These programs have long been promoted as efficient tools that save time and money while resolving repetitive issues.
A recent report from Business Insider highlighted the disadvantages of these programs and the potential ramifications for retailers that rely on them.
Surveys reveal that many customers prefer to avoid interacting with artificial intelligence (AI) for customer service, fearing it will complicate reaching a human representative or provide incorrect answers.
Consumers also question AI’s benefits, viewing it more as a cost-saving measure for companies than a tool for improving service. Chris Filly, head of marketing at Callvu, a customer-experience company, said that many businesses underestimate the complexity of applying these programs.
"Customer experience is so much more complicated than people realise," he explained.
"The customer service team has to deal with an infinite number of potential issues that come up across all these different touchpoints, all these different customer types.”
“It's very, very complicated to make sure that every node in that network has perfect information from everything else."
He continued by referencing his company's survey on attitudes toward AI in customer-service scenarios, which found that consumers are increasingly open to these interactions.
"The honest truth is that the data is getting better, that there is hope that this will all resolve itself," he said.
"We know that there are certain aspects of customer service that AI is doing well. Now, how long before the state-of-the-art AI makes it into that chatbot that's annoying the heck out of you? It might not be there yet."
According to a survey by Gartner, 53 per cent of customers would consider switching to a competitor if they found out a company would use AI for customer service.
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