- OTRS Survey: Vast majority of SEA IT pros agree that AI will lead to employees in service jobs needing different skills than before
- Nearly two thirds believe AI will significantly improve the performance of service employees
- At the same time, the fear of AI replacing service jobs is most prevalent in SEA
Singapore, 11. July 2024 – There is no question among IT leaders that AI will change the ways in which they work and the skills that are needed by employees in the field. In fact, in Singapore and Malaysia, 85 percent of them strongly or somewhat agree that AI will significantly improve the performance of service employees. Only six percent strongly or somewhat disagree with this, and nine percent remain undecided in their response.
However, eight out of ten SEA respondents strongly or somewhat agree that AI will lead to employees in service jobs needing different skills than before. Ten percent do not or only somewhat believe this will be necessary and just as many are unsure about how AI will impact IT service team member skills.
This is according to the third part of the “OTRS Spotlight: IT Service Management 2024“ study. For the study, the software company OTRS Group surveyed 600 IT managers and employees internationally, 100 of them in Singapore and Malaysia.
Use case: AI chatbots – Working or not?
One of the applications that IT teams predict will have a notable impact on IT service is AI-supported chatbots. Above all, SEA respondents expect:
- less waiting time for customers and faster responses (70 percent),
- better quality in customer service (67 percent),
- greater efficiency thanks to fewer routine tasks (63 percent), and
- a reduced workload for employees (60 percent).
Additionally, 52 percent anticipate the use of chatbots will result in cost savings.
Most believe that the overall impact of AI chatbots is that they significantly improve IT service (63 percent). Another 34 percent shared that AI chatbots are rather an additional element in the service spectrum but will not significantly change IT service delivery. Only one percent think that AI-based chatbots make IT service worse.
Despite limits: No AI chatbots are not a solution either
Given the expected benefits, companies in SEA are racing to implement AI-chatbots. 48 percent have already looked into it and are planning to use them. Another 35 percent already do so. Only 17 percent do not (yet) see a need for their use right now and two percent have no ambitions in this direction whatsoever.
While expectations appear high and usage seems to be inevitable, AI’s role has limits. Internationally, only 27 percent shared that customers can fully rely on chatbots for IT service requests. Another 66 percent claim that chatbots work for some issues, but in many cases human support will still be necessary. Only seven percent do not believe they work at all without human support.
“Anytime new technologies start to gain acceptance, there is a burst of excitement. People try out what’s possible and have high expectations for the benefits these new opportunities will bring,” Andreas Bender, Vice President Consulting of OTRS Group, explains. “It simply takes time until these expectations can be fulfilled. With each attempt at using AI, such as in the example of chatbots, capabilities are improved and human support teams become more skilled at wielding the tool to their – and their customers’ – advantage.”
Only half of United States professionals view seamless human/AI workflows as possible
Despite the overall positive view on chatbot usage, there remains some uncertainty around the topic of AI in general.
For instance, almost half of the SEA respondents (45 percent) believe that the interplay between human skills (such as empathy, creativity and innovation) and the use of AI is a long learning process. Five percent view these as opposites that cannot be brought together. The other half believes that the two naturally go hand in hand (50 percent).
In addition, there is a considerable amount of fear about the impact AI may have on service jobs. A significant number (57 percent) strongly or somewhat agree that AI will replace many service jobs. This is more than in any of the other markets surveyed. Another 18 percent are unsure and neither agree nor disagree with the statement. The remaining quarter is optimistic and strongly or somewhat disagrees that many service jobs will be replaced by AI.
New skills for IT service employees
Another impact of AI that many survey participants anticipate is that human workers will start to grow their own skill sets. 68 percent of SEA respondents strongly or somewhat agree that AI will lead employees in service jobs to need more soft skills, such as communication skills, than hard skills, such as technical knowledge. Only a few strongly or somewhat disagree with this (13 percent) and others are undecided (19 percent).
Along with this, according to the survey respondents, service workers will presumably also have more opportunity to work on relationship building, either internally with other teams or externally with customers. A full 81 percent believe that the increased use of AI will have a very or rather positive effect on building and fostering interpersonal relationships. Another twelve percent remain neutral on the topic. Only seven percent think an increased use of AI will affect interpersonal relationship building rather negatively, while not a single SEA respondent thinks it will have a very negative effect.
“The interest towards AI adoption and its usability in SEA are among the hot topics discussed at events by management and leaders. No one tool will fit all. However, selecting a handful of AI tools together with native tools to enhance quality and speed up delivery of service in this region will win the hearts of the time-sensitive SEA market,” adds Daphne Sim, Country Manager APAC at OTRS Group.
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About the ‘OTRS Spotlight: IT Service Management 2024’ Study
The data used is based on an online survey conducted by Pollfish Inc. on behalf of OTRS AG, in which 600 employees in IT service management or IT support in Germany, the United States of America, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, Malaysia and Hungary participated between April 4, 2024, and May 2, 2024.
Additional results of the third part of the study are available for download as an infographic here.
The results of the first two parts of the study are available here:
- Part 1: AI Hype in ITSM: High Potential, High Workload for IT Teams, New Data Reveals
- Part 2: IT Teams in the AI Jungle: More Tasks, More Responsibility
About OTRS Group
OTRS Group is the manufacturer and the world’s largest provider of the enterprise service management suite OTRS. It offers companies industry-independent software solutions for structured communication in customer service, IT service management and security management. In addition to the core product OTRS, the security solution STORM ensures efficient cybersecurity incident management and transparent documentation in accordance with standards such as ISO 27001.
Among its customers are Lufthansa, Porsche, BSI (Federal Office for Security in Information Technology), Helios Kliniken, Haribo and TUI Cruises. The company consists of OTRS AG and its five subsidiaries OTRS Inc. (USA), OTRS S.A. de C.V. (Mexico), OTRS Asia Pte. Ltd. (Singapore), OTRS do Brasil Soluções Ltda. (Brazil) and OTRS Magyarország Kft. (Hungary). OTRS AG is listed on the basic board of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
For more information, see www.otrs.com.