Go beyond the hype and make AI work in CX

AI is no longer optional for CX leaders. It’s a crucial piece of technology that will help organizations meet customer and employee expectations for empathetic, personalized experiences. And it’s a requirement for companies that want to remain competitive in an ever-evolving landscape. ?

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In our survey of 1,000 CX leaders worldwide for the report “Customer experience in the age of AI,” 70% say that AI is a business imperative; 27% agree it’s already critical to their CX operations today. And 43% expect it to be critical within the next three years. ?

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The bottom line: No matter where you are in your AI journey, there’s still time to gain a competitive edge. Drawn from the report findings, here are four ways to make AI work for your customers, your employees and your organization.?

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1. Assess and prioritize opportunities ?

Two-thirds of CX leaders agree that their organization has a clear roadmap for adopting AI in CX. But the report findings show that harnessing AI-powered technologies will give these leaders several ways to leapfrog the competition.?

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Evaluate where you’re already using AI in your CX operations and identify gaps where it’ll make maximum impact. ?Look for opportunities to remove manual or time-consuming tasks to improve the employee experience as well as the customer experience. For example, only one-fifth are using sentiment and empathy analysis, and of those, only about half are using an AI-powered version. This gap opens the door for organizations that are using AI this way to gain a competitive edge.?

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AI also has significant potential for improving the customer and employee experience when used for customer journey management, predictive routing, agent assistance and employee coaching. Yet, many organizations are?underutilizing these key use cases or have yet to adopt them.? ?

2. Set clear goals and expectations?

Sixty percent of CX leaders globally expect that adopting AI in CX will increase customer loyalty and lifetime value. To make those expectations a reality, set meaningful performance targets.?

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Implementing AI-powered technologies will shift processes and timelines. So, it’s imperative to define what success looks like for your AI initiatives. This could include a blend of metrics like decreased wait times, increased handling times and lower cost to serve. Consider how your success measures need to evolve to reflect not only traditional CX metrics, but also ones that demonstrate how a better experience impacts the entire business. This will enable you to make certain you’re not just focusing on efficiency gains, but also help show how CX transformation is contributing to any revenue growth.?

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3. Take a comprehensive approach to data?

AI is only as good as the data that underlies it. So, assess your data quality, structure and governance, and then build a timeline that ensures continuous improvement. ?

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Be rigorous in preparing your data for AI-powered systems to use. Implement robust protocols for data privacy and security as well as stringent guidelines for ethical data usage. And if external data sets are part of your strategy, extend the same considerations to data vendors. Nearly 70% of CX leaders say they have a plan for ethically deploying AI and 41% say they’re adopting a formal AI ethics policy.?

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Taking a proactive approach to data privacy, ethics and compliance also well-positions you for complying with current and future regulations. And it helps build trust among customers and employees. Findings from our report show that only 37% of CX leaders say their organization is proactively communicating to customers how they use AI-related data, setting them apart from less transparent competitors.?

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4. Address customer and employee concerns?

Successful AI adoption includes addressing concerns head on. Develop clear communication plans; one plan should build customer trust through transparency; and another plan must emphasize how AI will enhance employees’ roles rather than replace them. ?

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Nearly two-thirds of CX leaders say one way they’re communicating openly about AI is by ensuring customers know when they’re interacting with a bot. And 67% are proactively addressing employee concerns, with 62% using AI to improve the agent experience by making enhancements like cutting training time, improving training quality and reducing interaction handle time.??

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Additionally, explain how you’ll overcome obstacles and deliver specific business benefits to ensure you gain leadership buy-in and support for AI initiatives. More than half of CX leaders anticipate improved financial performance using AI in CX, with 83% believing that AI will be a clear differentiator for them in the future.?

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Download “Customer experience in the age of AI” to find out how your peers are using AI to stand out and create a compelling competitive advantage.?