Speaking to ET, Kharge said he has been receiving complaints about AI chatbots trapping customers in a cycle of uncertainty.
“As an advocate of technology, I’m not saying we shouldn’t use chatbots or AI. However, the idea of using these tools is to ensure better customer service and delivery. If they instead become tools of delay and harassment, what’s the point?” the minister questioned. He added that while there won’t be any knee-jerk reaction from the government, companies need to pull up their socks.
The minister also put out a post on X, naming Swiggy and Zomato. The two companies, however, did not respond to emails seeking a comment.
Kharge’s statement comes amid growing consumer complaints about delayed deliveries, poor grievance redressal, and inconsistent customer support from major e-commerce and food delivery platforms. Many customers often take to social media feeling that human intervention is still necessary for complex issues.
A Bengaluru-based ecommerce platform, speaking on the condition of anonymity, acknowledged gaps in the post-sales experience and said they are working on solutions. “We are using human intervention wherever necessary. The warranty and guarantee of products lie with the source company, not us. We are slowly streamlining our processes,” the platform said. They also stated that they are open to discussions if the government has suggestions to address the issue.
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Industry experts said the problem lies in the limitations of chatbots that the industry uses. They suggest that the government can push for better customer service but can’t regulate how e-commerce companies run it.“Consumer-facing companies should do an 80-20 approach — 80% chatbots, 20% human. People are still important for customer service, and until seamless solutions are available, give people back their jobs,” said Harish Bijoor, brand strategy specialist and founder, Harish Bijoor Consults.
The FMCG expert explained that the other issue with automated chatbots is they are not trained on small language models yet and have limited query resolution capabilities, leaving customers frustrated.
Prashanth Prakash, founding partner at the VC firm Accel Partners, who has invested in platforms such as Flipkart and Swiggy, said that while regulations can help, allowing for iterative advancements is also necessary.
