Should A Bot Have to Tell You It’s a Bot?
With humans and automation sharing many customer care responsibilities, the answer’s not totally straightforward
Note: A modified version of this piece is included in the new book Tech Humanist.
Let’s say you have a question regarding your bank account, so you visit your bank’s website to find a phone number to call them. While you’re looking for that, a chat box pops up in the corner of the window, asking if you’d like to chat live with an agent for help. “Why not?” you think to yourself, and click to start the conversation.
So far so good, but let’s say your question is how you can protect your account from your ex who may still have access. You explain the situation and the agent asks you questions about your account, eventually recommending that you create a new, separate account into which you can move your money.
At any point, are you concerned that the agent has perhaps not fully understood your situation before making this recommendation? Would your comfort level change if you knew that the agent was, in fact, a rules-based, machine-driven chatbot?
Let’s pause to define some terms. For the purposes of this discussion, a bot is the conversational interface for a product or a brand or other…
