Bots que decidem pelo cliente criam fricção digital, alerta especialista em atendimento

The expansion of artificial intelligence in customer service has created a quiet side effect: consumers are demanding more autonomy, not necessarily more technology. This is what João Paulo Ribeiro, CEO of Grupo Inove and a customer service culture expert, observes when analyzing recent transformations in the operations of large Brazilian companies. According to him, the next frontier of customer experience lies not in response speed, but in the feeling of control over one's own journey.

“The customer only trusts when they understand they remain in command. Automation that doesn't respect this becomes an obstacle, not a solution,” he states. With 14 years of experience leading complex operations, Ribeiro identifies a clear pattern: companies that advanced too quickly in digitalization created cycles of dependency between human and machine, congesting operations and weakening the relationship with the consumer.

The trend, according to him, is the emergence of models that offer alternative routes within automated flows. “It's not about creating shortcuts, but about giving back to the customer the power to decide when they want to solve things alone and when they want to be assisted by someone,” he explains.

The new consumption is with less passivity, more participation.

Ribeiro states that one of the most recurring mistakes companies make is believing that consumers want fully autonomous journeys. What they seek, in practice, is active participation. He observes this movement in sectors such as retail, healthcare, delivery, aviation, and financial services.

“Automation has been built with a focus on the company, not the customer. When a consumer enters a flow that does not allow intervention, they understand they have lost autonomy, and that's where frustration is born,” he says.

This phenomenon, according to the expert, explains the increase in complaints about bots that prevent human contact, IVRs that function like labyrinths, and apps that hide essential options. “Automation cannot hijack the experience. It must restore clarity and freedom,” he summarizes.

The hidden risk of excessive AI dependency.

Ribeiro warns that some companies already face a new operational problem: entire journeys that only work if the AI works perfectly. This creates critical dependency, especially during high-volume periods, product launches, crises, or seasonal peaks.

According to the CEO, this model generates intangible losses because it weakens the element that should be most protected: trust. “When all service depends on AI, a small error becomes chaos. And chaos does not scale,” he states.

He recommends that companies adopt journey designs with dual architecture, where AI and humans coexist as parallel and secure paths. “The customer needs to feel there is an exit door, not just an entrance door,” he says.

The customer wants efficiency, but does not want to be patronized.

Ribeiro proposes that the market adopt a new concept: empathetic automation, a model that unites autonomy, clarity, and personalized pace. Instead of a journey that pushes the customer to where it's efficient for the company, empathetic automation creates flexible tracks based on three pillars:

1. Liberdade de escolha — the customer decides when to stay in the automated flow or to engage a human;
   
2. Path Transparency — the journey makes the available alternatives explicit;
   
3. Contextual Interaction — AI and humans share the same understanding of the case, without restarting the history.
   

For the expert, this approach reduces friction, increases trust, and transforms service from a cost center into a value generator. “Automation that respects the customer is not the one that responds quickly. It's the one that doesn't force the consumer to accept an experience they didn't ask for,” he affirms.

Para onde o setor caminha agora

Ribeiro's diagnosis is that Brazil is entering a phase of cultural readjustment of automation. After years of accelerated digitalization, companies are beginning to understand that speed without coherence does not deliver experience, only volume.

He observes that more mature operations are already rebuilding flows to allow:

• immediate human resumption in critical cases;
  
• AI that supports, but does not control the journey;
  
• reduction of hidden layers within digital channels;
  
• continuous perception analyses, not just productivity analyses;
  
• routing models that prioritize customer intent before problem category.
  

“The next competitive advantage lies in automation that gives voice back to the customer. Everything that takes away autonomy weakens the brand. Everything that restores autonomy strengthens it,” he concludes.