- Companies are increasingly turning to AI to see if it can improve their customer service experience.
- According to the Wall Street Journal, CVS plans to use AI to help pharmacy customers avoid having to go through menu options.
- CVS Health's chief technology officer told the Journal that customers will be able to talk to the AI before being directed to a live agent.
CVS plans to use artificial intelligence to improve customer service experiences, Tilak Mandadi, chief technology officer at CVS Health, told The Wall Street Journal.
Mandadi told the publication that the retail giant's health and wellness division will roll out an app that will eliminate the need for customers to call a pharmacist or call-center operator, a practice less popular with Gen Z.
Mandadi said the app will use AI to allow customers to get text-based answers in “natural language.”
But for those who still want to call, CVS will also use AI to help customers quickly ask questions over the phone without having to go through tedious menu options, Mandadi said.
“When it comes to making calls, we want to get away from the traditional, very cumbersome menu-based options of, press 1 to press this, press 2 to press that,” Mandadi told The Wall Street Journal. “Instead, you just tell us what you want to call, and the AI will answer your question if it can.”
The CTO added that if the AI can't answer a question, the customer will be directed to a live customer representative.
CVS is the latest retail giant to use AI to help customers.
McDonald's tested an AI-powered drive-thru service at 100 restaurants for several years, but recently ended the program after videos went viral showing the technology messing up customers' orders.
But in call centers, AI is already being tested as a key player in helping employees.
For example, the technology could help emergency dispatchers translate callers' speech in real time, Business Insider previously reported. AI could also help prioritize calls during peak call times, which could be crucial in understaffed areas.
SoftBank is also testing an AI that softens the tone of callers' voices to reduce stress for customer service representatives.
AI chatbots are beginning to replace the need for face-to-face agents to some extent, especially for a phone-averse generation.
Max Levchin, CEO of Affirm, a buy now, pay later service, said fewer than 40% of customers needed to speak to a live person after using his company's AI chatbot.
According to a study by technology research firm Gartner, 20 to 30 percent of customer service representatives could be replaced by AI by 2026.
It's unclear when CVS will roll out its new app and AI-powered services.
A CVS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside business hours.
