Faster than a Speeding Bullet

Have you noticed how AI is spreading like wildfire? Almost every industry has implemented AI chatbots into their customer-facing operations.

My experience has been that these bots are typically programmed to provide simple responses and struggle with complexity, often reducing inquiries to one-size-fits-all answers. Despite this limitation, they do help reduce the workload of customer service representatives. But is this what customers really want? Are these artificial intelligence tools delivering on their promise to enhance the customer experience?

The answer is both yes and no.

I recently made a psychological inquiry on AI and was floored by the insights I gained; it was truly profound. I found myself wondering who needs a therapist when you have this technology at your fingertips! Intrigued, I decided to ask a more mundane question about a lipstick I recently bought, and it confirmed that I had made the right choice. Encouraged by this, I posed more beauty-related questions and was astonished by the responses.

However, here’s where the AI fell short. For the last few mornings, I have been drinking matcha tea with soymilk, but I've found myself craving coffee. I went onto Amazon and saw that my usual coffee brand, Post Alley, was listed at 40% less than what I pay at Ralph’s. Great, I thought—I'll order it. Then I saw a hefty delivery fee. Why would I need it delivered? I certainly don’t; that feels elitist to me, as if it’s for people who throw money away or prefer to stay in all the time—and that’s not me!

This situation reminded me of my experience at Sephora. As I was about to enter the store, I noticed a line of about 20 people by the door. I asked, “Is there a line to get in now?” I was told it was for DoorDash. People were using this service to have their cosmetics picked up and delivered to them because they couldn’t wait a few days. I think that’s absurd. Does anyone really need makeup that urgently?

Returning to my coffee order, my plan was to pick it up at the Amazon Fresh store, which is about 3 miles away. I’ve never been inside, but I had heard that you can walk in and walk out. To find out how Amazon Fresh operates, I went online to ask AI for information, but there was no mention of delivery fees. So, I called Amazon, and the representative transferred me to Amazon Fresh. Knowing that I was either talking to person who was staring at their phone, and when it asked me to repeat myself, it hit me, it wasn’t human. I wasn’t about to share any information, so I hung up

The takeaway from this experience is that AI is advancing faster than we can imagine, and business owners need to understand their customer base. Some people (in my opinion) relish sharing personal information willingly, but I believe businesses still have a responsibility to know their audience and provide human representatives who can address complex concerns and long winded questions like mine.

How do you feel about our current AI technology?