In order to learn more about the solutions and tools that our 50 CX All-Stars will be leveraging in 2024, we asked them to provide details on the tech that they believe will have the greatest impact on their businesses.
Below is a snapshot of some of their responses. You can view their complete answers to these questions and more in CX All-Stars or by clicking a leader’s name to view their full profile.
Given the ubiquitous nature of generative AI (GenAI) in the customer service and experience space right now, several of our All-Stars were all too aware of how popular their answers would prove to be.
This point was typified by Liz Miller – VP and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research – who quipped, “Have you guys heard about this thing called AI?”
And Miller wasn’t the only one to poke fun at just how all-encompassing AI has become.
Shelly Kramer, Managing Director and Principal Analyst at theCUBEResearch, correctly predicted how most would of her fellow All-Stars would answer: “I can’t imagine anyone not answering this with ‘Figuring out how to adopt, integrate, and maximize the benefits to be derived from GenAI’ – and that’s my answer.”
Whereas Amy Roberge – Head of Global CX Solutions Engineering at Zoom – despite admitting that AI was an obvious answer, also couldn’t look beyond it:
“I have to come back to AI once again on this one. Although it’s probably the most obvious answer, it is undoubtedly the technology that will have the most impact on the customers my team works with and how we work internally.
“It is already enabling my teams to spend more time on work that matters, i.e. spending time with our customers, and less time on searching for information and catching up on things they missed.
“And for the customers I work with, AI is a CX game changer when applied intentionally.”
Ellie Sutton, Director of Customer Strategy at Veriteer, also accepted that AI might be a bit of an obvious answer: “As clichéd as it may be, we can’t underestimate the impact of AI.
“AI-powered tools and algorithms have the potential to revolutionize customer experience by enabling personalized interactions, predictive analytics, and automation of routine tasks. Used and adopted properly, we can better understand customer preferences, anticipate their needs, and deliver tailored solutions in real-time.
“There’s no doubt this will be advantageous in driving business growth and competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving market landscape however should be adopted with care and total understanding of the impact on the customer otherwise the risk of my previous comment comes true!”
A Gen-AIisance
Despite the playful comments above, the majority of our All-Stars were forthright in their belief that AI and GenAI will undoubtedly be the most significant technology for them and their teams in 2024.
Nerys Corfield, Director of Injection Consulting: “The big dipper of the fairground – our new friend – Generative AI. I believe it is going to have a monumental impact on all aspects of the Customer Service world. To support customers and navigate that impact you must have clarity on capabilities, gotchas, and the most valuable/adoptable use cases to operationalize with measured risk.”
Joey Tan, Head of CX, GXS Bank: GenAI’s potential to transform customer interactions through advanced personalization and automation is unparalleled. GenAI can analyze vast amounts of data in real-time, offering insights and solutions tailored to the individual needs of our customers.
“This not only enhances the customer experience but also streamlines our operations, making them more efficient and reducing costs; fulfilling the two biggest objectives for us.”
Gidi Adlersberg, Voca CIC Head of Business Line at Audiocodes: “Generative AI without a question will be the technology making the greatest impact during 2024. Generative AI and Large Language Models open up a whole new world of CX and EX use-cases, and 2024 is the year for vendors to leave an early mark on users, and position in the market as early leaders in AI offerings.
“Of course, a sheer delivery of AI capabilities won’t suffice; The market is seeking AI that’s not only capable, but also practical, safe and trustworthy.”
Oru Mohiuddin, Senior Research Manager at IDC: “AI will have a significant impact because it will transform how people work, interact and operate.”
Andrew Morawski, EVP & GM at Oracle: “Not just my business, but I think Generative AI (GenAI) will truly have the greatest impact on all technology this year.
“In the communications industry there’s incredible potential to improve operational efficiency and transform customer experiences, but I think regardless of what industry you’re in right now all businesses know it will be a critical tool to stay competitive and tackle their biggest challenges.”
Jono Luk, Vice President of Product Management at Webex by Cisco: “AI. But not in the same vein of “AI will change everything” conversation. Instead, AI will lead to a new type of conversation around business need and technology.
AI won’t be the silver bullet to solve every problem, but it will change the way in which businesses seek to address needs. The question will become, “How do I best apply AI to give customers and my business what they need in a safe, secure and trustworthy way?”
David Singer, Global Vice President of Go-To-Market Strategy at Verint: “I think we all agree that AI will continue to have the greatest impact on our business because it has the power to transform everything.
“I remember watching the original Star Trek TV series before TV remotes were even a thing. They used high tech, handheld devices to communicate with each other, scan objects and record information. It’s through AI that we can do all of this and more today.
“In the case of customer experience, AI is about putting the right technology at the fingertips of agents at the right time which leads to elevated customer experiences and better business outcomes.“
Susanna Baque, Senior Director Global Customer Experience at SCIEX: Artificial intelligence (AI) represents a transformative force poised to reshape both business operations and our comprehension of customer behaviors and market demands.
“While its immediate impact on short-term business growth may be indirect, it will play a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of our offerings to meet evolving customer needs.
“The convergence of AI with life sciences holds immense promise in revolutionizing critical areas where our customers work such as drug discovery, healthcare delivery, and biomedical research, ushering in substantial advancements in human health and well-being.”
Best of the Rest
Amongst the sea of AI and GenAI there were still a few brave souls willing to outline other technologies.
Keith Kirkpatrick, Research Director at the Futurum Group: AI is the easy answer, but I’ll say automation. Workflows are being deployed behind the scenes at my company that are designed to provide more visibility, better access to data, and help reduce the number of administrative tasks that take me away from serving my clients or pontificating on the market.
Joel Viotti, Business Owner of Value Streams: “I am going with AR/VR/Spacial Computing here. I was able to test Apple Vision Pro some weeks ago and the immersiveness was just incredible. Down the road, I could really see how customers will want to interact with Businesses through this technology from sales to activation and even customer care.
“Spacial Computing has in my opinion the potential to implement technology in amazing new scenarios not possible with tablets, computers and smartphones as the technology adapts immersiveness, screen sizes etc to the use case/ need of the customer.”
Alex Monaghan, Solution Architect at The Open University: “Database security. It sounds dull, but any organization with customer data is at the mercy of cyber-attacks and the security of your data is absolutely critical.
“Encryption, access control, malware protection and data management are essential – not just for compliance, but for reputation and brand protection. Losing or inappropriately sharing your customers’ data is a breach of trust.”
Vaishali Dialani, Senior CX Strategist at Konabos: “The technology poised to have the greatest impact on our business this year is headless architecture products, exemplified by platforms like Kontent.ai and Sitecore XM Cloud.
“As a CX strategist, crafting experiences is a strategic undertaking, but as a digital transformation partner, possessing the technological resources and capabilities to implement these strategic decisions is paramount.
“Headless architecture facilitates greater flexibility and agility in disseminating content across diverse channels, independent of a specific front-end presentation layer. This enables CX professionals to collaborate seamlessly with marketers, content editors, IT teams, and other stakeholders to deliver memorable experiences.”
