The CEO of an Indian company replaced 90% of supporting staff with chatbots that make use of artificial intelligence. According to the man, these AI bots can handle customer service much faster than his human former employees. He later stated that the recent cut jobs were a “tough” thing to do but assured that it was a “necessary” measurement for his company.
The man in question, Summit Shah, Founder of Dukaan, announced via his Twitter profile that the chatbot, which had recently replaced his employees, could significantly improve responses and customer service questions. The artificial intelligence-empowered chatbox was much faster and took less time to provide assistance than human workers. For example, it was able to start answering queries instantly and employees would take an average of 1 minute and 44 seconds.
Shah also stated the measurements were taken as a response to customer behaviors. He said that these clients no longer needed as much attention on live chats or calls. In addition, he cited profitability as one of the reasons for the layoffs of his 23 employees. “Given the state of [the] economy, startups are prioritizing ‘profitability’ over striving to become ‘unicorns,’ and so are we.” In the same line, the cost of the customer support function was cut to 85%.
After the backlash, the CEO said that he dreams about a moment in which AI and humans can work together “both doing what they do best.” He also clarified that he is looking for employees to fill positions in marketing, engineering, sales, and data sciences.