AI spotlights the need for human connection
You may or may not realize it but many of the conversations you have with the companies and brands you’re a customer or client of aren’t taking place with people—they’re taking place with bots, or chatbots.
As of 2024, about 60% of business-to-business (B2B) and 42% of business-to-consumer (B2C) companies were using chatbots to interact with their audiences with projections of up to 80% globally by the end of 2025. The healthcare industry has been slower to adopt these tools, with approximately 19% of medical group practices reporting the use of chatbots for patient communication.
The use of chatbots in healthcare is likely to grow. As it does, though, it’s important to consider the experience that your patients are having during these interactions. After all, chatbots aren’t people, and healthcare is a people-centric industry.
When it Comes to Customer Service, AI Often Fails
How many times have we heard over the past few years that AI would be taking over a significant number of our jobs?
But, not so fast.
While AI is our new reality and is certainly creating efficiencies, it is not a panacea, especially when it comes to customer service. In fact, in many ways, AI’s penetration is holding up a mirror to the fact that human contact is still essential.
That’s especially true in healthcare. But even communications companies often struggle to get it right.
Getting Served by the Bots: A Cautionary Tale
Last week I was traveling out of the country when my phone’s SIM card failed. While I still had access to Wi-Fi at the airport, I tried connecting with customer support from my phone carrier.
The experience was far from supportive.
When I posted my problem in the chat, they responded by telling me they texted me a verification code. Because I had no SIM card, I had no cell service and therefore couldn’t receive texts. The bot couldn’t get past this, though, no matter how many ways I asked to have it emailed or to connect me with a human.
Keep in mind that I was dealing with a telecommunications company. The operative word here is communication. But, they were not listening.
Even worse, this was a tech company that was in the midst of a multi-million dollar advertising campaign touting their technology and urging purchase of a new phone. Despite the campaign, though, they simply couldn’t figure out that a chat message about a failed SIM card made it impossible for me to receive their texts.
What I needed was someone who could resolve the issue quickly. Instead, I ended up stranded at a closed shuttle station at 1:00 a.m. with no way to make a call for an Uber.
Using Technology Wisely
My experience can be an important lesson for all of us.
If you use chat features on your website for any of your healthcare services, make sure you give your customers access to humans, too. It takes just a minute for the consumer to recognize that they are talking to a bot. Sometimes that works. Often it doesn’t.
In my situation, I found myself in an endless loop, having to answer the same questions over and over, without getting any resolution. Sometimes, when the issue is straightforward, bots can handle many frequently asked questions. Other times, a human is needed.
The bottom line: a bot doesn’t care about you or your situation. A bot is just a bot.
When we use AI to interact with our patients, we need to make sure we’re constantly learning and improving in order to create the best possible interactions. After all, the bots become an integral part of your care team.
The question is: Are they listening and responding in alignment with your values?
Tags: AI in healthcare, chatbots, chatbots in customer service, consumers and chatbots, Customer Service, generative AI and customer service, generative AI in healthcare, Patient Experience, patient satisfaction
