Rehumanising tech

Katerina Joannides at Ama&Me describes how businesses can restore empathy to digital interactions

 

According to a recent PWC study, 59% of customers feel that companies have lost touch with the human element of their interactions. Despite rapid technological advancements that promise greater connectivity and convenience, many businesses inadvertently sacrifice genuine human connection—the foundation of lasting customer relationships.

 

This trend is particularly significant in industries that involve sensitive interactions, such as healthcare, financial services, and parenting support. Reinforcing this point, research from Salesforce found that 84% of customers consider empathy crucial for ongoing brand engagement. Yet, companies often prioritise automation and speed over emotional connection, neglecting the deeper human needs of their customers.

 

Strategic approaches

Addressing this gap requires more than conventional approaches. Leaders should consider these actionable strategies to authentically restore humanity to digital interactions:

 

1. Encourage emotional vulnerability in automated responses

Rather than always projecting perfection, businesses can benefit from occasionally incorporating mild vulnerability or acknowledging limitations in their automated interactions. For example, AI could say, "I understand this can be stressful, and while I don’t have every answer, I’m here to support you." This transparency can build deeper trust than presenting a facade of infallible knowledge.

 

2. Embrace friction strategically

While most companies focus on frictionless experiences, intentional friction can sometimes deepen relationships. Occasionally slowing down interactions—such as briefly checking if the customer needs emotional reassurance—can communicate genuine care, making conversations memorable and impactful rather than merely efficient.

 

3. Let customers shape your empathy algorithm

Instead of solely relying on expert-driven emotional frameworks, businesses can empower customers to influence the emotional behaviour of AI. Allowing customers to choose the emotional tone or level of empathy in their digital interactions can personalise experiences to an unprecedented level, creating unique bonds between customers and brands.

 

When technology meets human needs

At Ama&Me we combine empathy with technology, leveraging AI to deliver emotionally intelligent, real-time responses tailored to parents’ emotional states. By recognising subtle emotional cues, our AI embraces strategic friction, transparency, personalised empathy, and emotional vulnerability: this can profoundly restore humanity to digital interactions.

 

It is essential that AI provides authentic empathy however. For example, Sarah, a first-time mother struggling with postpartum anxiety, reached out to Ama&Me at 3 AM after her baby had been crying inconsolably for hours. "I didn’t expect much from a digital service," she later shared. "But the response acknowledged my exhaustion before offering solutions. When the AI suggested I might feel overwhelmed, which was completely normal, I broke down in tears of relief. That moment of validation was exactly what I needed before I could even think about practical advice."

 

The ethics of digital empathy

This raises an important question: can empathy delivered through technology ever be truly authentic? Perhaps a more productive perspective is to view AI not as a replacement for human empathy but as a conduit for human-designed emotional intelligence that can be available when human support might be inaccessible.

 

The key lies in transparency—never pretending AI is human while allowing it to express human-informed emotional support.

 

The competitive advantage of digital humanity

Ultimately, embracing these unconventional approaches won’t just set your business apart; it will redefine how customers perceive and connect with your brand.

 

For businesses looking to remain competitive, embracing this blend of innovation and empathy isn’t just beneficial—it’s essential. 

 

---

 

Katerina Joannides is the founder of Ama&Me, an innovative pregnancy and parenting support platform integrated within WhatsApp

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and pinstock