It all started when my keyboard developed a problem with the H key sticking. Being a sane human, I did the basics before reaching out: cleaning, compressed air, the usual. Reaching out to support is always the final resort for me, primarily because I want to avoid the gauntlet of inane, entry level questions.

The Scripted Gauntlet

My first interaction was with an AI voice agent. Technically, it was quite good. The voice quality was high and the natural language processing felt fluid. However, it was clearly tied to a very rigid, scripted set of steps. I half expected it to ask if I’d tried turning the keyboard off and on again, though I’m not entirely sure how that would help a physical key sticking. To be fair, I did unplug/plug to rule out any software issue.

Once it exhausted its flowchart, it decided I needed a human.

The Great Disconnect

This is where the process fell apart. The human agent who joined the call was perfectly pleasant, but they clearly had zero visibility into the ten minutes I had just spent with the AI. I had to start from scratch.

The peak of this absurdity came right out of the gate. The agent asked if I had tried using compressed air on the key. When I said yes, he followed up with, “And did that solve the problem?”

I was taken back. I nearly told him that yes, it worked perfectly, and I was just staying on the line to have a chat and say hello. If the air had worked, I would not be speaking to a support agent!! Geez.

Improving the Experience into the Ground

Logitech currently has a banner on their support site that deserves a spot in the Corporate Irony Hall of Fame. It claims they are experiencing longer response times because of a “recent update designed to improve your experience.”

Admitting that your “improvement” has directly resulted in a worse service level is a bold move. Usually, you just fix the bottleneck before the customers notice, or at the very least, you do not blame the upgrade for the degradation. I am not sure I would have admitted to that instead of just resolving it.

The Takeaway

A replacement keyboard is on its way, so the functional outcome was fine. But the process was a failure of integration.

If you are going to put an AI agent at the front of your support funnel, it cannot be a silo. Its primary job, aside from basic deflection, should be context gathering. If that context is not passed to the human in a concise, readable summary, the AI is not a tool; it is a blocker.

Companies need to figure out exactly where AI fits into their workflow. As it stands, this was not a connected experience. If your human agents are asking the same questions your bot just asked, you have not improved the experience.

You have just doubled the friction, wasted everyone’s time and left a bad taste for the reputation of AI.