- Almost half of people who had to use a chatbot found it unhelpful.
- 44 per cent of those who struggled to reach a human experienced delays in resolving their problem.
- Citizens Advice says 14 million people in the UK face some form of digital exclusion.
What happens when the first person standing between you and your bank or energy provider is not a person at all? According to a report by The Guardian, Citizens Advice is calling on essential service providers to guarantee customers a 'right to talk to a human' after finding that AI-powered customer service systems can leave people stressed, delayed and unable to resolve basic problems.
The warning comes as banks, energy companies, phone providers and internet firms increasingly use chatbots and online systems to handle customer queries. Citizens Advice, which helped more than 2.7 million people through its one-to-one advice services last year, said the shift could be creating another barrier for people who already struggle with digital services.
The charity estimates that at least 14 million people in the UK are affected by digital exclusion. It found that almost half of people who had to use a chatbot considered it unhelpful, while some described the experience as being pushed around in circles until they gave up.
The concern is not that every chatbot fails. Citizens Advice said there is a role for the technology. The issue is what happens when an automated system cannot deal with a complicated problem and there is no clear route to a person.
When a simple problem becomes a six-week wait
The difference can be particularly significant when the service involved is something people cannot easily avoid, such as electricity, banking or communications.
Citizens Advice found that correcting an incorrect energy bill by submitting a meter reading can take less than an hour online when digital systems work properly. For someone without reliable digital access, the same problem can take as long as six weeks to resolve offline, according to the charity.
Its research also found that people trying to deal with essential services without access to a human adviser faced a range of consequences. Almost half, 49 per cent, reported stress or frustration, while 27 per cent felt powerless. A further 44 per cent experienced delays in getting their problem resolved and 14 per cent gave up trying altogether.
For some people, the consequences can extend well beyond an irritating customer-service experience.
Citizens Advice said its advisers had seen people struggle with digital-only applications for services including homelessness support. One adviser reported that delays could leave people homeless for longer, losing money and falling into debt.
The charity also highlighted the irony of digital-only access to some services designed to tackle digital exclusion. In some areas, applying for low-cost social tariff broadband can itself require people to navigate an online-only process.
Only 20 per cent of UK adults surveyed for Citizens Advice in July said chatbots were their preferred way to communicate. Phone calls, email and instant messaging were all more popular.
The question is no longer whether AI can answer
The shift towards automated customer service is also happening alongside other forms of digital friction.
Citizens Advice pointed to multi-factor authentication, which can require people to use more than one device to log in, as well as time limits on online transactions that can make basic tasks harder for some users.
Around 1.7 million UK households do not have a laptop, tablet or desktop computer, according to figures cited in the report. The government has previously announced £11.9m for a digital inclusion innovation fund aimed at supporting local projects to help people get online.
Tom MacInnes, policy director at Citizens Advice, said the problem went beyond frustration with technology.
“Going round in circles with a chatbot isn’t just annoying, it can be a blockade to essential services,” he said.
He added that there was a role for chatbots, but argued that the reduction of face-to-face and telephone support was leaving some people unable to resolve problems.
The government said businesses have a legal obligation to provide contact information in a way that is clear and easily accessible.
The debate therefore appears to be shifting from whether companies should use AI in customer service to how customers can still reach a person when the technology cannot solve their problem.
For someone trying to correct an energy bill, resolve a banking issue or sort out an internet problem, that distinction could determine whether a quick online interaction remains quick, or becomes another problem to solve.
