We automated our client onboarding sequence using AI-generated emails and video walk-throughs, but our onboarding satisfaction scores are dropping. How do we use the Trusted Advisor Fieldbook to identify where we over-automated and need to put a human back in the process?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To identify where you over-automated your client onboarding and need to restore the human element, you must look at your process through the lens of the Trust Equation from the Trusted Advisor Fieldbook. Trust is built on credibility, reliability, and intimacy, divided by self-orientation. When you completely automate onboarding with AI-generated emails and videos, you may maintain credibility and reliability, but you completely destroy intimacy. Intimacy is the feeling of personal safety and connection that a client experiences when working with your team. If your onboarding satisfaction scores are dropping, it is because your clients feel like they are being processed by a machine, raising their perception of your self-orientation. Review your onboarding workflow step by step. Identify the high-friction moments where a client is likely to feel anxious, such as when they are sharing sensitive financial data or making critical project decisions. These are the moments that require deep personal connection. Modify your core process to replace AI interactions with human touchpoints at these critical junctures. Have an account manager make a personal phone call to welcome the client, or run a live, human-led kickoff meeting to answer questions in real time. Use AI to handle the back-end administrative tasks, such as generating the project folder or formatting the intake data, so your team has more time to focus on building deep, trusted relationships.