Should I use an AI assistant or hire more staff for customer questions?
Which customer questions an AI assistant handles well, which still need a person, and how the costs compare, for small UK businesses.
The short answer
Use both. Let an AI assistant answer the repeat questions instantly, at any hour, and keep your people for the conversations that need them. Most small shops find that a large share of their customer questions are the same handful, asked again and again.
What an AI assistant handles well
- Is it in stock, and how much is it?
- Will it fit, and which size or model do I need?
- How long is delivery, and what's your returns policy?
- Where are you, and when can I visit?
- Which product suits what I need?
What still needs a person
- Complaints and problems with an order
- Custom orders, quotes and anything that needs a judgement call
- Customers who simply want to talk to someone
How the costs compare
An AI assistant answers around the clock for a fixed monthly cost. Wyshbone's plans run from £99 a month for up to 500 conversations on a Shopify shop to £249 a month for up to 2,000, which is usually far less than the hours a person would spend on the same questions, and it answers at 10pm on a Sunday too.
Getting started
Start with the assistant on your website, watch which questions it handles and which it passes on, and decide on staffing from real numbers. We set it up for you, usually within a day.