Here's what's on our plate:

• 🧪 How AI agents are taking first-line control of customer care.

• 🧠 Musk’s $16.5B chip play, Oz in 18 K, UK teens outfox age gates.

• 🗳 Should brands swap human reps for always-on AI? Cast your vote.

• 💡 Fast-track an empathetic bot script and test it live.

Let’s dive in. No floaties needed…

The Laboratory

How AI Is Reshaping Customer Care

Businesses, whether they are startups or billion-dollar enterprises, rely heavily on growth, which is influenced by several factors. Growth is one of the principal factors that can impact an enterprise, and customer service plays a critical role in achieving it.

The problem with customer service is that, as businesses grow, they need a higher volume of support. Enterprises have traditionally relied on scaling customer service alongside business growth; however, striking a balance between the two can be challenging as businesses try to provide a great customer experience while keeping costs low.

Now, with the advent of generative AI, technology is increasingly being used to supplement and, in certain cases, replace human effort. And if OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is to be believed, some jobs will be gone. During a visit to the Federal Reserve, Altman said the transformation of customer service is already complete, and that when users call customer care numbers, an AI will be there to do “everything that any customer support agent at that company could do.” While some may not agree with Altman’s assertions, it would be hard to ignore the impact artificial intelligence has had on how businesses handle customer service.

Generative AI reshapes customer experience

There are multiple ways in which AI can be used in customer service. One of the most visible examples is the increasing use of AI chatbots by businesses across channels to streamline customer service experience. In addition to answering questions, AI chatbots can guide customers through common business processes, serve knowledge-based articles, route queries to the right person, and even connect users to a field technician, without human intervention.

Another reason that makes AI systems a viable replacement for humans in customer service is their ability to personalize their responses in seconds. Enterprises envision a future where AI customer care providers would be able to tell users what they need help with, without asking for tracking numbers, email, or users having to explain, as AI assistants would already have all the information.

According to a blog post from Salesforce, many organizations are already using AI for customer service, and 83% of decision makers expect investment to increase over the next year, while only 6% say they have no plans for the technology.

Why businesses are betting on AI

Even before AI chatbots were taking over customer service roles, a survey of more than 500 senior IT leaders, conducted by Salesforce in 2023,  found that a majority, 67% were prioritizing generative AI for their business within the next 18 months. One-third of the respondents in the survey also named it a top priority.

Another survey, which included responses from 297 customer service leaders, was conducted by Statista. The survey found that teams in the energy, resources, and industrials industries had the highest uptake of AI usage, with 60% of respondents claiming that it had been used at their workplace.

The automotive industry had 30% of respondents claiming AI had some kind of usage in their workplace when it came to matters within their customer service teams.

Advancements in AI tech are further pushing up adoption, and more businesses are looking to the tech to improve their employee efficiency and customer service.

AI advancements push business adoption

Companies behind the development of AI have been competing to introduce more capable models. This race has resulted in improvements where conversational AI is now capable of reducing live agent load, handling large cases, and improving customer satisfaction by mimicking natural human dialogue. Additionally, the use of live voice transcription and automated post‑call summarization has helped reduce errors, speed documentation, and maintain agent oversight.

With agentic AI, enterprises are now looking to employ systems capable of acting autonomously on user-defined goals. These agents can be used in operational tasks like scheduling, analytics, and customer workflows, with strong future potential.

Recently, a report from the Wall Street Journal said that Walmart, one of the world’s largest retailers, is overhauling its AI agent strategy to simplify the user experience. The report went on to share the views of Walmart’s CTO, Suresh Kumar, who said that the company’s shift towards a unified AI agent is a natural evolution based on the many different use cases Walmart has found for AI agents.

One of Walmart’s best-known AI agents is Sparky. Launched in July 2025 as part of the company’s ‘super agent’ strategy. Sparky is embedded in the Walmart app and website, acts as a personal shopping assistant, and provides customer support.

However, while AI agents are being viewed as a replacement for humans in customer service roles, the transition is not without challenges.

Where AI falls short

Despite the rapid advancements in AI, which reportedly allow it to boost customer satisfaction and loyalty, research from Harvard Business School conducted with nearly 3,500 participants found that customers still value human empathy. The study found that when customers found that a human wrote a response, they felt more positive, supported, and satisfied. Another interesting finding was that 30-50% of the respondents were willing to wait for hours for a human response over one generated by AI.

Another challenge in implementing AI in customer service is fears of AI bots hallucinating or giving inaccurate answers, especially when asked about things that fall outside their training data or involve ambiguity. In customer service, this can lead to incorrect billing resolutions, missed refunds, or wrong product recommendations.

Privacy and data protection are also areas of concern. AI bots rely on customer data to personalize experiences, but this creates privacy and compliance risks. Handling PII (personally identifiable information), storing chat histories, and using sensitive data to train future models (with or without consent) are areas that need to be addressed before enterprises can think about replacing their customer support staff with AI-powered bots. AI companies have faced restrictions, even bans, in parts of the world due to fears of their not adhering to local privacy laws.

The hybrid future of customer service

AI’s rapid evolution has undeniably transformed the customer service landscape. From simple chatbots to agentic AI systems that can act autonomously, technology is enabling businesses to streamline operations, cut costs, and deliver increasingly personalized support at scale. Companies like Walmart, Salesforce, and others are already setting the pace, embedding AI deeply into their customer-facing strategies.

However, this transformation isn’t without trade-offs. While AI excels at speed, scalability, and consistency, it still falls short on empathy and the ability to handle emotionally charged or complex issues. Chatbots are also known to misunderstand questions, give unhelpful answers, or keep repeating their responses.

As such, while the promise of full automation is tempting, without ethical guardrails and human oversight, the systems might not be worth much. Therefore, while AI companies work to improve their models, as of now, a hybrid model, where AI handles the routine, high-volume queries and humans step in for tasks that require empathy, nuance, or critical thinking, seems to be the best solution for ensuring customer satisfaction.

Roko Pro Tip

Prompt of the Day

Tuesday Quick Poll

Bite-Sized Brains

• Samsung May Supply $16.5 B in AI Chips to Tesla — Musk reportedly eyes a Texas fab deal that could supercharge full-self-driving ambitions.

• ‘Wizard of Oz’ Gets an AI Makeover — The classic film is being up-rezzed to 18 K for the Las Vegas Sphere’s wraparound screen.

• Teens Dodge UK Age Gates — Reddit, Discord, and gamers swap tips to slip past new online-ID checks, leaving regulators fuming.

Rate this edition