Customer Service Is Collapsing. Here’s How AI Can Save It

Ironically, Artificial Intelligence Can Help Young People Practice Needed Social Skills

Every time I go to the gym, I’m stunned by how rude the staff is.

So much for customer service! Instead of greeting me—the customer—the 20-something person behind the counter is too busy staring at their phone.

You’ve no doubt experienced the same phenomenon yourself.

It happens at many service-oriented businesses these days. Even though nearly every kiosk guilts you into tipping (for what—scooping my kids’ ice cream?), customer service has plummeted.

In fact, I’m usually the one thanking the 20-something staff member for ringing me up—when it should be the other way around.

Here’s how that typical exchange goes:

Subpar Employee: Do you want your receipt.

Me: No thanks.

Long Pause.

Me: Okay. Thank you so much.

Subpar Employee: (eventually… and without eye contact) No problem.

Why Zoomers Struggle Socially

There have been lots of stories in the news about how and why Gen Z lacks the same interpersonal skills as their predecessors. Here’s a valid explanation that opinion writer Rhiannon Picton-James offers in an interview for NewsTalk: “I think the issue is that they’re the online generation,” Ms. Picton-James said. “Their experience has been defined by the digital age, and I think their communication skills are lacking …. I’ve gone into these shops, and no one knows how to help you. There’s no basic willingness to do anything—it’s just an eye roll and ‘go and look for yourself.’”

Of course, it’s a generalization to impugn an entire generation with such broad strokes. Surely, there are many Zoomers up to the task of greeting customers and making them feel welcome. Just like there are many general reasons why Gen Z lacks basic social skills we expect from our workforce.

For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to narrow in on the key reason Picton-James cites: this cohort grew up digital—to their detriment.

The truth is, mediating life through screens is a poor way to develop interpersonal skills. How can you expect to know how to talk to others if you lack the practice? It’s not entirely Gen Z’s fault for their predicament, by the way. Society threw them a real curveball in 2020 when daily life shut down, forcing our already too tech-dependent youth to rely much more on screens.

Several years later, it’s even more critical for young people to learn how to be “good in a room,” as Hollywood puts it. Why? AI is gunning for their jobs.

But here’s the amazing thing: young people can use AI to get better at being human. (Never thought I’d write that sentence!)

Take it to the Safe Sandbox

To understand how, we need to talk about digital twins.

Unfamiliar with the concept? Here’s how IBM defines it: “A digital twin is a virtual representation of an object or system that spans its lifecycle, is updated from real-time data, and uses simulation, machine learning and reasoning to help decision-making.”

In the business world, big companies use digital twins as safe sandboxes to test out things that would cost a lot to mess up in real life. Example: SpaceX might build a simulation for a rocket ship, plugging in every conceivable variable so they can see how things work digitally—before ever making the expensive, and potentially costly, jump to reality.

Cool.

But how does this apply to Zoomers’ flubbing it in customer service? Glad you asked. As we all know, the younger generation is (generally) more comfortable online. Many are now flocking to ChatGPT and other AI platforms, using them for everything from search to therapy to friendship.

But did you know you can use AI for social practice? Here are some quick examples to show you how this can work:

Sales

One of my first jobs was being a mortgage broker. 100% of my leads came from cold calling. Hard work, it got me used to overcoming objections, the key thing any good salesperson must know. Zoomers can prompt AI to act as a similarly reluctant prospect. They can instruct the AI to make them work to close a deal, boosting their sales chops through hours and hours of practice.

Interviews

Using large language models, it’s possible to develop a pretend persona of the gatekeeper you are trying to win over. By scraping the internet for clues about this person or the organization they represent, you can establish a digital twin. Similar to what was suggested above for improving sales, you can run simulations where you ask your AI not to go easy on you. Instead, make it purposefully hard to impress them, forcing you to up your interpersonal skills.

Feedback

Real relationships—not the fake kind endorsed by Mark Zuckerberg with AIs—serve as mirrors. They show us our flaws. Our imperfections. By being forced to face what we lack, we can improve how we show up socially.

Naturally, relying on digital screens and sycophantic AIs feels comfortable. But it inhibits growth. And real growth only occurs when we’re uncomfortable.

By demanding AI rate your social interactions with it candidly instead of allowing it do what it’s been programmed to do—affirm you—Zoomers with little social practice can learn from machines how to better show up with humans.

Silver Lining in Dark Clouds

If someone had told me growing up that we’d one day live in a world where people would turn to AIs to do the basic things I took for granted, I wouldn’t believe them. It offers a sad commentary on just how dependent we’ve become on technology, especially our youth.

But here’s the beautiful thing about life: it can change. And so can we, especially how we show up with others.

So, the next time you see some Zoomer roll their eyes at you in the checkout lane, say a quiet prayer for them. Encourage them to heed the call to grow. Isn’t that why we’re all here in the first place?