Lead replies were one of the first things we used AI for. Demand for Shootday started growing faster than our team, and we needed to find a way to respond to enquiries quickly without simply throwing more people at the problem. AI seemed like an obvious solution. A Harvard Business Review study of 1.25 million leads found that companies that responded within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify the lead, meaning to get a real conversation with a decision-maker, as those that waited even an hour longer [1]. AI could help us do that.
But it wasn’t quite that simple. We were solving the problem of response time without really thinking about what made people choose us in the first place. And human contact was a big part of that.
Our clients are booking photo and video for events that matter to them, often across several cities, and they want to know that a real person understands what they are trying to achieve, can answer their questions, and will be accountable for getting it right. An automated reply, however well written, couldn’t give them that. So, we brought people back to the role.
AI another way
We didn’t scrap the automation entirely, though. We moved it behind the scenes, where it helps our people rather than replacing them. By the time an account manager picks up a new enquiry, the automation has already researched the client, gathered more information about them, checked whether they’ve worked with us before and what we’ve done together, and put all of that in front of the team instantly. Our rule now is to automate the process, but keep the relationship human. So our team no longer spends time digging up things that technology can find in seconds. Instead, they can spend that time listening, asking better questions, and working out how we can help.
We’re not the only ones
A 2024 Gartner survey of nearly 6,000 customers found much the same thing: 64% said they would prefer companies didn’t use AI for customer service, and 53% said they would consider switching to a competitor if they found out a company was going to. Their biggest worry was that it would become harder to reach a person [2]. That isn’t something that any business can afford to ignore. And our own experience entirely reinforces those findings. It wasn’t an easy lesson to learn, but it has proved valuable. We hadn’t realised how much that initial contact had helped to create the sense that we were delivering a personal service.
The time and place for AI
It’s not so much that we’re anti-AI, because we do use it widely. Everyone on our team uses it, and there are plenty of places across the business where it saves us time and money and helps us make better decisions. It’s more that we’ve learned where it does and doesn’t help. Once we’d learned to be more selective about where we deployed AI, it started to bring real benefits. But the most important lesson was that it can’t own the conversation in lead management or customer support. It can take the routine pieces, but customers need understanding, empathy, reassurance, and the sense that someone is going to take ownership of whatever they’re contacting you about, and that’s what people are good at. That’s why, most of the time, a quick AI response isn’t going to cut it.
The most valuable automation nobody talks about
That said, there is one notable and interesting exception here. While AI has limited use in direct customer contact, where it does help in customer care is raising flags when client communication seems to be breaking down. AI can be used to look at the tone and patterns of our conversations, and highlight situations where a client might be unhappy, where something appears to have been misunderstood, or where a relationship needs a little more attention. It catches it and lets us know, so that we can try to save the relationship before it’s too late. It might be one of the most valuable things we’ve built, and I’d recommend the idea to any service business.
Importantly, though, in these situations, AI doesn’t decide what to do or how to shape the conversation. That comes down to our account managers. AI’s role is simply to make sure we don’t miss the warning signs.
Measure the number that matters
AI and automation are productivity tools, but they’re only valuable when you measure the right outcomes. When we used AI to auto-respond, we replied faster straight away. But our booked meetings didn’t. Faster replies would have been a win if speed was the goal. But speed on its own doesn’t grow a business. Conversations do. It took us a while to realise that we were measuring the wrong thing if we really wanted results. And in my view, that’s where a lot of businesses are still going wrong with AI.
Samer Bejjani is co-founder of Shootday, a global photography and video production partner for businesses, operating across 150+ cities worldwide.
