loss of calling is being stuck in queues – which can help reduce the number of calls. However, some have also said that this means they are more inclined to favor another popular method.

39% said they now communicate with a human agent via live chat on an app like WhatsApp – with 52% saying they prefer live chat because of the flexibility in terms of availability and hours. However, they found it less reliable than over the phone, with 54% concerned that live chat gives unclear explanations or miscommunication, which could get in the way of their communication.

At a time when the customer journey is said to be at an all-time high, spending on these digital options doesn’t seem to be improving matters for UK companies. Only 35% of UK respondents said customer service had improved in the past two years, the smallest percentage recorded among countries. Furthermore, while 76% of Mexicans, 74% of Japanese and 63% of Brazilians felt like valued customers when speaking with support services, only 55% of UK customers felt the same, while another 45% said they did. Rather annoying customer support.