Whenever you contact a customer service centre, the team on the other end typically aims to achieve three goals: reduce response time, solve your issue, and do so within the shortest possible service duration. However, resolving your issue might require a considerable time investment, potentially conflicting with the overarching business objective of minimising service duration. These conflicting priorities are common in customer service centres, which rely on the latest technology to meet customer needs.
To manage these conflicting demands, organisations practise what is known as ambidexterity, which can be achieved through three modes: structural separation, behavioural integration, and sequential alternation. So, how might artificial intelligence (AI) systems enhance these organisations’ ability to transition between ambidexterity modes to accomplish their tasks? New research involving the School of Management at Binghamton University, State University of New York, delved into this question. Using data from various contact centre sites, researchers examined the impact of AI systems on a customer service organisation’s ability to shift across ambidexterity modes.
The key finding: it’s a delicate balancing act. When used correctly, AI is a valuable asset, but organisations should not rely exclusively on it to guide their strategies. Associate Professor Sumantra Sarkar, who co-conducted the research, stated that the study aimed to understand better how organisations might use AI to guide their transition between ambidexterity modes, as different structures or approaches might be more beneficial at other times. “Customer service organisations often balance exploiting the latest technology to boost efficiency and save money,” Sarkar said. “This dichotomy is what ambidexterity is all about—exploring new technology to gain new insights and exploiting it to gain efficiency.”
As part of the three-year study, researchers examined the practices of five contact centre sites: two global banks, one national bank in a developing country, a Fortune 500 telecommunications company in South Asia, and a global infrastructure vendor in telecommunications hardware. While many customer service organisations have invested in AI in recent years, assuming that failing to do so could lead to customer dissatisfaction, the researchers found that these organisations have yet to use AI to its full potential. They have primarily utilised it for self-service applications.
Some AI-assisted tasks tracked by researchers at these sites included using AI systems to automatically open applications, send emails, transfer information between systems, approve or disapprove loan applications, and provide personalised service based on customer data and contact history. Researchers determined that while it is beneficial for customer service companies to harness AI’s advantages and navigate its challenges, they should not do so at the expense of supporting quality professional development and ongoing learning opportunities for their staff.
Sarkar emphasised that to utilise AI’s benefits fully, leaders of customer service organisations need to examine every customer touchpoint and identify opportunities to enhance the customer experience while improving operational efficiency. Consequently, Sarkar advised newcomers in the technology-savvy industry to learn from companies with 20 or 30 years of experience, especially in adapting to technological changes, including AI, before formulating their business strategies. “Any business is a balancing act because decisions made at the beginning of the year based on forecasts must be continually revised,” Sarkar said. Given the added tension within customer service organisations about whether to focus on efficiency or exploration, they must work even harder to strike that balance. Effectively using AI helps them achieve this.”
More information: Lan Cao et al, Shift of ambidexterity modes: An empirical investigation of the impact of artificial intelligence in customer service, International Journal of Information Management. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2024.102773
Journal information: International Journal of Information Management Provided by Binghamton University