You’d be surprised how often we can automate a customers enquiry with ML (not even generative AI). Humans are still there as a fallback, but it’s a way better experience to give instant help to the person if possible and then put them into the queue if they have a more complicated problem. Searching is not really in the same context as automating customer queries, although I guess it could depend on the domain to an extent.
Comment on Generative AI could soon decimate the call center industry, says CEO
TheRaven@lemmy.ca 5 months ago
Call centres exist because people can’t get the help they need by searching. Take away call centres, and you’re just making it more difficult for customers.
Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
BearOfaTime@lemm.ee 5 months ago
Hahahahaha
Oh, you were serious?
Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
Yes this is literally my job dude but go ahead and tell me how wrong I am
FunderPants@lemmy.ca 5 months ago
stealth_cookies@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
If a request is simple and common enough that the request can be automated, then it is most likely something that I’m already pissed off about having to call in about since it should have been a feature on the company’s website.
VirtualOdour@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
Yes but how often do you call? People like us make up like 1% of their calls, 90% come from people asking ‘how do I download the Google?’ or ‘I saved a picture of my cat where did it go?’ and 9% is people with general questions they could have found online but they didn’t want to get into it.
makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml 4 months ago
Are you using a self hosted open source system, or a saas subscription? I’m genuinely interested.
Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
We use a home grown classification model for our customer facing stuff. There are some applications of LLMs we are using a SaaS for as it’s quick to get going but we are also working on fine tuning an open source model as well so we’ll see what ends up working better in terms of cost vs performance. That’s not going to be customer facing though, we don’t serve any generated text to customers.
hperrin@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Since when has that stopped any corporation from doing anything?
realitista@lemm.ee 4 months ago
Unless you are an absolute monopoly, there is a point you can cross where your customers just leave.
zbyte64@awful.systems 4 months ago
Absolute monopolies only exist in text books.
makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml 5 months ago
We handle support in our company as part of our day to day. By and large the bulk of support is petiole simply leaning on us, rather than relying on common sense, or using the docs. Only a small percent is what would be considered essential.
However, each industry is different. This is just ours.
Generative AI could easily help the bulk of our support load.
FunderPants@lemmy.ca 5 months ago
We’re experimenting with retrieval augmented generation for early inquiries right now. Looked at four models last week, 2 vendors and 2 open source solutions, it’s very promising.
rottingleaf@lemmy.zip 4 months ago
Oh, I’ve been called by my cell operator today. Realized it’s a bot when it offered to upgrade my plan because I’ve used more than half of it. It’s 28th of this month FFS! I asked whether that’s what they mean and why would I need that, it just repeated in the same voice.
phoneymouse@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I always love how they make you go through a labrinythian menu before you get to a human as if I hadn’t already exhausted all options to help myself.
Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
Imaking it more difficult is what I am 100% certain that’s what most companies I’ve had to deal with are trying to do. They will love this.
AA5B@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Remember back in the early days of the internet, when FAQs had frequently asked questions, and were updated in response to calls? Pepperidge farms remembers.
Deceptichum@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
Uhh they’ve all been outsourced to India for ages now, and they’re effectively useless. You’ll get someone who’s worse than an AI at understanding what you’re asking and cannot deviate from a scrip because they have no training.
I haven’t used one in over a decade, if I have an issue it’s going as an email or a comment on social media.
SkyezOpen@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Can’t even describe how shitty meta support is. I ordered a quest 3 and some additionals, they mailed me everything except the quest and something else I didn’t order. Obvious mix-up, yeah? Well it took 4 different support chats and 6 different “specialists” over a month to actually process a refund, and they were still somehow stuck on the idea that the courier missed a box. An additional box under the same tracking number as another box that was labeled 1 of 1.
Veedem@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Never, and I repeat NEVER, buy directly from most manufacturers. For whatever reason, their customer service on the consumer purchase side always seems to suck. Buy from authorized resellers who care more about the relationship with their customers.
beefbot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 months ago
Did… my dad the used car salesman write this? Your post sounds plausible, but… sorry, NO ONE cares about relationships with customers. Every last company is enshittifiable & thus inherently untrustworthy
TheOctonaut@mander.xyz 5 months ago
> makes a series of confident critical statements
> hasn’t used one in over a decade
Deceptichum@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
You’re right, they’re totally un-outsourcing call centres and India is no longer a hotspot of outsourced call centres.
Gee golly I really need to use them to know that nothing has changed! Not at all like I can hear it everywhere from everyone else.
TheOctonaut@mander.xyz 4 months ago
How you react to information that challenges your assumptions is a very good indicator of your ability to contribute to society in general.
liveops.com/…/companies-onshoring-customer-servic…
newsroom.bt.com/bt-completes-100-onshoring-of-cus…
telegraph.co.uk/…/vodafone-bring-thousands-call-c…
cio.com/…/why-outsourced-call-center-roles-are-co…
ispreview.co.uk/…/covid-19-virgin-media-onshoring…
VaultBoyNewVegas@lemmy.world 5 months ago
This has been my experience whenever I’ve phoned support.
vanontom@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Every hour of every day, because company won’t hire or pay for anything better.
Sure. Meanwhile, I get on their website and try their weird “chat” support popup, that somehow takes care of the problem hours before I ever get a call back.
This is why people hate phone support. And why I don’t trust and won’t buy products from companies who only have phone (or “social media” support). Give me a dedicated support email address, or something text-based (live chat, contact form) on website, thanks!
AA5B@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Weird. I’m only looking for phone support when there is no online support, or it doesn’t help, or can’t understand the problem, or there’s no keywords that put it in the right area, or for whatever reason is too “smart” so doesn’t work on iPhone. I don’t trust companies that don’t have call support, because they are more blatantly not supporting their products
AA5B@lemmy.world 4 months ago
This is the one place there’s still hope: an ai could follow a much larger script, and even be helpful. It’s possible