Explain the sign-in problem
The employee wants to regain access to the service portal. The assistant asks what happens when they try to sign in.
Employee: The portal says my account is locked.
← Selected work
Where AI Hands Off · Enterprise voice research
Designing the handoff between AI and people
Research with enterprise customers and end users examined how voice assistants could support employee service requests and what people needed when human support took over.
Completing an employee service request could require a secure sign-in, another system, or a support person. The study examined how voice assistance should work across those dependencies, including when a conversation alone could not resolve the request.
Research leadership and method
Researching voice support with customers and employees
I led the study from planning and execution through analysis, synthesis, and the internal readout, in partnership with product and engineering.
Enterprise customer sessions and end-user research compared expectations for voice support with the tasks employees needed to complete. Analysis identified where guidance could resolve a request, when human support was needed, and what context and system access the handoff required.
An employee still cannot sign in after trying a password reset
How could the assistant help a support person continue from that point?
Employee’s request
I cannot sign in to the employee service portal. Can you help me get back in?
Offer a step they can try
The assistant points to the password-reset instructions before creating a support case.
Employee: I tried the reset, but the account is still locked.
Pass on the unresolved problem
The assistant cannot unlock the account. It offers to send the problem and the failed reset attempt to support for the employee to confirm.
Assistant: Shall I include that you already tried resetting your password?
What the support person receives
Portal access is still blocked
- Problem
- Account-locked message when signing in.
- Already tried
- Password reset. Employee reports the same error.
- Next step
- Verify identity through the approved process, then check the account lock.
3 of 3: Support can see the problem and the reset already tried. Access is still unresolved.
The useful handoff carries the problem and what has already been tried. It still leaves identity checks and account actions with the appropriate support process.
Guidance, continuity, and workplace requirements
The study connected what happened before a transfer with what employees and support teams needed afterward.
Customers wanted help before another case entered the queue.
Easier case creation could increase support workload without resolving the underlying problem. Customers needed the assistant to clarify the request and offer relevant guidance before escalating it.
Employees should not have to explain the same problem again.
A transfer needed to carry the unresolved problem and the steps already tried, so support could continue the work without making the employee start again. Relevant context needed to stay separate from unrelated conversations and sensitive information.
Voice support had to fit the workplace and its systems.
Language, workplace noise, authentication, privacy, and integration determined whether employees could use the assistant and whether it could act. The service needed a clear next step when sign-in or a connected system failed.
Product direction
Building for continuity with human support
The internal readout drove product and engineering guidance on service continuity with human support in the loop: offer guidance before escalation, carry the unresolved problem and prior attempts into support, and account for authentication, privacy, and integration constraints.