Standards for AI-driven services to help customers

Editor's note: China's first national standards for coordination between human and artificial intelligence-driven customer service will come into effect on Sept 1. China Central Television spoke to Xue Jun, director of the e-commerce law research center at Peking University, about the new standards. Below are excerpts of the interview. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

The integration of AI into business operations, particularly in after-sales service, is one of the most common applications. AI-powered customer service can significantly reduce operating costs, prompting many companies to adopt AI solutions for handling after-sales inquiries and resolving service issues.

However, while many businesses are reluctant to invest heavily in human customer service, AI technology is not yet fully mature. This has led to a growing number of consumer complaints.

To address this problem, the national standards set rules to guide the development of the sector. The objective is to use technology to deliver after-sales services more efficiently and at lower cost, without compromising the consumer experience.

One common problem is that customers struggle to reach a human customer service representative, often finding themselves trapped in repetitive automated responses or being endlessly directed from one service to another, with no clear path to human assistance.

There are two possible reasons for this. First, although AI is increasingly being used for customer service, the technology is not mature enough to handle every problem. When an AI system encounters an issue it cannot resolve, it may simply keep the customer going around in circles.

Second, some companies may deliberately make it difficult for customers to find a way out of the automated system, hoping to exhaust customers' resolve to pursue their complaints and avoid addressing the underlying issues.

The new standards emphasize coordination between human and AI customer service because the two approaches have different strengths: AI offers efficiency, while humans provide superior user experience. These two strengths are not necessarily in conflict.

As AI technology continues to evolve in China, AI-powered customer service may eventually be able to resolve most customer issues. Then consumers may not care whether they are interacting with an AI system or a real person.

The problem today is that AI technology is still developing. Businesses must not pursue efficiency at the expense of the user experience. This is precisely why coordination between AI and human customer service is important. When AI can effectively handle an issue without affecting the customer experience, it should be used to improve efficiency. However, for complex or unique problems, the system must be able to quickly transfer the case to a human representative.

This coordination is essential to truly respect and protect consumer rights and interests. The new standards establish a very effective mechanism for achieving this coordination.

The potential applications of AI go beyond customer service, including marketing and promotional activities. Unlike human employees, AI systems can operate round the clock without fatigue. But when AI is used for outbound calls or marketing, businesses must strictly comply with the laws and regulations on marketing, advertising and commercial promotion.

They must not infringe on the rights and interests of others or abuse the technology simply because AI is a cheaper option. Technological advances should be used to improve efficiency, but always within the bounds of the law.