AI in customer service is often measured by how many contacts it can automate or how much time it saves. But when a customer is distressed, a citizen needs urgent assistance or a critical service is disrupted, success depends on how effectively human agents can respond.
AI can support frontline teams by preparing agents before a conversation, reducing administrative work during it, and identifying opportunities to improve performance afterwards.
As Rhys Harris, AI Product Director, at Content Guru, told CX Today:
“We’ve always looked at it as an augmentation feature as well as an automation feature.”
As routine work becomes automated, human agents are likely to encounter a greater proportion of complex cases. Supporting them requires AI to work alongside people, with access to the right information and clear boundaries around its role.
“It needs to operate in one holistic ecosystem,” Harris said.
Here are five ways organizations can use AI to strengthen frontline performance when every interaction matters.
1. Help Agents Start with the Right Context
Few things frustrate customers more than explaining a problem to an automated assistant, only to repeat the entire story when they reach a human.
AI can provide agents with a concise summary of the conversation, relevant customer information, the reason for contact, and any actions already attempted. A transcript can supply additional details where needed.
“Being able to provide a really accurate and helpful, concise summary to the human agent as to what’s been discussed… having that joined-up connection between AI automation and the human is key,” Harris said.
AI can also recommend next steps, helping agents identify unresolved issues and decide how to proceed.
The handover should reflect the urgency of the situation. A delivery enquiry may require a brief summary and order status, while a public safety incident could demand more detailed context to support a timely response.
2. Remove Routine Administration Before and During the Interaction
Recording case details, searching systems, and updating customer records can distract agents from the conversation itself. AI can reduce this burden by capturing information, retrieving relevant records, and completing approved tasks across connected systems, Harris said.
“It’s about reducing the manual cases that an agent needs to do especially when they’re capturing routine information.”
For example, an AI assistant might retrieve delivery details, check an order status, log a case, or help process a permitted change. Automating these repeat activities reduces the need for agents to switch between applications or ask customers to repeat information, Harris noted.
Organizations must still define which actions AI can perform independently and which require human approval. Identity verification, access controls, and other safeguards are essential when handling sensitive customer information or making consequential changes.
The objective is to reduce administrative effort while preserving the checks that protect customers.
3. Route People to the Right Human, With Urgency and Vulnerability in Mind
During a demand surge, reaching the first available agent may be insufficient if that person lacks the expertise to resolve the problem. AI can help identify the nature of an enquiry and direct customers to an appropriate specialist or priority queue.
The quality of that decision depends on the information available.
“It always goes back to the data: your data layer and how much your AI is contextually aware,” Harris explained. “If you don’t have the data, you can’t guess whether somebody’s vulnerable or not.”