Currently, 54% of user interactions involve some conversational AI.
The value of the chatbot industry is more than 65 billion US dollars.
70% of consumers prefer to interact with a Chatbot.
Artificial Intelligence is one of those areas that continues to gain ground in companies and that, according to various investigations, is improving due to their production processes. This result was seen by the CEO of an e-commerce company, who laid off 90 percent of his customer service staff in favor of AI-powered chatbots that deliver better results for his company.
This story questions a reality that many are currently wondering with the rise of these technologies in the industry. It is known that chatbots are tools based on Artificial Intelligence, so they are digital or virtual assistants that offer their answers through a conversational interface.
Some chatbots are specifically designed to interact with customers and provide support, while others are used to automate tasks, such as scheduling appointments or placing orders.
And with that, the increase in the use of this technology is already beginning to be seen in all sectors, which is why in recent years the use of this technology has revolutionized many companies. According to Research and Markets data, the size of the chatbot market reached around 1.25 billion US dollars in 2025.
Meanwhile, Kenio data highlights that interest in chatbots increased by 160 percent in the last year. And 58 percent of users say that chatbots have changed their expectations for customer service and support.
CEO “hires” an AI
Talking about cutting response times to minutes that had previously stretched to more than two hours, a CEO of an India-based e-commerce company said it was “absolutely” necessary to lay off 90 percent of his sales team. customer service because he now uses a chatbot.
The manager, who is identified as Suumit Shah, is the 31-year-old founder and CEO of Bangalore-based startup Dukaan, which helps merchants launch digital storefronts and sell products online, he shared the news on his account. Twitter, so it went viral.
“We had to lay off 90 percent of our support team because of this AI chatbot. Difficult? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely,” he wrote in the post.
Likewise, after giving the information, he added that the technology made the response times in Dukaan go from one minute and 44 seconds “to INSTANTS!”
Among his explanation, Shah also shared that the chatbot they use at his company took about three minutes to respond to customer inquiries, while his team of humans took more than two hours. So the layoffs that were necessary reduced the company’s customer service costs by about 85 percent.
“PS We are hiring for multiple roles at Dukaan, calling on the experts in AI, e-commerce, and product design to apply,” the CEO said in the same Twitter thread.
We had to layoff 90% of our support team because of this AI chatbot.
Tough? Forks. 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 we did it 🧵
— Suumit Shah (@suumitshah) July 10, 2023
Now, following the layoffs, Dukaan employs 60 people, only three of whom are now in the customer service team. And your “monthly budget” for that department is now only a hundred dollars.
This case seems to show the success that a company can have when using this technology in its processes, but data from a survey carried out by YouGov in 18 international markets highlighted that chatbots may not be fulfilling their potential as a customer service tool.
The investigation, published in March 2023, showed that 29 percent of those surveyed said that the use of a chatbot would not help them in the online purchase of any item or service, and 20 percent said they did not know for the process of purchase of which product would be useful to use this technology.
In this sense, the YouGov study concluded that to maximize the benefits of chatbots, “brands must understand and address the specific needs and preferences of their consumers in each market.”
In the same context, the replacement of the workforce by AI is a reality that is taking place in many companies, which according to the analysis firm Challenger, in the United States, AI has taken jobs from almost 4,000 Americans alone. in May.
And according to a study by the consulting firm PwC, by 2030, one in three jobs will no longer be performed by a worker, but will be fully automated, that is, it will be performed by a machine.
This story and these data can be an alert for many in various industries, so specialists indicate that the main challenge in this regard is to maximize the benefits and minimize the damage that this technology can cause in our current life.
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