CXOs, the struggle is real. Your app and website know the customer and provide a tailored experience, but when that customer calls customer service, they’re transported to 1995. The core challenge is poorly integrated tech systems that don’t play nice together. One company is using AI to integrate CX systems and fix this issue.
Smartphones identify users with biometrics, like face scanners and fingerprint readers, but when a customer needs to actually speak with a human they’re reduced to punching numbers on a keypad. But it gets worse. When this torment is over, they will be asked to repeat themselves. The agent must verify the authenticity of the caller, not having visibility into the automated systems, but the customer sees incompetence.
The customer takes their frustration to social media where they are engaged, yet again, by another agent with zero context. It drives customers crazy, makes you look incompetent, and may be a contributor to $26 million in burnout cost within your call center alone.
Comcast is using AI to integrate CX systems across the entire CX footprint—sparing their customer service representatives and customers form this toxic experience. The AI decision tool is called Pointillist which is compatible with Genesys‘ API.
Using AI to integrate CX Systems
“Pointillist, Comcast’s AI decision tool, does double duty. First it matches a customer’s data from across all the company’s systems—its app interactions, the call center, product use logs, and so forth—and creates an integrated view of the customer.” write Silvio Palumbo and David Edelman in The Harvard Business Review. “Then, operating like middleware, it knits together multiple databases into one integrated database, precluding the need to create yet another, formal database.”
According to the piece, using AI to integrate CX systems in the call customer means everything is tracked and time stamped. This allows Pointillist to keep Comcast databases updated in real time. If a customer on your mobile app is having trouble, their system can send her a message with a recommendation on how to fix the issue. If that doesn’t work, Comcast gets an alert the likelihood of a call is imminent alerting the agent of a customer’s challenge in advance.
In CX, most leaders think of AI as an employee replacement, and while that may be true the immediate value is in its ability to lighten the load on current staff. Be careful here though, as our own Jacob Friedman previously wrote, using AI for call center to send more volume to agents can backfire.
Final Notes: How to integrate CX systems
Many people have a view that AI will replace agents entirely. While that may be true in the future, AI’s more immediate value is in making the agent and customer relationship more human. The CX isn’t human presently. It’s not fun for the agent or the customer. When we look at how to integrate CX systems, this is one area AI is already showing great promise. If you’re a CXO with zero time and want to know more on how to integrate CX systems in your enterprise, jump to the form and get a free report. We’re happy to share our report on new CX technology players.
Justin Kent is Editor in Chief for 3 Tree Tech. His work focuses on how security and CX technology empower leaders to scale faster. He has previously written for The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Harvard Business Review and others.