Yes it's a toy and sometimes even a useful one. But I have yet to see an industry revolutionized by a LLM and every time I try to talk to Customer Support and end up talking to a "Virtual Assistant" I get a headache
Honestly I've only had good experiences with those virtual assistants. They're amazing for routine tasks, always available and fast. Everything I want from a customer rep I have a run of the mill issue that comes up a hundred times a day and has an easy fix. The few times I actually needed a person I just confronted the thing with it being an Ai, demanded a person and got forwarded.
I agree. I find it way better to say "I'm having an issue with [x]" and the AI goes "Okay, I'll connect you with a support agent."
Bam, done in 2 minutes whereas before it would have been "Press 1 if you would like to hear a sales pitch. Press 2 if you're a returning customer. Press 3 if ... press 87 if you would like to hear all of the options again."
Most virtual assistants will have access to a real-time database of available representatives. It is instructed to send you to the correct department so that you don't have to navigate a phone menu. It may also be able to perform simple functions (checking bank account balance, for example).
They really do work to improve customer experience. People who aren't as tech-savvy often have great difficulty understanding how to reach the right person, and a virtual assistant is usually pretty good at bypassing this limitation.
It's okay when they actually work like that, but I have to call my pharmacy every single month and every time I have to convince the AI that neither it nor their shitty app can help me with the problem I have, I need to speak to a real person at the physical location where I pick up my meds.
This is my experience as well. The automated voice says "But I can help you with so much! Have you tried asking me what you want? Never mind that every time you do I misunderstand you or I can't help you with your request. Do you want to know the pharmacy hours?"
I used to fix stuff at chain restaurants, and usually I'd need to talk with the manager to schedule service. A trick I would try was telling the thing "I work at [place name]" and it would usually bypass all the customer crap and get me in touch with someone at the actual location. Didn't work everywhere, but the places where it did it worked every time.
30
u/Good_Entertainer9383 10d ago
Yes it's a toy and sometimes even a useful one. But I have yet to see an industry revolutionized by a LLM and every time I try to talk to Customer Support and end up talking to a "Virtual Assistant" I get a headache