At aha insurance our representatives work closely with our insurtech, and not just to keep an eye on our friendly robo-agent Igins in case he tries to raise a not-so-friendly robo-agent-army and take over the world.
We understand that as much as consumers love robots, our complex questions and problems typically need a live representative’s understanding and carefully thought-out solutions. Helpful customer service, no matter how high-tech, needs a human-touch.
Without live-assistance options, virtual-assistance only frustrates customers
A recent PwC consumer insights survey reports that while consumers are warming up to customer-service-bots, their preference is still for human representatives. A closer look reveals that people prefer live-assistance specifically for their complex questions; they appreciate robo-assistants more when they need simple questions answered quickly and relevant FAQs to what they’re doing.
The value of robo-assistants breaks down when the bot can’t understand a customer. According the the PwC report, not being understood by a bot is not only frustrating for a customer, but one of their greatest fears in the new landscape of automated customer-service. Some might suggest that bots are simply failing to do a job that one day they will do successfully, but the reaction to some of the most successful AI technology available tells a different story.
The surprising (or not so surprising) reaction to virtual assistants
Three researchers at Boston University recently conducted a survey to find out how people are adapting to the new landscape of automated customer-service. Virtual assistants use by far the most advanced AI through natural language programs. Technology companies have invested enormously in natural language programs, just so their virtual assistants can understand what humans are saying.
The advances are impressive, but the Boston researchers found that customers are still mostly unsatisfied with virtual assistants like Siri, Cortana, and Alexa. The reasons are complex, but there’s one particularly interesting problem predicted with AI-assistants: humans will react positively to a more human-like robot up to a point; when the likeness becomes too close, humans tend to feel disturbed by the robot. This phenomenon is called the uncanny valley.
The best insurance companies balance insurtech with expert representatives
Robo-assistants are showing us just how much value human interaction has to customer service. Even as AI learns to mimic humans, it’s still light years away from understanding good customer service. That’s because the best representatives can understand and respond to complex problems, even exceptional problems. Most of a customer’s experience with a company may be simple and direct, but those occasions when a live-person is needed are really important to their overall experience.
Customers can talk to an aha representative anytime, and those simple questions they’ve already answered with our robo-agent Igins will carry over to the live conversation, so our agents can focus on the customer’s more complex requests. Our representatives have over a century of combined experience, and they’ve proven their abilities to help insurance clients with any question. We offer Ontarians the best of insurtech balanced with the expertise they need and the human touch that will give them that aha moment.