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A comment on The new breed of chatbot talks more like a human, but that is not always good. Parent comment

Re:The new breed of chatbot talks more like a human, but tha... by cimmanom on Thursday February 22, 2018 @07:51AM (#16437187)
The problem is when you have a question slightly more complex than that and no access to a real human being. I recently enjoyed that situation with a medical benefit provider's phone menus, and it was infuriating. (Still haven't figured out how to get a human being on the phone and am waiting, 2 weeks later, for an answer to an email.)
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Re:The new breed of chatbot talks more like a human, but tha... by cm2187 on Thursday February 22, 2018 @10:08AM (#16438007)
That being said "computer says no" is often a standard answer when you call a call center. They may be humans but if their guide doesn't have the answer to the question you are out of luck.
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Re:The new breed of chatbot talks more like a human, but tha... by cimmanom on Thursday February 22, 2018 @10:20AM (#16438100)
Sure, but a lot of times you have an open ended question or problem. Or need to ask about something undocumented.

Here are some questions I couldn't get bots to answer for me recently:

"This printed form you provided me for a regulated action requires an account number, but no account number is displayed anywhere on your website or statements or any communications I've had from you. Where do I find that information?"

"Your site took money out of my account, said it couldn't complete the transaction, and now refuses to return the money to my account. How can I fix this and either get my money back or get what I paid for?"

And sometimes it takes a human to answer "is it still the case that the answer is 'no' if these other unusual circumstances apply?"

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Re:The new breed of chatbot talks more like a human, but tha... by bitL on Thursday February 22, 2018 @08:08AM (#16437264)
Yes, that's a major flaw in their customer support. Still, in the near future most common tasks can be handled by AI and only specific ones forwarded to humans (until those can be automated away as well).
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Re:The new breed of chatbot talks more like a human, but tha... by cimmanom on Thursday February 22, 2018 @08:41AM (#16437438)
The trouble is that too many places seem to already think that a bot is sufficient. IMO it's going to be a VERY long time (if ever) before bots can entirely replace human customer service.
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