AITB No. 30 Accounting for AI-Driven Customer Support Platforms
Issue: How should entities account for costs and benefits associated with the deployment of AI-driven customer support platforms, including chatbots and virtual assistants?
Background: Enhancing customer support through AI-driven platforms can significantly improve response time, reduce operational costs, and increase customer satisfaction. These platforms can answer queries, solve problems, and provide personalized recommendations.
Guidance:
- Capitalization of Customer Support Platform Costs: Expenses related to the development or acquisition of AI-driven customer support platforms intended for long-term customer relationship management should be capitalized as an intangible asset.
- Expensing of Content Creation and Data Training: Costs associated with creating specific support content or training the AI model to refine its accuracy and response quality should be expensed as incurred.
- Amortization of Capitalized Platform Costs: The capitalized costs should be amortized over the platform's expected useful life, considering technological advancements and evolving customer expectations.
- Benefit Recognition: Financial benefits derived from reduced support staff costs, increased sales due to improved customer experience, and enhanced brand loyalty due to effective support measures should be recognized in the income statement in the corresponding period.
Examples:
- Company D1 invests $3.7M in an AI-driven customer support platform expected to offer advantages over a 7-year span. They would capitalize the $3.7M and amortize it over the 7-year period.
Note: This is a fictional representation and does not represent any real-world standard for AI. The development of such standards would involve extensive consultations with experts, stakeholders, and the public. Fictional representations simplify complex AI concepts, stimulate discussion, envision future scenarios, highlight ethical considerations, encourage creativity, bridge knowledge gaps, and set benchmarks for debate in fields like accounting.