5 Ways AI Can Enhance CX (and EX)

The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is upon us, getting more established and picking up momentum every passing day. Artificial intelligence is changing the business landscape and having a major impact on contact centers and all customer experience-related functions. While oversight, guardrails, and regulation are necessary, the possibilities for AI are unbounded. It’s not a question of will your company apply it, only when you will start.

2024 will be the year of AI and automation for the CX world. AI is reinvigorating all aspects of contact centers by delivering technology that truly makes things easier for agents and customers while also improving productivity and reducing operating costs for the enterprise. The potential is amazing, and while some consider AI and automation as tools to eliminate live agents (and will leverage them for this purpose), this is just one of their many uses and applications. When it comes to contact centers (sales, marketing, service, collections, HR, help desk, technical support, etc.), these capabilities will complement and support, not replace, employees, enabling companies to more easily scale their operations.

AI technologies, particularly generative AI, will help companies cost-effectively enhance many facets of both the CX and employee experience (EX). Obvious ways in which AI and automation should be applied in contact centers include transforming self-service applications into systems that customers want to use and for completing tasks that do not require the advanced reasoning skills of live agents. But the real power of AI is its ability to change your service paradigm and how your company approaches CX.

DMG Consulting recommends that businesses reimagine what a great CX means in a world that is not constrained by traditional organizational structures and silos. Customers do not care how a company gets things done or how it is organized. All they want is to resolve issues quickly and easily, get their problems fixed, or purchase products. It’s time for organizations to look at things through their customers’ eyes and come up with better, faster, and more convenient ways to meet their needs. AI will help companies more quickly and effectively get to where they need to go.

Here are five strategic methods of applying AI to enhance CX:

1. Use AI to improve self-service throughout the enterprise, not just the contact center. Since self-service has become the preferred method of interacting with organizations (when it works), you should strive to automate all tasks not requiring complex human reasoning/judgment companywide. This will free up employees to deliver more personalized service when it’s needed.
2. Use AI-based contact center technologies. Many leading and contending contact center-as-a-service (CCaaS), workforce engagement management (WEM), and CRM vendors leverage AI throughout their platforms/solutions to augment and enhance agent performance and improve the overall CX.
3. Embed AI in all customer-facing departments. Use AI technology and proven best practices to provide visibility across all customer touchpoints; applying customer journey analytics (CJA) is a great way to start.
4. Institute a culture that prioritizes continuous improvement of the customer journey throughout the enterprise. Encourage a cross-organizational and pro-customer approach that emphasizes the delivery of a great CX.
5. Improve the employee experience. AI-enabled tools (e.g., next-gen workforce management, knowledge management, real-time guidance, and more) can help you become an employer of choice.

AI is a game-changing technology that, when properly leveraged, will enhance both the CX and EX, which are undeniably linked. Applying AI in contact centers and self-service environments throughout the enterprise will deliver great benefits. However, companies that take a broader approach and utilize AI across all customer journey touchpoints will realize exponential benefits for their customers, employees, brand, and bottom line. 

Donna Fluss, founder and president of DMG Consulting, provides a unique and unparalleled understanding of the people, processes, and technology that drive the strategic direction of the dynamic and rapidly transforming contact center and back-office markets. Fluss can be reached at donna.fluss@dmgconsult.com.