Joe Rossignol:

Apple recently considered laying off about 5,000 support employees [to replace them with AI], but it has put those plans on hold indefinitely, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

[…]

Last month, we reported that customers who call the AppleCare phone number (1-800-APL-CARE) from the U.S. or Canada are now routed to an AI-powered support assistant.

Joe Rossignol:

The assistant can answer questions and troubleshoot issues with your Apple products, with it able to provide detailed step-by-step instructions. The assistant can still transfer you to a human advisor if it cannot answer a specific question, or if you ask to speak to a real person.

[…]

Apple has also been testing a new AI-powered chatbot in its Apple Support app, through a new “Ask” tab that has rolled out to a limited number of users.

I actually kind of like support chatbots in that they can be very fast for handling basic issues. As to the layoffs, it’s not clear to me whether this is Ternus reversing a Cook idea or something else.

The main problem I have (and I hear others having) with Apple’s support is that for more difficult problems you reach a ceiling where nobody can help you and it seems like nobody cares. Anything that can’t be addressed via a hardware swap is like filing a very time consuming Radar that goes into a black hole with no follow-up. Some software issues seem fixable in that they are more like server database entries than bugs. A sufficiently high level support person should be able to go in and edit the entry. But it seems like this only happens when there’s a major story in the press.

Scott:

Apple could probably lay off 5000 AppleCare workers if Apple programmers spent more time working on their operating systems and default apps for another 6 months before releasing them to the public.

Previously:

• Apple Vision Pro and Software Layoffs
• Castro’s Customer Support Lessons
• John Ternus Replaces Tim Cook
• AI Layoffs
• Locked Out of Apple Account Due to Gift Card
• Locked Out of Apple Developer Accounts
• Apple to Drop Customer Support via Social Media
• HomePod Late Adopter

Apple AppleCare Customer Support iOS Layoffs Mac