Generative AI makes less skilled and experienced workers more productive

When contemplating the role of generative AI in the workforce, it's natural to envision a pessimistic outcome where AI replaces humans. However, an enlightening study demonstrates that generative AI tools can positively affect workers, especially customer service workers.

According to a working paper conducted by the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the availability of generative AI can enhance workers' productivity by an average of 14%. This increase is measured by the number of customer issues agents can successfully address within an hour.

The NBER study drew on data from 5,000 customer support agents employed by a prominent software company in the Fortune 500. These agents were equipped with a tool built on the latest iteration of OpenAI's generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) large language model (LLM), which played a crucial role in assisting them with their responsibilities.

In real-time, the LLM actively monitored the customer chats, offering suggestions to the agents on how to respond effectively. This valuable support resulted in notable improvements in agent performance, including faster response times, increased chat volume handled per hour, and a higher rate of successful chat resolutions, as outlined in the research paper.

Bridging skill gaps

Interestingly, the study revealed that the observed increase in productivity disproportionately impacted workers with lower skill levels and less experience. This finding suggests that generative AI tools can serve as a valuable resource for supporting and empowering less-experienced workers, enabling them to bridge skill gaps and perform at a level comparable to more seasoned colleagues.

By leveraging the real-time assistance provided by the LLM, less-experienced agents were able to overcome challenges more effectively, respond promptly to customer inquiries, and achieve a higher rate of successful chat resolutions. This demonstrates the potential of generative AI tools to level the playing field and create professional growth and development opportunities, particularly for individuals new to customer service.

While the study underscores the positive impact of generative AI in enhancing productivity, it also sheds light on the importance of supporting workers at varying skill levels. By leveraging AI tools intelligently, organizations can empower their workforce, nurturing talent and enabling individuals to reach their full potential regardless of their experience level.

The study further highlighted the impact of AI tools in addressing the experience gap among workers. Interestingly, it revealed that workers with just two months of tenure, who utilized AI assistance, performed on par with their counterparts who had six months of tenure but did not have access to AI support. This finding underscores the transformative potential of AI in leveling the playing field and enabling less-experienced workers to quickly acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to perform at a similar level to their more seasoned colleagues.

Conversely, the study noted that high-skill workers with extensive knowledge and experience benefited less from AI assistance. Since the AI recommendations were essentially replicating the expertise these workers already possessed, the incremental improvement in their performance was relatively limited compared to that observed in less-experienced workers.

Moreover, beyond enhancing productivity, AI tools also significantly improved how customers perceived and treated workers. By providing real-time assistance and enabling faster, more accurate responses, the AI tools helped minimize the need for customer calls to be escalated to supervisors. This reduction in call escalation improved the efficiency of customer support operations and contributed to a more positive work environment for the agents.

Overall, this study is a compelling real-world example of how AI can effectively augment and assist workers rather than replace them. By leveraging AI tools intelligently and understanding the specific needs and skill levels of the workforce, organizations can harness the potential of AI to empower their employees, optimize productivity, and deliver enhanced customer experiences.