Dive Brief:
- Gartner analysts predict that the European Union will likely pass legislation mandating customers’ right to talk to a human agent by 2028, the analyst firm said in a report released Monday.
- As the number of companies that have eliminated customer service interactions with an agent grows, government agencies are discussing regulating AI’s use in business and consumer relations, Gartner reported. The EU already plans to regulate AI based on perceived risk via its AI Act.
- The consequences of legislating the right to talk to a human service agent would be severe. “The result would be chaotic for any company that had eliminated their assisted service operation that serves EU customers,” Emily Potosky, senior research director at Gartner, told CX Dive in an email. “Those organizations would need to scramble to reenable assisted service. They're going to have to figure out staffing, reinstate operational practices, and potentially reinvest in enablement technology.”
Dive Insight:
As companies look to cut costs, some are looking to replace human agents with AI chatbots. But such efforts could backfire if the regulatory bodies decide to intervene.
Potosky said her team has observed a trend toward “hiding, putting behind a paywall or entirely shutting down assisted service channels.” She points to Frontier Airlines, which did away with its customer service call line last fall.
The advent of “generative AI could make it a lot more tempting to pursue eliminating assisted service,” she said.
As backlash to AI replacing human service interactions grows, businesses should expect regulatory changes, Gartner said. The EU, which is a known leader of consumer protections, is the most likely body to take up the issue first.
“We decided to focus our prediction on the EU because it has put forth multiple regulations that have changed the way that global businesses operate,” Potosky said. “Where the EU goes, other countries follow.”
If the EU mandates a “right to talk to a human,” it would have wide-ranging implications for U.S. businesses with European customers, as well as U.S. consumers who have purchased European products.
As businesses scramble operationally to be able to serve customers, the disruption could harm organizations’ reputations and customers’ desire to do business with them. Internally, some CX leaders who promised massive cost cuts with AI could face massive backlash, as they’d have to reintroduce employees and incur more costs, Potosky said.
Gartner recommends that companies should prepare by keeping an eye on evolving regulations, putting a human in the loop in AI customer service use cases and keeping traditional service agents in the mix.
“Keep assisted service channels operational — even if minimally resourced — to be able to quickly address any change in regulation that impacts your channel strategy,” Potosky said.
