The Promise Meets the Person
Customer support puts the relationship between people, machines and brands to the test.
We chose this week’s cover because customer support brings the central concern of MAN/MACHINE into an everyday encounter: what happens when a person turns to a machine for help?
As AI agents take on more of that interaction, companies must decide what they want automation to achieve. Understanding the customer, acting on the problem and preserving progress when a human takes over are choices about how a brand treats people.
That is why this conversation belongs on a leader’s agenda. The quality of support reveals how much of a company’s promise survives contact with a real need.