Artificial Intelligence is all about bots, self-service, and automation, right?
A one-size-fits-all way to continue to process consumer communication whilst simultaneously reducing the human contact center headcount, right?
Well, that’s an over-simplistic view that may now be more than a little outdated.
In the modern customer experience space, the strategic deployment of AI acknowledges the continuing importance of human interaction and focuses more on helping to make it richer, slicker, and more efficient.
Of course, generative artificial intelligence like ChatGPT has entered the already-complex landscape and is further complicating the customer experience journey. As a result, the successful (and most efficient) delivery of premium customer service is a marriage of both types of intelligence: artificial and human.
When they work in harmony, the results can be transformational on multiple levels. All organizations must do is pick a technology provider partner with the ability to help make it happen.
“Expectations for an exceptional customer experience remain sky-high, and enterprises must re-evaluate the end-to-end journey when a consumer either desires or is forced into an in-person or non-digital interaction,” says Tom Martin, CEO of Glance, which is helping organizations around the world to leverage the AI opportunity.
“Generative AI adds another layer, but when it comes to delivering a superior customer experience, it’s still about ‘reaching in’ at the right moment of need. It’s more than an AI-powered chatbot that automatically asks site visitors if they need help when they haven’t moved their cursor in 3 seconds. “It’s about delivering human-guided assistance that reduces or eliminates friction with little effort from the consumer.”
In the case of Glance in particular, it has created Guided CX solutions that are laser-focused on delivering a seamless, personal, guided experience in the digital world. And it is perfectly placed to provide informed advice, guidance, and support as organizations look to capitalize on the many potential gains.
“Providing customers with every possible digital channel is a no-brainer, but nothing beats genuine human guidance provided at the right moment,” says Martin.
“When a customer gets hands-on, personal expertise, they’re more likely to feel confident in their decisions, get things done faster, and simply feel more supported. If they have moved on to a digital channel, they’ve likely already made a decision to purchase. The question is: ‘Who will I purchase from?’ The answer: the organization that makes it easiest.”
AI is a game changer because of its two core functions: understanding a request and acting on it. It is able to identify when the human element needs to be delivered to a customer early in their digital/self-service journey, irrespective of the channel via which they are interacting. When used strategically, generative AI can empower humans to handle the critical and complex needs of customers that require intelligence, empathy, and situational context.
“Our solutions enable brands to pull relevant information from different systems to carry context that can be integrated across all customer interactions in ways which make them relevant, personal, and even proactive,” says Martin.
Layering the right data and knowledge on top of every interaction means organizations can respond to changes in the customer’s data. Think orders, a change in inventory, availability of specific services, cancellations, and social media ‘likes’ to name a few.
“That data can be used to support a more proactive and tailored experience, picking up on cues that the customer needs human-guided support. For example, chatbots can be helpful, but they can also create unnecessary friction if the consumer doesn’t quickly get the resolution they’re seeking.”
Additionally, with analytics baked in, organizations are able to use generative AI solutions to adjust conversations according to real-time qualitative and quantitative customer feedback. And generative AI can also be used to create a post-conversation wrap-up to take that task off the hands of the specialist agent while also creating powerful new data to use moving forward.
“All of these outputs speed things up and reduce friction, create efficiencies, and boost customer satisfaction,” says Martin.
“Consumers don’t see organizations as several teams; they see them as one cohesive brand and want one cohesive brand experience.”
To hear Tom speak more about generative AI’s impact on CX, watch this recent webinar. To learn more about how Glance can help you leverage the transformational power of Guided CX solutions, click here.
