Why Your Last Chatbot Failed, and It Was Not the Model

In Milwaukee, Mark Skattebo, Kieran Fendt, and Jackie Jones processed absentee ballots at Central Count on April 7 during spring elections. Volunteers confirmed addresses while tabulators counted the votes. Separately, an analysis of chatbot failures suggests that prioritizing deflection rates over customer experience creates poor user interactions. Systems optimized for deflection often trap users in loops of suggested articles and repeated questions, leading to widespread frustration with chatbot designs and their underlying performance metrics.