Four reasons why AI can’t replace human customer service

Last week I sent a message out to my top twenty-five clients – business owners and CEOs – asking them one simple question: what’s the biggest challenge you’re facing right now? Overwhelmingly, each of them replied with a message like this ‘We still don’t feel like we fit into this new digital world. and the new ways of working and serving customers’.

It’s likely you, too, are aware of the seismic shift happening in society and the speed-of-light pace at which technology has advanced in our workplaces. For the past few years, business owners and leaders in all sectors have been redefining their understanding of what service means in an increasingly digital and interconnected world.

It seems that Australia is welcoming the AI era with open arms. A recent SmartCompany article cites research that found Australia leads in global AI adoption rates, and also that Australian executives report a high degree of urgency to implement AI – 10% higher than the global average.

Swept up in the rush to implement AI, it’s easy to succumb to the narrative that machines will replace humans in every field, including service. It’s even easier to miss the nuances that make human service irreplaceable. Being human is our advantage. Here are four reasons why:

Having a body is a service advantage

One of the things that makes us human is that we have a physical body. Nonverbal information is being constantly communicated through channels like facial expressions, how we walk, how we orientate our body, our physical posture, our eye gaze, and our hand gestures. 

Our bodies have powerful ways of getting across information. Of course, we also use our senses, voices and motor skills to complete tasks and be helpful. But the most obvious place to start elevating the value of humans who serve customers in your business is to upgrade the way your staff uses their bodies as communication tools.

The skill of paying attention is a service advantage

While technology is grabbing everyone’s attention, we forget that giving attention in service interactions – one-to-one, one-to-many – is the advantage humans have over robots. AI and robots can’t give attention or offer connections the way humans can! A robot might be able to turn its view to see from a different angle, but it cannot give attention – and the skill of paying attention is crucial to good judgement and social interactions. 

Understanding and balancing emotions is a service advantage

Service is subjective. Service is recognising how people feel and then aiming to make them feel better. Creating an emotional connection – a uniquely human gift – is at the heart of what creates loyalty in customers to brands and businesses. When an employee recognises emotions in a customer, they have the ability to defuse situations, make the customer feel understood and offer empathy where needed – in this way, they create value beyond providing a service. They create an emotional connection. 

Having a human spirit is a service advantage

It’s human nature to give meaning to actions, whether by an employee or a customer. Service actions, in particular, can carry a lot of meaning for people.

Machines and robots can give your customers an outcome, and provide a service. But a human who serves another person can spot the hidden emotions, interpret the unspoken words, and uncover the subtle nuances that machines may miss. They’re entering a relationship with that person, tapping into something more meaningful.

Being human is our advantage

Service industries are madly rushing to digitalise for efficiency, but they’re often compromising what once set them apart – acts of service by humans. We need to remember that at the heart of service is humanity. We have names, hearts and minds; we are spiritual beings having a human experience. For any business owner in service, the new dilemma is how to reclaim the human in ‘human service’.

Jaquie Scammell is the CEO and founder of ServiceQ, and award-winning author of The Future of Service is 5D, Service Habits (2nd ed) and Service Mindset.