Skip to content
English - United States
More support Customer portal Sign in
Create a ticket
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

My Chatbot is Having an Existential Crisis (and Other Common AI Misunderstandings)

Address common customer frustrations with chatbot interactions using a humorous tone, providing quick fixes and teaching best practices for interacting with the Customer Agent.

Purpose & Overview: Training Your Robot Assistant

 

If your conversation with our friendly Customer Agent feels like talking to a wall (or maybe a very confused toddler), don't worry—it happens! Our AI is super smart, but it's not a mind-reader. It thrives on clear context.

Here are the top three reasons your interaction might have gone sideways and how to get your smart, helpful robot back on track:

 

2. Problem 1: The 'Multi-Topic Mayhem'

 

The Scenario: You asked the Agent how to change your password in the first sentence, then immediately asked about your last invoice in the second.

What Happened: You overloaded the Agent's short-term memory. Our Customer Agent is designed to solve one, specific problem with high confidence, allowing human teams to focus on complex cases.

Step-by-Step Resolution: Go One Step at a Time!

  1. Rule of Thumb: Treat the Agent like a very literal genie: one wish per turn.

  2. Break it Down: Say "Stop," or "Let's reset."

  3. Start Clean: Ask your first question clearly ("How do I reset my password?").

  4. Wait for Resolution: Wait for the Agent to either solve the problem or offer a hand-off before introducing a new topic.

 

3. Problem 2: The 'Vague Voyager'

 

The Scenario: You typed: "It's broken and I need help. Fix it now."

What Happened: The Agent cannot access the product usage data in your head! It needs keywords, context, and a hint about which feature or process is "broken".

Step-by-Step Resolution: Give the AI Some Context!

  1. Be Specific: Instead of "It's broken," try: "The email integration stopped syncing last night" or "I cannot update the Company Name field."

  2. Use Feature Names: Referencing "Service Hub," "Sales Hub," or a specific tool name (like "Workflows" or "Reporting") helps the AI retrieve the correct, documented solution instantly.

  3. Check Status: Before reporting an outage, check our dedicated HubSpot Status Page (link) to see if it’s a global issue.

 

4. Problem 3: The 'Loop of Despair'

 

The Scenario: The Agent keeps suggesting the same article, even though you said it didn't help.

What Happened: The Agent is using a high-confidence article to solve your problem but is failing to understand your unique follow-up context.

Step-by-Step Resolution: Use the Exit Ramp!

  1. Be Direct: Type "I need a human," "Transfer to Agent," or "This article didn't help."

  2. The Hand-Off: The Agent will capture the entire transcript and seamlessly transfer the conversation to a human support agent.

  3. Human Advantage: Because the Agent captured all the context, the human agent won't have to ask you to repeat yourself, making the interaction faster and more empathetic.

 

📧 Sample Customer Support Query

 

This detailed query perfectly illustrates the 'Vague Voyager' and 'Multi-Topic Mayhem' problems and is designed to trigger the AI to suggest the article above, helping the customer self-correct their interaction style or get a clean hand-off.

From: Jordan P. (jordan.p@fastgrowthtech.com) Subject: Chatbot issue - I can't get an answer about two different things!

Body:

Hi,

I was just in the chat widget trying to get some quick support, but your Customer Agent AI was giving me serious attitude.

I asked two simple things:

  1. "Where's my order from last week?"

  2. "How do I fix the broken marketing thing?"

It kept saying, "I'm sorry, I need more information to help you with that," and then suggested an article about setting up custom properties, which is completely useless for either question! I just got stuck in a loop.

Can you please just give me the tracking number for my order (reference 78945) and then tell me who I need to speak to about the Marketing Hub reporting issue that's been going on for two days? I need solutions, not robot frustration.

Thanks, Jordan P. (Super Admin on the FastGrowthTech portal)

 

🎯 Demonstration Scenario: AI Deflection

 

When Jordan submits this query via a chatflow (or the ticket system), the HubSpot AI will demonstrate its intelligence:

  1. Initial Classification: The AI detects the intent is mixed: 'Order/Tracking Inquiry' (needs CRM data access) and 'Chatbot Experience Issue.'

  2. High-Confidence Suggestion: Because the customer is complaining about the bot experience and clearly used vague language ("broken marketing thing") and multi-topic questions, the AI prioritizes suggesting the self-help article on how to talk to the bot.

  3. Deflection/First Response: The AI would respond immediately: "It looks like you ran into some confusion with our Customer Agent! It's likely related to asking two different topics at once or a vague phrase like 'broken marketing thing'."

    • The AI shares the link: "Our article, [KB-AI-007] My Chatbot is Having an Existential Crisis... has a quick guide on the best way to get instant answers. Please try asking your questions one by one."

    • The AI addresses the order inquiry (if connected to CRM): "I can see your order (ref 78945) is currently showing as 'Shipped.' For a real-time tracking number, please check Section 2 of the article I linked." (This blends the self-service suggestion with a quick data hit, showing the AI is connected).

  4. Outcome: The customer either: a) Self-corrects their behavior and uses the bot successfully for future questions, or b) Hits the 'Transfer to Human' button, but now the human agent can see they tried to ask about their order and the "broken marketing thing," providing full context for the human hand-off.