The Humanization of Customer Experience in an Era of Artificial Intelligence

AI and machine learning are powering a new generation of customer experience (CX) platforms to help businesses identify patterns that can fix problems and create opportunities in the customer journey. But, only 54% of CX leaders have an accurate understanding of AI. When you peel back the layers of customer engagement today, there are many ways in which AI and machine learning can identify areas to accelerate business performance and also opportunities for innovation. For many, it starts with low hanging fruit. For example, Gartner recently reported that even though omnichannel has been considered a priority in marketing and CX for over a decade, 85% of organizations still deliver fragmented customer engagement and a poor CX. 

The reality is that CX is the new battleground for brands. Businesses that get it right will realize upwards of 25% premiums on products services if customers believe that they will enjoy a better experience over competitors.

CX must be an executive-level mandate. Customers after all, are the lifeblood of any organization. Yet, according to Pega research, 64% of CX efforts lack C-Level sponsorship. And, 58% of organizations surveyed believe their CX will be outdated in just two years’ time.

This leads to debilitating enterprise challenges that need attention to give AI a fighting chance at helping companies more effectively and efficiently compete.

In Pega's "Four False Narratives of Customer Experience" report, the company found that top business challenges include:

1. Highly-complex enterprise infrastructures supported by disparate systems.
2. Conflicting direction, goals and metrics.
3. Operating in siloes with disconnected data & channels.
4. Managing 100’s of concurrent programs without leadership or alignment.

The time is now to invest in integration, optimization and cross-functional collaboration to prioritize customer experience...and make it the top priority!

AI promises the automation of customer engagement to scale intelligent, real-time CX to survive what I call digital Darwinism, the accelerating evolution of technologies and their impact on markets. The future has two possibilities however. We can automate and scale the standards and capabilities for CX as we’ve come to define and shape them over the decades. Or, we can use AI as a mechanism to deliver personalized, on-demand experiences that connected customers are learning to expect from their favorite digital-native apps and services.

As Pega observes in its research, organizations that excel in CX are investing in platforms and models that centralize customer analytics and decision-making to scale exponentially across connected channels.

Mature organizations seek to quickly aggregate data, operationalize their analytics, and make complex customer decisions in milliseconds – wherever their customer is. This requires innovative solutions and making artificial intelligence a priority.

• 70% of companies are already using some form of AI to engage customers.
• 90% will be using AI within the next 24 months.
• Risk-averse markets such as healthcare, utilities and insurance are more than 70% of organizations are planning to make AI investments in the next 2 years.

When it comes to CX, AI powers front-end and back-end systems to digitally transform customer engage at every level. According to Pega's research, here's where organizations are focusing their CX resources to maximize impact:

36% - Machine learning allows companies to scale their predictive analytics exponentially, by allowing the AI to build and adapt models far faster than human data scientists can.

36% - Voice recognition integrates services like virtual assistants with capabilities into their audio engagement channels.

34% - Natural language processing provides the foundations, like chatbots, virtual agents, and sentiment analysis.

32% - Complex event processing a powerful but still under-utilized aspect of AI, CEP allows companies to analyze streaming data in real time, and convert it into “fuel” to make decisions.

The Humanization Of CX In An Era Of AI

In this special session at PegaWorld 2019, I presented on how AI and a little bit of ingenuity and imagination can unlock an entirely new generation of customer experiences that become the standard for everyone else to follow.

Please watch the keynote presentation here.

Companies that invest in AI-powered, real-time, always-on customer experiences see real-world ROI and business impact.

According to Pega, benefits include:

Increased response rates (3–6x).

Reduced customer churn rates (10–50%).

Reduced retention costs (20–35%).

Increased net promoter scores (10–40 points).

Increased return on investment levels (3–5x).

“Pegasystems at PegaWorld showed their evolution toward the customer-facing emotional and behavioral by bringing uber-thought leader Brian Solis to keynote on the connected customer and customer experience. This signified a real evolution in Pega’s thinking yet, if you looked at their case studies and listened to the messaging, it was clear that they hadn’t forgotten their roots in BPM.” – Paul Greenberg, ZDNet

Brian Solis, Digital Analyst/Strategist, Author, Keynote Speaker

Brian Solis is world-renowned digital analyst, futurist and business advisor. He is also a sought-after keynote speaker and an 8x best-selling author. Brian's research and work focuses on digital transformation, innovation and disruption, experience and service design, CX, and culture change. Invite him to speak at your next event or bring him in to your organization to challenge and motivate colleagues and executives. Partner with him on custom research, thought leadership development and advisory work.

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