The Good Tech Companies - Chatbots Have Been Failing Us for 20 Years—Can AI Finally Fix It?

Episode Date: February 26, 2025

This story was originally published on HackerNoon at: https://hackernoon.com/chatbots-have-been-failing-us-for-20-yearscan-ai-finally-fix-it. Discover how to effectively integrate AI in Customer Success while maintaining the human touch. Balance automation with personalization for optimal results Check more stories related to machine-learning at: https://hackernoon.com/c/machine-learning. You can also check exclusive content about #ai-and-customer-insights, #customer-success, #customer-satisfaction, #customer-support, #customer-support-experience, #ai-customer-support, #ai-in-customer-experience, #good-company, and more. This story was written by: @socialdiscoverygroup. Learn more about this writer by checking @socialdiscoverygroup's about page, and for more stories, please visit hackernoon.com. The first-ever chatbot for customer interactions was created all the way back in the early 2000s. SmarterChild was merely a template machine — no AI, no intelligence. Today, things have changed dramatically.

This audio is presented by Hacker Noon, where anyone can learn anything about any technology. Chatbots have been failing us for 20 years. Can AI finally fix it? By Social Discovery Group. We've all been there, desperately searching for a human behind a chatbox to solve our issues with the products or services we've acquired. But did you know that the first ever chatbot for customer interactions was created all the way back in the early 2000s? It was called Smarter Child. It understood little. It obeyed strict rules. It frequently got stuck. There was nothing natural about it. Users had to figure out the precise way to ask their question, or they would be trapped in an endless loop of repetitive, robotic responses.

It was merely a template machine. No AI, no intelligence. Today, things have changed dramatically. AI, the game-changer in customer S-U-C-C-E-S-S-A-I is everywhere. It's like that popular kid in school that everyone talks about. And as our lives get an artificially intelligent upgrade, it's time to rethink business optimization. Our 2025 customer success goals at SDG have only grown more ambitious. We strive to provide highly personalized, human support that fosters strong relationships with our customers. At the same time, we are actively refining automation and optimization to set the industry standard and make customer success yet another one of

our competitive advantages. Greater than, hmm, contradictory. Why, you may ask? Because our loyal customers deserve our human attention, focus, and time. AI is a strategic investment that enhances our work, allowing us to provide precisely that, balancing I and human support. A learning C-U-R-V-E-A-I implementation requires balance. And how do you achieve that? Checkmark frame the digital transformation process as a product. End checkmark be the product manager of automation and optimization. End checkmark experiment, measure, repeat, the numbers game. Data is king data-driven decisions are essential for any successful business. Before redeploying AI across your processes,

you need a clear understanding of the current state of things. Light bulb benchmark first. Analyzing key metrics will prevent unnecessary customer dissatisfaction and help you accurately measure AI's effectiveness. Start by asking. Play button how many tickets do you receive in a given period? Play button how many should remain untouched by AI and receive only human support? Why? Play button how many customers require basic information that AI could handle, saving human time, play button how many tickets can realistically be automated. Emails, calls, chats, play button how many human work hours could be reallocated to high-value tasks? Once you complete this analysis, you will have the numbers and KPIs to track

AI's impact, successes and failures alike. Automation vs. Personalization Finding the right balance once you gather data, you'll begin to identify trends in your customers' inquiries. Most interactions can be automated, but the real question is, lightbulb, where do I want to preserve the value of personalization equals equals if customer lifetime value clv is a key metric in your business ai cannot fully replace your customer success managers csms equals equals they are the human touch points of your company the very people who build long-term customer relationships a company without visible human presence risks losing trust. Where should

personalization be prioritized? Depending on your industry, these common areas might require human first support, checkmark premium and loyal customers, and checkmark serious complaints, and checkmark refund requests, and checkmark payment issues, and checkmark paying customers, and checkmark technologically challenged customers. greater than the goal isn't to remove human support but to optimize agent working hours. Greater than why waste professional talent on repetitive, copy-paste responses when AI can greater than handle those. By focusing human effort on unique or sensitive cases, customer success can drive higher satisfaction and increase CLV. AI as a co-pilot, expanding customer success manager C-A-P-A-B-I-L-I-T-I-E-S-A-I isn't just about handling routine requests. It can also

empower CSMs by acting as a co-pilot. Checkmark sentiment analysis right-pointing arrow AI scans customer communications, detects dissatisfaction, and flags cases needing human intervention. N-Checkmark Real-Time Assistance for Agents Right-Pointing Arrow AI suggests responses, relevant knowledge base articles, and past insights. N-Checkmark Call and Chat Summarization Right-Pointing Arrow AI transcribes and summarizes conversations, freeing agents to focus on problem solving. N- mark proactive retention strategies Right pointing arrow AI identifies customers at risk of churn and prompts CSMs to act. Rather than replacing agents, AI makes them more effective. Experimentation. The key to AI success before launching AI initiatives,

you need a roadmap that outlines which AI implementations to prioritize. Expected impact. How success will be measured, pushpin documentation is key. It avoids confusion, ensures alignment among stakeholders, and establishes clear benchmarks and business goals. No documentation equals no organization. Test before you scale to evaluate AI's impact. Divide customers into two groups. Keycap 1 control group right pointing arrow receives traditional human-only support. N-keycap 2 experimental group right pointing arrow interacts with I-enhanced processes. For accurate results, ensure N-checkmark experiments run long enough to

collect meaningful data. N-checkmark key metrics remain stable or improve. Right finger if automation performs as well as human support while saving time, it's a win. One by one, roll out AI experiments and adjust based on results. If an AI implementation underperforms, tweak it and try again. Stay agile, iterate, improve. Conclusion. AI as an enabler, not a R-E-P-L-A-C-E-M-E-N-T-A-I isn't here to remove humans from customer success. It's here to enhance their impact. By automating routine tasks, surfacing key customer insights, and freeing agents to focus on meaningful interactions, AI helps businesses deliver a higher level of personalized service without sacrificing efficiency. Checkmark use AI strategically and

checkmark keep human support where it matters most. Checkmark create a customer experience that is both seamless and deeply personal. Ultimately, the businesses that will thrive are not the ones that eliminate human touch, but the ones that make human interactions more impactful than ever before. Greater than written by Tony Jacobs, Director of Customer Success Department at Social Discovery Group. Thank you for listening to this Hackernoon story, read by Artificial Intelligence. Visit hackernoon.com to read, write, learn and publish.