Source: Vox
Part of: AI middlemen take over shopping →
As companies replace human support with chatbots to cut costs, customers face longer resolution times, worse problem-solving, and the frustration of arguing with systems that can't escalate or empathize. The burden of getting help shifts to consumers. The economics work for businesses: lower cost per interaction. The total cost of poor service—refunds, chargebacks, lost loyalty—lands on customers with fewer options. This inverts the basic social contract of retail: paying for something used to include help if it broke.