Should an AI chatbot be deployed?
Ultimately, based off of what has been stated and the information presented, I don’t think deploying an AI chatbot is the best course of action, however, I would propose developing a Gen AI chatbot that can be iteratively improved upon to ensure that PulsePoint doesn’t stay behind. It seems that the decision is mainly in response to competitors doing the same thing, and that there’s less justification for moving forward from a business point of view.
Considerations – Pros
To assess this decision, pros and cons should both be weighed. From the pros end, it seems that the main benefit that it helps PulsePoint keep up with competitors. Jeannie mentions that “‘I worry that we’ll be left in the dust”, which suggests that there’s a sense of urgency that’s driving the decision foremost. Dharmesh Shah, CTO of HubSpot suggests that it’s worth adopting Gen AI due to “how rapidly it will develop.” Dharmesh believes that early adoption of the technology can lead to gradual improvements as the Gen AI chatbot is deployed.
Considerations – Cons
At the same time, it looks like there’s a hefty amount of cons. As John mentioned “‘Hallucinations, data privacy, outages – these are all concerns.'” Furthermore, it looks like some of PulsePoint’s client base is already opposed to the idea, especially with the separation of Orion, its biggest client. This suggests that adopting AI may hurt PulsePoint more than it could help. Also, consider that a poorly developed Gen AI chatbot can hurt a company’s reputation – seen recently with the example of Gemini and Google. Jim Lecinski suggests that Jeannie’s decision comes from emotion rather than business management, and that she should think more carefully about the specific use case of AI. I agree with this approach.
Conclusion
Ultimately, when weighing the potential loss of clientele from even suggesting an Gen AI chatbot, to the potential harms a chatbot could cause if poorly developed, I would lean against deploying a chatbot. I would, however, suggest investment in resources to create one, and to deploy a chatbot when Gen AI capabilities are sufficient enough to outweigh potential cons.
