AI shown to boost worker productivity

Artificial intelligence (AI) assistance can help boost worker productivity and efficiency, especially among less experienced and lower-skilled employees, according to a new study.

Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University looked into the impact of generative AI on productivity and workers’ experience in the customer service sector.

They examined the use of a new chat assistant by over 5,000 customer support agents at a Fortune 500 firm selling business process software.

Research found a 15% increase in the number of chats an average agent successfully resolved per hour with the help of the AI assistant. However, the impact varied widely depending on the agent’s experience and skill level, according to the study.

Less-skilled and less-experienced workers showed significant improvement across all productivity measures, including a 30% increase in issues resolved per hour. The AI assistant also helped agents with two months of tenure perform as well as agents who had been in the role for six or more months.

In contrast, AI has little impact on the productivity of higher-skilled or more experienced workers – even leading to a small decrease in the quality of conversations conducted by the most skilled agents, according to researchers.

The findings, which are detailed in a new paper in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, published by Oxford University Press, also showed that AI assistance can help worker learning and improve their English fluency, particularly for international workers.

“Contact center work is challenging, and employees face hostile interactions from anonymous, frustrated customers frequently,” researchers said, adding that AI assistance “significantly” improved the treatment of agents.

“Customers are also less likely to question agents’ competence or ask to speak to a supervisor,” they said.