Will AI Replace Help Desk Support? A Look Into the Future of Support Functions
Over the past few months, I’ve had several conversations with clients across the tech and SaaS space around one common theme: reducing the cost and complexity of support functions. One area that keeps coming up is the rise of AI tooling in help desk environments. As artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated, the question arises—will help desk support as we know it eventually die out?
The Rise of Support AI Agents
AI development in the support space is evolving quickly. We're seeing more companies leverage AI agents to manage frontline customer interactions, resolve basic queries, and even escalate tickets with intelligent context. These aren’t just simple bots—they’re highly trained AI models that can understand nuance, interpret user intent, and respond in near real-time.
Although I did hear the other day on talk back radio of a caller’s experience who was being attended by an AI bot being placed in a queue? Now riddle me this batman…I thought the whole point with AI agents was that they could simultaneously cope with multiple queries at any one time? Was this again another example of humans hiding behind an ‘AI service’?
The idea with Agentic AI would mean that there is cover 24/7 round the clock support ie more easily able to cover night shifts for example that are hard to recruit for. But here’s where it gets interesting….
Are We Ready for an AI Bot to Answer Our Queries?
Today, AI-powered support agents can answer many of the same questions that human support might handle. The tech is there—but are we ready for it? That’s a different story. One emerging idea that’s starting to surface is allowing users to select the style of their AI assistant. Imagine being greeted by a support avatar of your choosing—whether it’s a calm and professional concierge-style agent, a friendly Kiwi barista, or even someone who sounds like a character from your favorite show.
It’s a quirky concept, but it speaks to a bigger trend: user personalisation and emotional connection with digital experiences. It reminded me of the moment I noticed that my wife Steph’s Siri had mysteriously transformed into a polite gentleman—somewhere between a virtual butler and a charming host. It was slightly jarring, but also kind of funny…
Personalisation Meets Practicality
This new form of “AI buy-in” isn’t just novelty—it could be a strategic move to build user trust and comfort. Giving people choice in how their AI interacts with them could reduce friction and increase adoption, especially as bots take on more complex roles. And if get the answer quickly & efficiently do we really care? It’s certainly an interesting time of change…
So, What’s Next?
As the lines between AI and human support continue to blur, one thing is clear: the role of help desk support is changing, not vanishing. The tools are becoming more intelligent, more tailored, and potentially more cost-effective. But they’ll still require humans—at least for now—to shape, refine, and guide them.
Will we reach a point where we don’t miss the human on the other end of the support chat? Maybe. But perhaps by then, your AI assistant will sound exactly like someone you trust.
And you might even get to choose their accent…
I’m Paul, lover of coffee, dogs, biking, surfing & skiing. Founder & Principal Consultant of Sunstone, an IT Recruitment & HR company specialising in recruiting IT roles within software, web, digital, mobile, blockchain, data, cloud infrastructure, security & networks in Christchurch & South Island of New Zealand.