AI's Dead Giveaways and the Customer Experience

Fixing this can give an advantage to customer experience teams (for now at least) able to imbed a human’s effective, even if imperfect, communication styles.

AI is advancing at breakneck speed and will, undoubtedly, soon bridge the uncanny valley towards greater human-ishness. Until then, here are some AI giveaways that CX teams and solution providers can be on the lookout when refining chatbot scripts, optimizing agent-assisted responses, or tweaking automated messaging.

Find and Correct AI “Tells”

Be correct but less generic. AI-generated chatbot responses can feel too balanced, explanations go too far, and the tone lacks confidence. When crafting chatbot scripts or automated replies, aim for directness and even a little unpredictability, replacing “There are several possible options we might want to explore,” with “Here’s what we can do.” Customers may respond better to natural, conversational styles.

Stop with all the contrasting phrases. AI likes the neutrality and balance of a contrasting structure to a statement, such as: “Innovation is not only about ideas but also execution” or “This approach is not just efficient but also scalable.” Used in excess, these structures feel contrived and unnatural. CX teams designing bot scripts or automated responses should try to strip out unnecessary contrasts for a cleaner, more confident tone.

Mix up sentence length and cadence. Chatbots often generate responses with a predictable rhythm—sentences of roughly the same length and present consistent balance of ideas. Mix things up. Use longer, more conversational phrasing when guiding a customer, and go short and direct when confirming actions. More Hemingway, less Proust.