Seize the AI in 2024: 3 midyear megatrends

Consider the midpoint of the year a launch pad for your business to soar to new heights. This is an opportune time to take stock of your progress, recalibrate your trajectory and accelerate into the second half with strategies to exceed your CX goals.

The last 18 months have been some of the most transformative in customer service innovation. From technological advancements to shifting consumer behaviors, the first half of 2024 has been marked by even more significant changes and emerging patterns to give us valuable insights.

Like the saying “seize the day” encourages people to make the most of the present moment and take action without delay rather than waiting for the future—it’s time to step up to “Seize the AI.”

CX needs a change of perspective

NICE CEO Barak Eilam recently challenged our industry to change its perspective. What does that mean?

Think of it as an opportunity to sharpen focus on what really matters in light of current trends. He categorized the top three megatrends that are driving every initiative across your entire organization:

1. Grand refactoring

Grand refactoring showcases the real organization-wide impact of cloudification. A grand refactoring has prompted the re-writing of billions of lines of code natively in the cloud and prompted software players to rebuild their tech stack.

2. Grand convergence

Not only does digital transformation top every CIO’s agenda, it’s also forcing a complete blurring of clear-cut lines between software categories to eliminate fragmentation.

3. Grand fusion

People, processes and technology used to operate as three distinct entities before generative AI burst onto the scene. We’re in a new phase where they can be cohesive.

“In the spirit of changing our perspective, I believe AI has the potential for becoming that ultimate alchemist, stepping up to its role as a force of grand fusion—finally bringing people, processes and technology together in the most natural and effortless way,” Eilam said.

Bridging the experience perception divide

Fragmented systems and data siloes can hinder customer experience, creating a perception divide between consumer expectations and the actual experience delivered.

But aligning two major forces closes the divide for an “experience continuum.”

Automated intelligence creates self-service experiences that exceed those of the very best human agents. Augmented intelligence uses AI to supercharge your workforce.

When we meld these two dynamic forces together, organizations experience an AI multiplier that helps interactions flow seamlessly between virtual and human agents.

“Automated intelligence powers self-service while augmented intelligence enhances human support, working together in harmony,” said Barry Cooper , president, NICE CX division. “The result is effortless, personalized experiences that delight consumers and empower employees, blurring the lines between automated and human-assisted interactions.”

Organizations can deliver complete convergence with personalized, fluid experiences, bridging an experience divide between customers’ brand perception and internal reality.

Give every interaction a memory to build a 360-degree view of consumers by combining interaction data, metadata and analytics from the CX ecosystem.

By doing so, you can bridge the perception divide to make sure each customer experience is personalized and driven by the consumer’s entire history with your brand.

AI for CX is rapidly driving new business value

According to 麦肯锡 , “If 2023 was the year the world discovered generative AI (gen AI), 2024 is the year organizations truly began using—and deriving business value from—this new technology.”

The key is in the “business value” organizations can derive from generative AI.

Read the blog by Andrew Traba , NICE vice president, product marketing, for a checklist of the top 10 actions to take now to start realizing business value.

More CX insights

Top strategies to kick CX into high gear

It’s not too late to revise your 2024 action plan for enhanced customer service. Think of midyear as the half-way point to your ultimate CX goals and AI as the accelerator you need to get there. Now is not the time to pull back on CX strategy—a staggering 57% of consumers feel their experiences have gotten worse in the past year. Read how major brands are gaining advantages leveraging CX AI. Get more details to act now .

Ignite the CX conversation

We want to hear from you:

What CX changes are you planning in the second half of the year to seize new AI technologies?

Let us know in the comments.