[blog] We study the staggered introduction of a generative AI-based conversational assistant using data from 5,179 customer support agents.
Access to the tool increases productivity, as measured by issues resolved per hour, by 14% on average, with the greatest impact on novice and low-skilled workers, and minimal impact on experienced and highly skilled workers.
We provide suggestive evidence that the AI model disseminates the potentially tacit knowledge of more able workers and helps newer workers move down the experience curve. In addition, we show that AI assistance improves customer sentiment, reduces requests for managerial intervention, and improves employee retention.
AI assistance and Customer Complaint Resolutions: complaint resolutions per hour, relative to month before deployment. Thin bars represent 95% confidence intervals. Source: Researchers’ calculations using data from customer support agents provided by a Fortune 500enterprise software company.