When you are attempting to reach an actual human for IT support, there is nothing more frustrating than getting stuck speaking to a robot. Typically this is referred to as voicemail hell, as you randomly press buttons to hopefully reach a human. As chat bots become the new voicemail system, this frustration can easily be duplicated in a chat window.
That's why a new SupportBot release, which supports PSA tools from Autotask and ConnectWise, potentially is a great step in the right direction for AI-powered chatbots. In a new release, a ‘Slack-like’ chat room allows all team members to communicate in one place with customers, each other and directly with SupportBot. It also offers fully customizable Chat availability times and preferences for each tech. And, transcripts of all customer chats are automatically recorded in corresponding tickets, the company states.
Chatbots are great at handling easy support tasks -- just like voicemail systems are great at handing out basic information like hours of operation and ticket prices. You run the risk of alienating your clients, though, if chatbots become an unintended barrier between you and your customers. There's even some concern about AI chatbots eventually taking over the jobs of IT professionals, but I think entry-level jobs are more at risk for this.
Instead of leaving it all to the bots, it seems like SupportBot is well aware of the issues at hand. The result is a system that seeks to ease communication between technicians and customers and each other; and more easily documenting customer information to further improve service in the future. The transition between chatbot and human should be seamless, and I shouldn't have to keep trying to hit the zero button to try and find a warm body to assist me...
