Garry, the CEO of YC, put it in a very precise way - "The artistry of creating software or technology products is actually in that interface between the human and technology itself."
AI has the power to make the work much easier, but there's still artistry in what it should do and how it should do it. Support is a combination of science and art. There are quite lots of artistry in support work that AI can't replace.
For example:
- Customers still want that human touch and emotional intelligence which AI can't fully provide
- Support is a very collaborative process involving efforts from different teams— like engineering and product, and these interactions are very dynamic and require artistry
The future will be people + AI = happy customers + exponential growth.
However, AI will transform how customer support teams work in every single way, enabling them to reach new levels of efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Step 1: Figure out what the support team actually cares about
We've spent the past few weeks talking to over 20+ leaders in customer support and success, asking them: What are the metrics you care most about?
Here's what we found. These are the metrics that heads of support care about the most:
- Time to Resolution
- Customer Satisfaction
- Number of Tickets Handled per Headcount
- Know what the customers want
- Fewer Escalations to Engineers
When we asked how they are currently addressing these pain points to improve these metrics, many mentioned hiring and training. But does this solve all their problems? All of them said no.
Step 2: Figure out what the support team needs
That's why they are looking for toolings, to solve the problems in smarter, more efficient ways.
Their tooling needs boil down to:
- Enablement of Support Agents
- Efficient Knowledge Sharing: Ensure support agents have quick access to consolidated and up-to-date product knowledge
- Empowering Technical Support: Equip tech support engineers with the expertise needed to handle complex issues independently
- Self-Served Customer Support
- A System for Easy Tracking of Tickets and Insights on Customer Needs
Step 3: Figure out how AI can help
AI won't replace support—it will transform it. The teams that thrive will be those that figure out how to use AI to amplify their human capabilities, not replace them.
Conclusion
AI isn't going to replace customer support. It's going to make support teams more powerful, more efficient, and more able to deliver the kind of experience customers actually want.
The question isn't "Will AI replace us?" It's "How do we use AI to become the best support team we can be?"
