Customer Service Representative's Perception of the AI Assistant in an Organization's Call Center

TL;DR

This study explores how customer service representatives perceive AI tools in a call center, revealing both benefits like reduced workload and challenges such as new psychological and compliance burdens.

Contribution

It provides a nuanced understanding of CSR perceptions of AI integration, highlighting both positive impacts and new burdens in organizational settings.

Findings

AI alleviates traditional call burdens like typing and memorization.

AI introduces new burdens related to earning, compliance, and psychological stress.

CSRs actively adapt to the AI-enhanced system, facing both benefits and challenges.

Abstract

The integration of various AI tools creates a complex socio-technical environment where employee-customer interactions form the core of work practices. This study investigates how customer service representatives (CSRs) at the power grid service customer service call center perceive AI assistance in their interactions with customers. Through a field visit and semi-structured interviews with 13 CSRs, we found that AI can alleviate some traditional burdens during the call (e.g., typing and memorizing) but also introduces new burdens (e.g., earning, compliance, psychological burdens). This research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of AI integration in organizational settings and highlights the efforts and burdens undertaken by CSRs to adapt to the updated system.