A DIY platform that enables merchants with zero programming skills to set up their e-commerce store using smartphones, Dukaan has replaced 90% of customer support staff with an AI chatbot.
Suumit Shah, Founder of Dukaan® shared a Tweet from the official Twitter handle saying, “We had to lay off 90% of our support team because of this AI chatbot. Tough? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely.”
“The results? The time to the first response went from 1m 44s to INSTANT! Resolution time went from 2h 13m to 3m 12s Customer support costs reduced by ~85% Here’s how’s we did it”, the tweet added.
We had to layoff 90% of our support team because of this AI chatbot.
— Suumit Shah (@suumitshah) July 10, 2023
Tough? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely.
The results?
Time to first response went from 1m 44s to INSTANT!
Resolution time went from 2h 13m to 3m 12s
Customer support costs reduced by ~85%
Here's how's we did it 🧵
However, it has now faced backlash from Twitter users. One user said, “This is extremely disrespectful towards all the people who were laid off. And a founder is boasting about layoffs along with a new feature in the same thread? This leaves such a bad taste for everyone who knows Dukaan and has followed its journey.”
Dukaan CEO stated that the struggle was real and there were many of them.
He explained, “Given the state of economy, startups are prioritizing “profitability” over striving to become “unicorns,” and so are we. It’s less magical, sure, but at least it pays the bills! Customer Support had been a struggle for us since long & fixing it felt like an opportunity to me.”
“The struggle was real, and there were many of it (as shown). Random “Why would someone with a tech/product expertise work as a support agent?” It’s like – Lionel Messi doing a full-time job at Decathlon, though the theory has some merit, but is ultimately flawed”, he added.
“The idea: Dukaan’s own AI assistant, which would answer customer queries instantly and precisely, anywhere. AI sounds cool! But wait… My understanding of AI is equivalent to my understanding of ACID properties of a database. All I knew was the FULL FORM”, he added.
“But then life isn’t about possessing all skills yourself; it’s about having contacts who do. And I have @ojasvi_yadav – this kid is ahead of the pack when it comes to AI/ML, and also leading the AI/ML efforts at Dukaan. He started working on it immediately”, he concluded.
Earlier, IBM was planning to freeze the hiring for certain positions. The company expects that nearly 7,800 jobs could be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).
CEO Arvind Krishna specified that hiring specifically in back-office functions such as human resources will be suspended or slowed. The company aspects that 30% of non-customer-facing roles could be replaced by AI and automation in five years.
Previously, The CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman said AI has the potential to drastically change society but also has real dangers.
Sam Altman also believes that AI chatbots could “eliminate a lot of current jobs” but also has the potential to be “the greatest technology humanity has yet developed” to improve our lives.