10 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 3
Increasingly, we hear terms like “seller
bots,” “cognitive computing” and “relevant
metadata” (which one can only assume is a
lot more valuable than irrelevant metada-
ta). Such terms can sound pretty scary to
many people who work in an under-
automated environment. Even for those of
us who are tech savvy, the idea that human
beings found a way to steal their own jobs
indicates that it is mankind’s intelligence
that may have been artificial all along.
A reality check shows good news
Despite their typecast use in many sci-fi
plots, bots are simply tools for humans to
use to do a better job and provide socially
intelligent customer service while increas-
ing profits. Bots allow agents to offer per-
sonalized service while their electronically
animated brethren do menial tasks. Pre-
dominantly, research shows that human
beings still value connecting with each oth-
er, preferring it over any other interaction.
That includes the screen-glazed-eyed 19-
year-old Generation Z customer who, de-
spite his professed love of all things auto-
mated, was thrilled to find out that Haley
By Garrison Wynn