Customer service chatbots can be annoying – but new advancements in technology means they are unlikely to go anywhere, according to Jess Kelly.
Over the years, customers have made it increasingly clear that they do not appreciate their complaint being referred to a chatbot.
Many shoppers find these bots to have incredibly limited capabilities, often leading to frustration if no alternative communication is available.
Newstalk’s Tech Correspondent Jess Kelly told Moncrieff that large language models similar to ChatGPT are being used to improve this technology.
“Rather than having three or four pre-programmed responses and then that’s the extent of it, they are now using the technology of the likes of ChatGPT to converse in a humanistic way,” she said.
“So, for example, if you write your very thoughtful, very specific question into that box, it’ll then understand the context.
“It’ll be able to direct you based on not only the company's manual, but [also by] taking bits of information from your question.”
Person Ringing Service Bell Hold By RobotMs Kelly said that as advancements continue to be made, it will soon become impossible to tell if you are talking to a human or an AI assistant.
“The application - and the addition of the large language model technology - will transform customer service,” she said.
“Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, I don’t know – but you will struggle to identify when you are talking to a chatbot versus a human.
“Personally speaking, as a millennial who struggles to talk to people, this is my dream.”
Planning holidays
According to Ms Kelly, this technology could become incredibly useful for planning holidays and other experiences.
“The big thing that it will be useful for, I think, if when you’re booking a holiday in the future,” she said.
“Rather than clicking through 17 different tabs and menus and all the rest, you’ll be able to just word vomit the type of experience you want – who's going on the trip, your interests, the restaurants that you want to eat in, all the rest – and by having a conversation, your trip will be booked.”
Ms Kelly said that instances of chatbots breaking and giving out nonsensical answers are becoming less and less common.
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