BY RUTH ZIVE4 MINUTE READ
Business leaders know AI can make a positive impact on their companies, but there’s still a lot of debate as to how to get started. Transforming your business with artificial intelligence is like exploring uncharted waters: There may be treasure and glory at the end of the journey, but there’s also much to fear.
On top of the inherent uncertainty with new technology, there’s an additional barrier to overcome with
AI right now. As important stakeholders (especially your own customers) have started to feel frosty about all the AI hype, the equivalent of a thick layer of ice has formed over your path to better business outcomes. In fact, only 50% of consumers say they feel positive about using AI to engage with
businesses, according to recent research commissioned by LivePerson, the technology firm where I lead marketing.
If you’re thinking about which part of your business should be the icebreaker—that special-purpose ship that leads the way and cracks open the path for the rest of your fleet—customer care should be at the top of your list.
WHY START WITH CUSTOMER CARE?
Customer care has three things going for it that make it the ideal icebreaker for enterprise AI: people, data, and outcomes.
Let’s start with the people. When you get right down to it, customer care has always been the ultimate influence on how your customers feel toward your brand. Just like an icebreaker ship carves a path for other vessels, customer care has always led the vanguard for the rest of your business
operations. If your AI transformation begins with a focus on making your customers’ lives better, you’re already on a proven path to success.
Second, customer care is one of the most important data sources for your AI transformation. Your contact center allows you to hear directly from customers about what they love and what they’d change about your business. From identifying common pain points to capitalizing on suggestions for
improvement, ongoing AI-powered analysis of your customer conversations helps you get better over time, all the time. Make no mistake: The voice of your customer is one of your business’s most precious resources, and it can help your entire business improve.
Finally, customer care is an area where you can show tangible ROI from AI
investments, helping build confidence in AI projects internally and demonstrating to your customers that they should start warming up to the technology. There are many ways to do this, and one of my favorite examples is the innovation happening at Texas-based Frost Bank.
CARVE A NEW PATH FOR AI
Frost
Bank is an example of how even the most established brands—Frost has been in business for 156 years—can use technology to strengthen human connection. For the past 15 years, Frost has been rated No. 1 in the state for retail banking customer satisfaction by J.D. Power, and its strategy for AI in customer care demonstrates why they’ve consistently
earned the accolade. Instead of putting unintelligent or experimental AI directly in front of customers, they use it behind the scenes to help their agents work at the top of their game.
As a general principle, the team at Frost believes that customers should be able to speak directly to a real person 24/7 no matter what channel they reach out on. This means no phone trees and no customer-facing bots, but interestingly, AI still
plays a role in this incredibly human-centric approach. Frost uses generative AI tools in two ways: (1) auto-summarizing conversations and (2) instantly providing suggested responses for agents to leverage in real-time. With the help of these tools, Frost maintains a 91% customer satisfaction score and keeps agent response time to under one minute.
While a people-first path for AI transformation might
seem counterintuitive, Frost’s trailblazing approach makes it clear that using automation intelligently can pay off for both a business and its customers.
YOUR ICEBREAKER SHOULD BE AS UNIQUE AS YOUR BUSINESS
Of course, not every brand will make the same choices as Frost when it comes to customer care. Many banks, financial services companies, and brands across other industries are all-in on customer-facing AI because that’s the best fit for
their business. On the other hand, some enterprises are prioritizing AI-powered analysis of their contact center data because that meets their specific need. What Frost’s example shows so powerfully is that there is no “right” way to use AI for customer care.
Here’s what we do know: While every brand will have its own unique AI transformation journey, your foray through the icy waters will be safer and smoother if you put your
customers first, make use of what they’re telling you, and focus on areas that generate ROI. Remember, Frost Bank didn’t use AI because it was shiny and new. It used AI tools to enhance an existing people-first culture. Similarly, your customers are unique—and they choose you for a reason. Listen to your customers and put them at the center of your AI transformation where they belong.
