Are AI Support Agents Really Worth It?

The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming virtually every industry, reshaping the way businesses operate and innovate.

But, with the increase in their use comes the question: are AI support agents worth the investment for businesses, especially in marketing and customer service?

The Growth of AI

The capabilities of AI tools and software are being used to drive efficiency, streamline operations, and enhance service delivery in businesses of every type, size and customer base.

In industry, one of the most compelling advancements is the development of AI support agents – advanced tools that move beyond the scope of simple chatbots to autonomously handle complex, multi-step tasks.

What are AI Agents?

An AI agent is a software program designed to accomplish complex, multi-step goals without continuous human input.

Unlike simpler AI tools like ChatGPT, which operate in a back-and-forth interaction with the human user,  AI agents can integrate with multiple language models and data sources to carry out higher-level tasks.

As HubSpot’s founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah puts it; “with an agent, you’re giving it a higher order goal, and it may need to invoke Language Modeling (LM) or multiple LMs and use other AI tools and some classic tools to pull together whatever goal you’re trying to accomplish”.

AI Agents vs Chatbots: What’s the difference?

At a high level, the distinction between AI agents and chatbots lies in their capabilities and the complexity of their functions.

Think of standard chatbots as assistants responding to straightforward questions, while AI agents take on the role of team members who can plan, execute, and adapt strategies to complete projects.

Traditional chatbots are often rule-based, programmed to follow specific scripts or decision trees to handle user interactions. These chatbots are effective for simple, routine tasks, such as answering common FAQs or retrieving basic information, and their use is widespread.

ChatBots

These are now the most popular way to offer round-the-clock support, with almost half (47%) of companies now using them to handle customer service requests.

However, their capacity to understand context or adapt to user inputs is limited, as is their capacity to handle queries outside predefined conversational flows, making them less suitable for complex conversations or tasks that require real-time learning.

AI Agents

In contrast, AI agents leverage advanced large language models (LLMs) and have the ability to process natural language with greater nuance. This enables them to engage in more context-aware and adaptive interactions.

Unlike chatbots, AI agents can analyse data, learn from user interactions, and assist with more sophisticated tasks such as generating creative content, coding, or decision-making processes.

They don’t rely solely on pre-set conversational flows but can dynamically respond and pivot based on the interaction’s direction, making them a valuable tool for handling complex workflows and delivering customer support.

The Uses of AI Agents

The utility of AI agents becomes most apparent when marketers need to perform tasks that involve several stages of execution.

According to Shah, “AI agents should be used when you know what to do manually and could do it manually, but you want to automate some of those steps.”

For instance, a business owner might use ChatGPT to generate leads or respond to customer enquiries. But to take this process further, an AI agent can collect CRM data, analyse customer interactions, and tailor follow-up actions within the sales funnel – all without continuous manual oversight.

These capabilities make AI agents suitable for:

• Automating research-heavy tasks such as compiling recent CRM data.
• Setting automated lead-routing rules.
• Managing workflows that require data aggregation from multiple sources.

AI Agents in Content Marketing

When it comes to content creation, AI agents can be put to work as a digital team, accelerating workflows that would otherwise demand significant time and resources. Here are just a few of their applications:

• Accelerate and scale up content production rapidly.
• Developing and personalising social media posts.
• Generating brand-aligned graphics based on preset design criteria.
• Follow pre-set parameters to align content with brand tone and SEO requirements.
• Automating email marketing campaigns by generating personalised content based on user behaviour.
• Creating SEO-optimised meta descriptions and title tags for blog posts and webpages.
• Repurposing long-form content into additional formats, such as snippets for newsletters or social media teasers.

Limitations of AI Support Agents

Despite the many advantages, the use of AI agents is not without drawbacks. The possibility of job displacement, increased dependence on technology, and the need for ongoing monitoring should be taken into account.

While AI agents excel at automating tasks, they are not a substitute for the strategic oversight humans bring. Jeremy Kahn, AI editor at Fortune Magazine, emphasises the evolving human role, stating, “We need to redefine human roles, focusing on higher-level skills for supervising systems”, and predicts that humans will take on the role of judges and guides of the systems’ outputs.

To address these challenges, marketers should prioritise:

• Skill Development: Upskilling teams to manage and oversee AI-driven processes. This involves ongoing training and professional development courses to stay ahead of the latest AI advancements. Marketers must become proficient in understanding how AI agents function, troubleshoot issues, and adapt workflows as technology evolves. Building a skill set that includes AI management will enable marketers to harness the technology effectively while maintaining strategic control.
• Quality Assurance: Implementing checks to ensure AI-generated outputs maintain brand integrity and accuracy. This step includes setting up review protocols where human oversight is applied to verify that content aligns with brand guidelines, tone, and factual correctness. Regular audits of AI performance and refining the processes based on feedback are also crucial to prevent errors and maintain trust in AI-driven outputs.

The Verdict: Are AI Agents Worth the Investment?

The adoption of AI agents is expected to grow as businesses seek scalable and efficient solutions for complex processes.

HubSpot AI Trends Report indicates that nearly 75% of marketers believe that AI will become a workplace staple in the coming years.

It’s easy to understand the appeal of these tools, which are already capable of saving teams time and money across many operational areas, from data analysis to content creation.

AI agents can be a worthwhile investment in the long-run, giving forward-thinking businesses an edge over their competition.

Ultimately, with the right level of human involvement, AI agents can pave the way for more streamlined and innovative business practices – enhancing outcomes in sales, marketing, customer service and beyond.