Quick Answer
For search, voice, and "just tell me what to do".
AI can handle the uncertain, ambiguous early stages of support interactions—gathering context, identifying issues, checking information—so that when humans engage, they have clarity and can focus entirely on showing care and solving problems.
Key Takeaways:
- Uncertainty consumes emotional bandwidth
- AI can gather context before human engagement
- Clear handoffs enable focused human care
- Information gathering is automatable
- Human energy should go to human moments
Playbook
Identify uncertainty points in support flow
Design AI to gather context and clarify issues
Create structured handoffs with clear information
Reserve human engagement for defined moments
Build AI pre-processing for complex issues
Common Pitfalls
- AI interrogation that frustrates customers
- Incomplete information gathering
- Delayed human engagement that builds frustration
- Over-relying on AI for what needs human judgment
Metrics to Track
Context completeness at handoff
Agent preparation time
Human interaction quality scores
Customer effort score
FAQ
Won't customers be frustrated by AI 'gatekeeping'?
Not if AI is helpful rather than blocking. Frame AI as gathering information to help faster, provide easy human access, and ensure the AI interaction adds value rather than just filtering.
Related Reading
Next: browse the hub or explore AI Operations.