There are two things driving the need for credible virtual people on the Web. First is the need for users to access accurate and personalised data from an increasingly bloated mass of information. Second is customer service, which is the next big hurdle that UK firms will face when selling to consumers, or to each other. Research has highlighted how poorly Web sites rate in terms of their customer service systems. Many major sites still do not display customer service email addresses, and those that do usually take ages to respond to queries and complaints, if at all.
Many firms rely on their offline customer service systems to serve online customers.
But as online business increases, offline systems will become overloaded. Online users should not have to put up with queries being answered by post, fax, or a returned call. I recently called a technical support line. A man took my number to call back later. Enter the online customer services representatives.