Customer support was the best starting point for me

Istarted my career at 18, working as a customer support agent at Wise. I think one of the most misunderstood roles in the corporate world is support. Most people think that it's a low-paid job, where you answer questions and talk with people.

But it couldn't be farther from that.

Support has taught me the most crucial skills during my career. I've learned to have a customer-first mindset as I got to directly interact with users. I've learned product-market fit, as I got to understand what the actual needs and pain points of users are. It has also impacted my creativity, as I had to find solutions to a wide range of issues.

I've also gotten to build skills that are not only useful in my professional career, but also in my personal life. I've learned to be patient, explain complex things in simple terms, and to be able to find empathy in the most unexpected and stressful situations.

On that note, I was able to become much better at coping in stressful, heated situations, being able to always keep my cool and be understanding in nearly any interaction.

I will always be thankful to Wise for the opportunity they have given me, as without them I wouldn't be here.

But Valeria, if customer support is so good, why are you so excited about AI taking your ex-job?

Well, while customer support has made me a better professional and person, I've also experienced the dark side of support.

Why I think that support is one of the most misunderstood jobs is because it's, in most cases, not about finding solutions to issues. It's about representing the company and being the bridge between the company and the users. You're there so that the users have someone to talk to, and to be able to express their needs and pain points.

This means that most of your day consists of being there to be a sponge to frustration that you cannot solve. Most support agents know the product from the inside out, know the customer needs and pain points, but they have hardly any power to solve them.

I think we talk very little about how not only mentally draining support is, but how it can cause serious mental health issues. You can easily get to a point where you're always on alert, thinking that any phone call or email could be what breaks you.

I had people tell me that I was a horrible person, that I should kill myself, or that they wish my whole family would die. I also had people say that they will commit suicide, or that they will kill me.

These are not isolated cases—this happens daily to support agents.

And while you can end the call, and I was fortunate enough to work at a company which advocated for support agents' mental health, these situations still happen often in any support center, and once these sentences are heard, the damage is already done.

Most people calling a call center, unfortunately, do not think that there is an actual human on the other side—they see it as a void, a machine, a robot.

This is why I think that AI is not taking support jobs, but rather making the world a better place

No one should go through this abuse on a daily basis—but AI can.

AI can take countless threats without having to worry about mental health. It saves humans from being treated like a void, while users still have a voice to talk to.

AI can be a better support agent than humans. It does not get anxiety or depression from threats and can give the same level of support in every single situation.

I was in countless situations where, due to hearing the frustration of a user, I got anxiety and was unable to focus on the problem, and I could not provide the best solution. AI can do that without any issues.

This situation also creates an opportunity for entry-level roles to be more impactful and creative, and for junior professionals to focus on solving issues rather than just hearing the pain points.

Additionally, one of the most expensive parts of running a company is the support center:

-In a high-growth startup, support can easily make up 40% to 60% of the total headcount.

-The turnover rate in call centers is one of the highest in the world, often between 30% and 45% annually.

-On average, a human-led support interaction costs a company between $5 and $12 per ticket.

Due to this, a high percentage of the cash flow goes to hearing the problems, which could be used to improve the product or to build new features.

Of course, AI cannot fully replace human support agents, but it can take the bullet for them and make the world a kinder, better place.