My Ebike Delivery Went Missing. When I Tried to Recover It, I Ended Up in Chatbot Hell

Wired AI · 1 day ago

A customer's $2,000 ebike was marked as delivered and signed for by someone else, and when he attempted to track it down, he encountered AI chatbots at FedEx, the bike retailer, his bank, and even his local police department that consistently prevented him from reaching human representatives. Across all customer service interactions, 59 percent of consumers reported frustration with AI agents, while 85 percent preferred speaking with humans, and Verizon's CEO stated that AI will likely replace a large percentage of the company's customer service workforce. Corporations are deploying AI in customer service at the expense of human employees, sometimes intentionally using chatbots as a tactic called sludge to discourage customers from seeking resolution.