If you want to deliver an outstanding customer experience (CX), bring AI and humans together as a team. “AI will not make humans irrelevant,” said Dr. Ayanna Howard, Ph.D., in her keynote talk on “Demystifying the Myth of Human vs. AI.” Instead, the advances in AI, such as ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, can blend together in providing better service to customers.
Dr. Howard was one of several Avaya ENGAGE guest speakers who focused on the roles of AI tools and humans in the contact center and beyond. In his keynote, R “Ray” Wang, founder, chairman, CEO, Constellation Research, outlined some of the ways AI tools are helping organizations deliver CX personalization at scale. “Use cases for AI include augmentation, acceleration, automation, advisement, autonomy,” he said.
Then, Wang raised the question: “When and where do we insert a human in the process of automation?” His answer: “We have to have a human-led process from the start to the end in order to make best use of these tools.”
For instance, Wang said transparency is essential in developing AI algorithms, adding that humans have to look for any innate bias and reverse it before deployment. IT professionals also need to drive the process of training AI systems for accuracy. “An 85 percent accuracy rate might be okay for some use cases, but not for finance or healthcare, for instance. So, humans need to augment an AI system and review the output for accuracy and relevance.”
Demystifying AI-human interactions
Artificial intelligence has a long history in human thought and engineering. In 1950, Alan Turing defined machine intelligence as the ability to duplicate human responses. Since then, AI has often been depicted as a threat to humanity, as well as a force for good. “Now we need to think of AI as a collaborator in human-centered design,” said Dr. Howard, a former NASA robotics engineer.
In the communications world, Howard said current AI applications include chatbots and collaborative AI tools that help agents build relationships by responding to customers and asking questions. “AI can definitely improve customer service, but there are hazards to consider,” Howard said. “When humans make a mistake, we tend to forgive them, but people expect AI to be perfect. It is unacceptable for AI to make a mistake.”
On the other hand, AI tools can have a positive impact on upsells, Howard said. “If AI warps the truth, people are okay with that. But if a human does the same thing, customers think it’s inappropriate.”
So, if there is the possibility of a mistake, it is better to have a human handle the interaction, Howard added. “But AI is really good at taking care of the easy tasks.”
That means IT professionals should look for ways to take the strengths of both types of agents to enhance the customer experience and minimize weaknesses. “Think about where AI can add value to your organization,” she said. “Then, look at your human talent, and craft experiences that capitalize on the strengths of both.”
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