How GenAI can enhance the customer experience

By Paul Rilstone (pictured), Vice President Australia and New Zealand, Kore.ai

Generative AI (GenAI) is rapidly transforming the business landscape, offering the potential to revolutionise everything from customer service and sales to marketing and internal processes.

Recent research by consulting firm Deloitte highlights the widespread enthusiasm surrounding GenAI, with nearly two-thirds of business and technology leaders expressing excitement about its potential. Furthermore, a staggering 79% anticipate significant transformation within their organisations and industries driven by GenAI within the next three years. 

A prime example of GenAI’s impact is Conversational AI (CAI). This technology allows businesses to leverage intelligent virtual assistants (IVAs) – or Artificial Intelligence (AI) bots – to facilitate sophisticated human-machine interactions via voice or text. These IVAs can provide informative and intelligent conversations, generating real business value and improving service experiences. 

Complex use cases and hyper-personalisation

Advancements in natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms are paving the way for a new generation of IVAs. These AI-powered assistants boast a deeper understanding of context, sentiment, and user intent, enabling them to deliver remarkably human-like responses for premium customer experiences.

Leaders are now actively exploring the use of CAI-powered IVAs for more strategic purposes, including cross-selling, upselling, and personalised interactions. This shift reflects a growing desire to bridge the gap between businesses and customers, unlocking valuable insights to foster a more rapid evolution of customer experiences. 

Research firm Gartner emphasises the importance of personalised messaging in driving commercial success. They report that organisations focusing on customer-centric messaging can expect a 16% greater impact on outcomes compared with those that don’t.

In the retail industry, for example, IVAs can suggest products based on past purchases, proactively address customer needs, and offer targeted promotions. This hyper-personalisation fosters customer loyalty and attracts new customers, all while potentially minimising returns through improved size and preference recognition. 

The evolving role of LLMs in search

GenAI and CAI are also transforming the contact centre landscape, with agents increasingly seeking the support of automated technologies to enhance customer service. Indeed, a 2023 Kore.ai benchmark report revealed 78% of contact centre agents view IVAs as a valuable tool for improving customer interactions by delivering more accurate and personalised information.

Looking ahead, cognitive search powered by Large Language Models (LLMs) is poised to significantly enhance the experience for both agents and customers. Retrieval augmented generation (RAG) technology – a facet of cognitive search – will play a key role.

When agents pose questions to retrieve the best advice for customers, RAG can deliver not just search results, but also contextual, personalised, and highly relevant answers. These answers may even incorporate multimodal responses, such as informative video clips or product options presented in a user-friendly carousel format.

Taking a proactive stance

Early adoption of AI solutions offers a significant competitive advantage. Businesses are already experiencing improved productivity, reduced costs, and heightened levels of innovation. GenAI is propelling industries forward and raising customer and employee expectations.

The future holds immense potential for GenAI to revolutionise how businesses operate and interact with customers. Some key areas where GenAI is expected to make a significant impact include:

• Employee empowerment:
  GenAI can automate repetitive administrative tasks, freeing up employee time for more strategic endeavours. Imagine AI assistants handling scheduling, expense reports, or data entry, allowing employees to focus on tasks that require creativity, problem-solving, and human connection.
• Content creation and marketing:
  GenAI can be a powerful tool for content creation, generating marketing materials, social media posts, or even personalised email campaigns. The technology can free up marketing teams to focus on strategy and analysis while ensuring consistent brand messaging across all channels.
• Product development and innovation:
  GenAI can analyse vast amounts of data to identify trends, predict customer needs, and accelerate product development cycles. This allows businesses to stay ahead of the curve and deliver innovative products that meet evolving customer demands.
  

The human element

Despite the enormous potential of GenAI, ethical considerations remain paramount. It’s crucial to ensure transparency, fairness, and accountability in all AI implementations. Businesses must be mindful of potential biases within AI algorithms and take steps to mitigate them. Additionally, human oversight remains essential, with GenAI serving as a powerful tool to augment human capabilities, not replace them. 

GenAI is ushering in a new era of customer-centricity and operational excellence. While challenges exist, particularly around regulation and responsible implementation, the benefits are undeniable.

Organisations that embrace GenAI strategically and ethically will be well-positioned to thrive in the ever-evolving business landscape. By harnessing the power of AI to personalise experiences, empower employees, and drive innovation, businesses can shape a future where possibilities are indeed limitless.