In the first two installments of this series, we had ChatGPT ask, then answer a series of questions addressing AI’s impact on CX. This week’s blog, and the subsequent ones in this series, mark a departure from the exploratory nature of the first two blogs. Instead, we’ll quickly assess one of ChatGPT’s answers from the previous blog, analyzing both the quality and accuracy of ChatGPT’s response. We’ll also provide our own perspective on specific things you can focus on that ChatGPT didn’t cover sufficiently. While you read through the rest of the blog below, think about your company’s investments in AI. What effect have they had on accomplishing your organization’s North Star vision for CX, or are they focused more on operational efficiencies to automate work and save costs?

The Question: How will AI and machine learning (ML) change the game for value creation from investments in CX?

Chat GPT’s Answer (repeated here, verbatim from ChatGPT): One way AI and ML are changing the game is through personalization. By analyzing vast amounts of data on customer behavior and preferences, companies can tailor their CX to each individual's needs. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty, as customers feel more understood and appreciated by the brands they interact with.

Another way AI and ML are transforming CX is through automation. Chatbots, for example, can handle routine customer inquiries, freeing up human agents to handle more complex issues. This can lead to significant cost savings for companies while still delivering high-quality CX.

AI and ML can also help companies leverage predictive analytics to anticipate customer needs and behaviors. By analyzing data on past interactions, purchases, and browsing history, companies can make more informed decisions on how to improve their CX and stay ahead of competitors.

Finally, AI and ML are enhancing CX through voice recognition technology. By recognizing voice commands and providing accurate responses, companies can offer a more seamless and convenient experience for customers, leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty.

In conclusion, AI and ML are revolutionizing CX and creating new opportunities for companies to deliver more personalized, efficient, and valuable experiences for their customers. By investing in AI and ML technologies, companies can stay ahead of the curve and continue to innovate in the ever-evolving world of CX.

Our Take: Before delving into ChatGPT’s reply, I’d like to reinforce that the scope of this blog series isn’t solely about ChatGPT’s impact on CX, but rather AI’s impact on CX. In other words, had we asked ChatGPT to answer questions about the relationship between ChatGPT and CX, the content would be more narrowly focused. That said, while ChatGPT does a surprisingly good job at answering the questions, it still answers at a pretty high level and makes no attempt to better grasp the question’s context before answering. This supports the idea that AI chatbots cannot fully replace CX experts in figuring out how to apply AI (at least, not yet).

The rapidly-shrinking gap between human and AI capabilities does present significant opportunities for companies looking to digitize their CX. To that end, 47% of CX practitioners who launched AI initiatives (according to a 2022 study by CX Network) reported doing so to create chatbots and virtual assistants. That number is expected to grow as generative AI becomes more widely adopted to automate interactions across customer touchpoints. But let’s take a step back and consider the irony here; CX is the art of better designing and continuously improving customer interactions to create loyalty and brand advocacy. Yet, the future of CX seems to be moving towards minimizing interpersonal interactions wherever possible. In other words, we’re a part of an industry focused on creating an emotional bond with the brand based on deep insights and empathy, yet we’re trying to remove the human element where possible.

To truly unlock the highest potential value from investments in AI for CX, the key is to strike the right balance between automating activities to reduce human effort required to support the same level of CX, with reinvesting those savings into activities that improve the CX. ChatGPT actually does a decent job of calling out opportunities to personalize the customer experience, not just automate it. It also points to the value of using predictive analytics to anticipate customer behavior and deliver a more meaningful and valuable experience, as well as improve customer retention. What ChatGPT’s reply doesn’t do justice to, however, is the potential to leverage AI-driven insights to improve human-to-human experiences, not just automate them, providing insights that people can act on to drive continuous improvement in your CX. Given the importance of frontline employees across industries such as retail, hospitality, financial services, and healthcare, this is an enormous opportunity. The same also applies in BtoB markets given the need to balance low/no touch digital selling methods with higher touch sales approaches, even if they shift to more virtual selling, digital trade shows, and always-on access to your innovation centers. ChatGPT also doesn’t dive deeper into the types of use cases for which you can apply the insights you generate from your investments in AI.

For next week’s blog post, we’ll be analyzing ChatGPT’s suggestions on implementing AI into a company’s CX strategy. I’ll post weekly on this topic covering each of the ten questions, collaborating with some of JourneySpark's business partners on these blogs. I’ll also continue to post one of my book reviews for my favorite ten business books every Friday. If you’d like to jump ahead to see all ten reviews now, click here to check them out.