The Cost of Replacing People With AI

EDITORIAL: Artificial Intelligence has become the corporate buzzword of the decade. Companies proudly announce AI-powered customer support, AI assistants, AI chatbots, and AI-driven workflows, all promising faster service and greater convenience. In theory, these technologies should improve the customer experience by resolving routine concerns in seconds while allowing human representatives to focus on more complex cases.

Unfortunately, many businesses have taken a different path. Instead of using AI to support their customer service teams, they have begun using it to replace them. In doing so, they have overlooked a simple reality: customer service is not measured by how quickly an automated system responds. It is measured by how effectively a problem is resolved.

That distinction became painfully clear during what should have been an ordinary late-night food delivery.

Shortly after one midnight, I ordered food through a popular delivery platform, something I had done countless times before. Two and a half hours later, there was still no meaningful update on my order.

Thinking the restaurant might still be preparing it, I contacted the store directly. The response surprised me. The meal had already been cooked and packed. It had been sitting there for nearly an hour, waiting for a rider to collect it.

At that point, the issue was no longer about preparing food or estimating delivery times. It was an operational problem that required immediate intervention. A rider simply needed to be reassigned so the order could be delivered before the food became cold or had to be discarded.

The obvious solution was to contact customer support and request that another rider be dispatched. Instead, I found myself navigating an endless sequence of AI-generated prompts that acknowledged my concern without offering any meaningful action.

The chatbot categorized the issue, suggested generic help articles, and repeatedly presented automated options that had little to do with the situation. At no point was I given a straightforward way to reach a support agent capable of making a decision. Ironically, every minute spent interacting with artificial intelligence only made the original problem worse.

This experience is hardly unique. Across industries, companies are increasingly replacing traditional customer support channels with AI-powered systems that excel at answering predictable questions but falter the moment a situation falls outside predefined scenarios. Customers seeking urgent assistance often discover that there is no practical way to escalate their concerns, even when every passing minute makes the problem more costly or more frustrating.

Telecommunications providers provide another example of this growing trend. Several have shifted much of their customer support to AI-driven systems within their mobile applications, requiring subscribers to navigate automated conversations before any human assistance becomes available.

While these systems may be capable of explaining billing statements or retrieving account information, they frequently become obstacles when customers encounter technical faults, disputed charges, or service interruptions that require judgment rather than scripted responses.

The irony is that many companies promoting AI as a faster alternative have unintentionally created slower customer service. Automation is efficient only when it matches the customer’s needs. When it does not, it simply becomes another layer between the customer and the person capable of resolving the issue.

That is why one recent experience stood out for all the right reasons. During a visit to a telco service store in a local mall, I needed assistance with an account-related concern that could not be resolved through self-service options. A staff member listened to the issue, verified the necessary information, completed the required process, and resolved the concern in less than fifteen minutes.There were no automated menus to navigate, no chatbot asking whether its response had been helpful, and no unnecessary delays. The process was quick not because sophisticated technology was involved, but because a trained employee had both the authority and the tools to act immediately.

The lesson is not that AI is ineffective. On the contrary, artificial intelligence has enormous potential to transform customer service for the better. It can instantly retrieve customer histories, summarize previous conversations, recommend possible solutions to agents, and automate repetitive administrative work that consumes valuable time. Used correctly, AI can reduce waiting times while enabling support representatives to focus on solving problems rather than searching for information.

The mistake lies in believing that AI can replace every aspect of customer support. It cannot replace judgment when unusual situations arise. It cannot exercise discretion when policies require flexibility. It cannot reassure an anxious customer whose concern falls outside programmed responses. Most importantly, it cannot accept responsibility for making a decision that affects another person.

Businesses often justify greater automation as a way to reduce costs and improve efficiency, yet customer service should never be viewed solely through the lens of operational savings. Every unresolved complaint represents a damaged relationship with a customer who chose that service over its competitors. Saving money by eliminating support agents means little if customers ultimately lose confidence in the company itself.

Artificial intelligence should never become a wall between businesses and the people they serve. It should function as the first line of assistance for routine concerns while providing a clear and immediate path to human intervention whenever circumstances demand it. The objective should not be to prevent customers from speaking with a person. It should be to ensure they reach the right person as quickly as possible.

The most successful companies in the age of artificial intelligence will not be those that remove people from the equation. They will be those that understand when a customer no longer needs another automated response, but simply another human being on the other end who can say, “I’ll take care of it.” 

As I finish this write-up, I was so exasperated that the only resolution to this food order dilemma, running for hours already, is to cancel the order and re-order the same items while coordinating closely with the store where I ordered it. Somewhere between artificial intelligence and human customer service, many companies have forgotten that technology exists to shorten the distance between a problem and its solution, not to become another obstacle in the way.