Citizens Advice, a frontline charity, has urged essential service providers in the United Kingdom to stop depending on AI chatbots for customer care. The organization specifically called on companies providing services such as energy, banking, phone, and internet to guarantee their customers the right to talk to a human representative. This plea comes as research indicates that current AI powered systems waste time, cause stress, and delay problem solving for more than half of users seeking assistance.
The spread of these AI powered systems for vital services is making it more difficult for millions of people, particularly those already digitally excluded, to manage issues effectively. Citizens Advice highlighted that last year it provided one on one assistance to over 2.7 million people in England and Wales, underscoring the ongoing need for direct human support in customer care.