Automate retrieval, not judgement
Answering "where is my invoice" from your own data is ideal. Deciding whether to issue a refund is not.
Make escalation obvious
A visible route to a human on every reply. Hiding it to reduce ticket volume reduces satisfaction far faster than it reduces cost.
Measure resolution, not deflection
Deflection counts conversations that ended. Resolution counts problems that were solved. Optimising the first at the expense of the second is how automated support earned its reputation.
