Bots Alone Don’t Build Loyalty

Crescendo explores how businesses can strike the right balance between AI innovation and human empathy in customer service.

Bots alone don’t build loyalty, great CX is human at the core. Customer service is in the middle of a fundamental shift. Once treated as a back office cost centre, it is now emerging as a defining component of brand perception and loyalty.

Crescendo hosted Ken Chenault, former CEO of American Express and a respected leader in brand strategy and customer-first thinking.

He emphasized a simple but powerful truth: customer service is not just a function, it is a brand defining experience.

It serves as both an emotional and rational connection point between company and customer. And while emerging technologies can help amplify positive experiences, lasting loyalty is built through human centred, high quality service.

Today, AI agents are being advertised as the silver bullet to transform CX operations. But reality is catching up with the hype. As one disappointed reviewer put it, “I could not be more disappointed… most responses were not even helpful.”

AI agents do not fail because the technology is fundamentally flawed. They fail when teams assume that buying the software is enough.

Without the right data, continuous tuning, and human oversight, AI agents can quickly become a source of misinformation and frustration.

Imagine an AI agent tells you that a refund has been issued for your return. You send the item back, only to learn later that no refund is coming.

That single interaction can permanently damage your trust in the brand. The takeaway is clear: AI agents are not magic. Delivering a modern customer experience requires a thoughtful balance between technology and human expertise.

Turnkey AI Support Operations That Build Trust

Most companies underestimate what it takes to make AI agents successful in customer support. Launching an AI agent involves more than just configuration.

It requires a program of ongoing optimization, feedback, and training. The best performing deployments are treated as living systems, always evolving and always learning.

While some customer experience AI agent vendors offer initial onboarding via professional services, those engagements taper off after setup.

Teams are left to manage performance through dashboards and alerts. This can work in limited cases, but it often becomes a burden for lean customer support teams with other responsibilities.

AI Alone is Not Enough

AI agents can be incredibly powerful tools, but they are only as good as the care behind them. They can automate responses, reduce friction, and speed up resolution.

But they often lack empathy, judgment, and the nuance required to manage emotionally charged or complex moments. The result is a robotic experience that tries to solve the wrong problem or even worse infuriates the customer.

This blog post has been re-published by kind permission of Crescendo – View the Original Article

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About Crescendo

Crescendo is the first AI-native contact center built to deliver peak CX performance in the AI era. While others sell seats, licenses, or hype, we tie our success to business outcomes.

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Call Centre Helper is not responsible for the content of these guest blog posts. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of Call Centre Helper.

Author: Crescendo
Reviewed by: Rachael Trickey