Source: Gnewuch et al. (2024) — “More Than a Bot: The Impact of Disclosing Human Involvement on Customer Interactions with Hybrid Service Agents,” Information Systems Research
Customer service AI has a strange identity problem.
Is it a bot? Is it a human? Is it a bot secretly helped by a human? Is it a human trapped behind software that says “I understand your frustration” with suspicious calm?
This paper looks at hybrid service agents, where AI and humans are both involved in customer interactions. The key question is what happens when customers are told that a human is involved behind the system.
That disclosure sounds small, but it changes the social situation.
When customers think they are dealing only with a bot, expectations shift. They may become more impatient, more forgiving, or more suspicious depending on the context. But when they know a human is involved, the interaction can feel more accountable. There is someone behind the curtain. Someone, theoretically, who can understand nuance and perhaps rescue the conversation before it becomes a copy-paste tragedy.
This matters because companies often focus on whether automation works operationally.
Can it answer faster? Can it reduce ticket volume? Can it stop customers from typing “agent” thirteen times like a spell?
But service is not just information transfer. It is emotional management. Customers want answers, yes, but they also want to feel that their problem has landed somewhere human enough to care.
That is why disclosure is not just a legal or design detail. It is part of trust design.
My takeaway: hybrid service agents need honesty about what is happening. If humans are involved, say so clearly. If AI is involved, say that too. Customers do not necessarily hate automation. They hate feeling tricked, ignored, or trapped in a service maze wearing a chatbot costume.