Most entrepreneurs positively assessed AI in customer service

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used not only to communicate with customers, but also to monitor the work of employees. At the same time, business attitudes towards such technologies remain positive rather than cautious: 65% of respondents positively assess the use of AI in customer service. According to a study by Aihab's AI analytics and sales automation service, which was reviewed by Izvestia on June 28, entrepreneurs see such tools as a way to reduce errors, monitor compliance with standards, and better understand what is happening inside the sales department.

Despite the active discussion of artificial intelligence, mass adoption of such solutions has not yet occurred. Only 8% of the respondents are already actively using AI services to work with clients. Another 52% are at the stage of testing individual functions, from decrypting calls to automatic conversation analysis.

At the same time, entrepreneurs are increasingly considering AI not as a replacement for employees, but as a monitoring and analysis tool. According to the study, 22% of respondents believe that such systems help monitor compliance with work standards, and another quarter note that AI allows for a more objective assessment of the quality of communications with customers. In addition, 20% of respondents believe that AI analytics helps identify weaknesses in the sales funnel and better understand customer needs.

People and leaks: why domestic business refuses to implement AI

The main reason is the high risk to data security and confidentiality.

Simultaneously with the growing interest in AI tools, another trend is emerging: businesses are increasingly ready to delegate technology to evaluate the quality of employees' work. More than half of the respondents (52%) believe that AI helps automate routine tasks and reduces the burden on staff. Another 25% note a reduction in the number of communication errors. At the same time, the attitude towards technology remains ambiguous. More than a quarter of entrepreneurs (27%) consider AI solutions to be insufficiently mature for business, and one in four points to errors in neural networks. Another 22% fear for the safety of customer data.

In addition, many doubt that artificial intelligence is able to fully replace humans in communication. So, 57% of respondents are sure that AI does not cope well with the emotional context, and 62% believe that users easily recognize AI assistants based on template responses.

"It is important to understand that AI should not replace humans — it should enhance and simplify their work. Usually, a manager needs to do a lot of routine work before each contact: study the client's company, view the latest news, and prepare a relevant message. There is often not enough time for this. Automation allows you to reduce time for routine tasks. At the same time, in matters requiring an individual approach, assessment of the situation and decision—making, the key role remains with the person," said Alexey Avdeev, CEO of Aihab's AI analytics and sales automation service.

Despite existing concerns, most entrepreneurs do not reject new technologies. Only 27% of the survey participants said they were not considering the possibility of implementing AI in their company.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on May 28 that the replacement of low-skilled personnel with artificial intelligence is irreversible and inevitable. According to him, AI is already replacing junior staff in process automation, documentation processing, and software development.