Customer service interactions leave a lasting impact; a positive experience can foster brand loyalty, while a negative one might result in a complete boycott. Nevertheless, interactions with integrated customer interfaces often garner favorable reviews due to their reliance on insufficient chatbots or limited phone menus.
In response to this challenge, Liz Tsai ‘11 and SM’13 devised an innovative approach. They co-founded HiOperator in 2016 with the goal of developing a customer service system that integrates backend automation and generative AI.
Tsai, who entered MIT at the young age of 15, is no stranger to tackling significant challenges. During her time at the Institute, she explored diverse interests beyond her passion for math and science. She fondly recalls the enriching environment at MIT that encouraged continuous learning. Despite her primary focus on political science and genetic engineering, she also delved into mechanical engineering, acquiring a wealth of knowledge. Subsequently, she obtained a master’s degree from MIT Media Lab. Her professional journey took her to Singapore and Switzerland, where she engaged in commodity trading. Transitioning to the banking sector, Tsai embraced the entrepreneurial spirit despite facing setbacks.
The persistent demand for enhanced customer service, a pivotal yet labor-intensive function, resonated with Tsai during her conversations with business leaders. Coupled with an industry turnover rate of up to 100% annually, assembling a team of skilled and well-trained individuals remains a rarity.
HiOperator’s HiQ system, as Tsai describes it, represents a groundbreaking AI-powered platform that automates a wide array of tasks typically handled by agents, such as password resets, refund requests, and returns/replacements processing. While other customer service tools leverage AI to augment human agents’ performance in specific areas, HiQ stands out by crafting customer-facing emails, chats, and text messages using generative AI, offering a service experience that “feels like ‘talking to a truly strong human.’”
Tsai asserts that businesses adopting this system witness an uptick in customer satisfaction ratings compared to relying solely on human agents for customer inquiries. However, she emphasizes that human customer service representatives will not be phased out; instead, they can focus on addressing complex issues, like health and safety concerns in the food industry.
She envisions this technology not as a replacement for human labor but as a means to enhance service sector efficiency while creating more engaging and fulfilling job roles.
