Some Thoughts On: Zero Interaction

Place your bets! The welterweight championship of the month is here: Generative AI vs a Call Centre Script! – Who will win?

Well, in this case it was AI – at least according to the latest video tweet by DoNotPay CEO Joshua Browder. In it we see ChatGPT4 negotiating with a ComCast customer service rep for a discounted bill in compensation for recent outages.

It’s an interesting thing to watch.

The AI is unrelenting – starting with allusions of illegality, then like a child after a chocolate bar in a supermarket, it just keeps asking for a discount. In essence:

“Is this your address?” – “Yes, now how about that discount?”

“We value you as a customer” – “Thanks, now how about that discount?”

There’s even the ongoing threat of “I’ll take my business elsewhere.”

However, it won’t be long until we find ourselves negotiating with AI everyday as part of low-tier customer support. …Will negotiation evolve into a battle of who has the better AI function running?

It’s just another example of this trend towards zero interaction – A trend we’re all wrestling with the new norms around.

In the US, tips at self-service counters were up almost the same amount as tips at full-service restaurants – despite customers wondering who exactly they were tipping. Conversely, just yesterday while running a listening tour for a client I identified several points of unnecessary (and expensive) admin that could be easily solved through near-zero interaction. Saving many hours and dollars in a market with notably tight margins.

This, of course, leaves us with the question. What does zero interaction mean for us as change leaders? And, in a world of AI-generated emails and highly distributed workforces,

How are you keeping that sense of humanity where it matters?

Because, if COVID taught us anything, even the most introverted of us need human interaction more than we realise.

And A Quick Note: Thinking 2 Speed

Good marketing focuses on both short-term, targeted campaigns, while also building on the longer-term brand.

Structured strategic change programs should do the same.

Final thoughts

I’m sitting here in the early hours of Canberra, Australia, where’s its a chilly -3°C. The oil heater is running overtime – it looks to be a cold winter this year.

So keep warm, stay human, and I’ll see you all next week.

Oh, and if you enjoyed the read, please do one thing for me – share this with just one person.

BB