Beyond the Chatbot: What the AI Agent Takeover Means for SaaSBeyond the Chatbot: What the AI Agent Takeover Means for SaaS

SaaS providers have become increasingly important to the channel. They create collaborative ecosystems and allow partners to tap into new markets with advanced solutions for their clients. But SaaS providers are now at a turning point as many realise a new capability that has the potential to transform user satisfaction and reduce operational costs: AI agents.

The integration of AI has become more than a luxury or an experiment. The technology is now essential for SaaS customers to meet the rising demand for prompt, effective 24/7 customer service, and to achieve a tangible return on investment.

For SaaS companies today, the most compelling use case for AI agents is being able to automate mundane routine tasks. By taking jobs like data entry, customer onboarding and support-ticket management off teams’ workloads, SaaS providers can channel their energy into strategic initiatives and innovation. AI agents can also integrate seamlessly with CRMs to provide real-time insights. This is essential for maintaining low churn rates and providing continuous value.

SaaS Isn’t Dead

While customers are understandably seduced by the cost savings promised by off-the-shelf AI agents, they aren't yet sophisticated enough to be considered a reliable alternative to comprehensive SaaS offerings.

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‘Generic’ AI agents are currently too unreliable and inflexible to be used as a blanket CX solution. And small-to-midsize businesses may not fare any better in developing their own solutions, either. Forrester analysts have recently advised businesses against building DIY agents, stressing that, without in-house expertise or organised internal data at least, most businesses will not have the resources to fully realise their own AI agent.

Businesses are better off outsourcing the job to a consultancy or specialist firm. SaaS providers have an opportunity here to penetrate the market with a more convenient option: managed services for AI agents.

A Safe Pair of Hands

We’ve already seen the type of damage unsupervised AI agents in CX roles can unleash on businesses, from spreading misinformation to offering outlandish customer discounts. When part of a larger interconnected system, a single erroneous decision from an AI agent can trigger failures that expose businesses to embarrassment at best, and legal or financial risk at worst.

By incorporating safeguarding measures and standard practice procedures into their managed services, vendors can protect customers from these risks. Resources such as training manuals, monitoring and technical support are crucial to helping businesses assimilate AI agents into day-to-day processes. And vendors shouldn’t be afraid to advise clients against modifications that could sacrifice the reliability of their AI agents.

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Winning the AI Arms Race

Industry giants have already begun offering AI managed services. For example, the Salesforce Einstein Copilot and the IBM Watson Assistant have been designed to integrate into digital platforms such as CRMs and social channels to meet specific use cases. SaaS leaders should be taking note of their customers’ most common integration challenges to target when developing their first AI agent solutions.

Data accessibility is arguably the most important factor in an AI agent’s success and should be prioritised above flashy features. AI agent technology is still in its infancy, and getting the basics right first will drive a quicker return on investment for your customers than pie-in-the-sky features.

For example, while custom integrations can be an easy added-value service, vendors must maintain full transparency with customers about the necessity of these services. Too many integrations can make systems overly complex and opaque, which can impact a business’ (and a vendor’s) ability to troubleshoot, and create security vulnerabilities that can be weaponised to disrupt operations. Clients must understand that customer data is the most important integration they need and that protecting sensitive information comes first.

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Additionally, customers should not be promised fully autonomous AI agent solutions. Currently, the most successful AI agent products − such as copilots − are designed to work in tandem with human agents, not to replace them.

Managing Expectations

AI agents may be capable of replacing human staff at some point, but that isn’t the case yet — vendors can provide businesses with greater return on investment if their AI solutions play to the proven strengths of the technology.

For example, AI agents work better alongside human agents than by themselves. The importance of human oversight must be urged at all times to avoid risking disaster. Overzealous clients who are keen to begin cost-cutting measures can be reminded of the considerable benefits that safer, more moderate AI solutions can provide, such as the ability to scale customer service operations to meet heavy demand.

Setting moderate expectations and maintaining optimal performance, rather than trying to implement advanced features before the technology has caught up, is the right approach. Slow and steady will win the race.