Experts debate how AI as a technology will drive the future of customer experience

Today, customer experience is constantly evolving. While companies are more than ready to fulfil the growing demand for hyper personalised experiences, they must also contend with challenges such as security, data privacy, outdated or inefficient technology, data silos and more. These developments raise important questions.

With the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, can customer experience strategies strike a balance between technological efficiency and human empathy? How will Artificial Intelligence (AI) play a role in creating hyper-personalised experiences? What kind of compliances will companies put in place to safeguard customer data? 

Genesys, in association with YourStory, hosted a round-table discussion, with thought leaders and experts to explore how customers can leverage technology to drive the future of customer experience. 

Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, led the discussion with thought-provoking questions. The panel comprised Raja Lakshmipathy, Vice President and Managing Director- India and SAARC, Genesys; Amit Sharma, CIO & Head-Partnerships and CSR, Cytecare Hospitals Pvt Ltd; Reena Evans, Senior Director Of Operations, Acko; Avijit Mohapatra, Head - Customer Experience Transformation, Flipkart; Supriya Rath, CX Leader, Lenovo India; Sapna A, Associate Vice President – Operations & Operational Excellence, HCG India; Anjani Kumar, CTO, TATA AIG General Insurance Company Limited; Chander Damodaran, MD & Global CTO, Brillio; Mohan Krishna Devarapalli, Senior Director & Head of Technology, PayU Payments; Sagar Telele, Director -Strategy, Simpl; Dhivya Raghuraman, Head - Technology CoE (Centre of Excellence), Credit Saison India; Marcus Terry, Head of Customer Experience, PhonePe; and Dr Shalu Srivastava, CX Leader, Portea Medical. 

Do you know your customer?

In an era when customers expect brands to understand their needs and wants, a hyper-personalised, AI-driven customer experience strategy makes all the difference. Brands must pivot to a digital-first approach, leveraging AI to create customised and authentic interactions with customers. 

Supriya Rath of Lenovo said great customer experience hinges on certain expectations - no matter what you are selling (product or solution) or whom you are selling to (customer, partner or employee). “Certain things that have not changed is the end customer asking, ‘Do you know me? How fast are you? Are you giving me the speed I require? Are you truly flexible’?” she said. 

Balancing emotion, empathy, and efficiency

In the healthcare sector, personalisation can have a profound impact on patients. Tailored experiences are vital when building customer trust and improving outcomes. However, Sapna Agarwal, of HCG India, believes that the healthcare industry continues to face obstacles on the way to making truly customised experiences for patients - particularly when it comes to bringing unique sets of data together to address a patient’s emotional needs. 

“Healthcare has some of the most disjointed datasets. There are departments that deal with lab reports, documentation of test results, doctors who offer written prescriptions, patient histories, as well as the emotional requirements of patients. Current systems are not enough to handle this data. Healthcare requires data interoperability to weave these elements together into a hyper-personalised experience,” she said. 

She shared how in the last year and half HCG Hospitals transitioned from manual methods to a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, and adopted solutions such as a cloud-based contact centre and a smart app, which helped meet customer’s emotional requirements, scale effectively, and offer consistent hyper-personalised experiences across all channels.

Agarwal also highlighted the role of AI in bringing scalability to healthcare, in terms of geographical locations and language. She anticipated improved patient outcomes through predictive analytics and chatbots (to answer basic medical queries).  

Marcus Terry, of PhonePe, raised an interesting point about empathy and customer agents. While human agents are often tasked with bringing empathy to customer interactions, they are often burdened by targets, metrics, pressure and the demands of the job. He believes that AI will be the future as sentiment and feedback will be captured and summarised better. 

Measuring customer interactions

Avijit Mohapatra, of Flipkart, shared that the e-commerce giant has always leveraged technology to enable core business objectives. Customer calls at Flipkart are split into two categories: inquiries that can be answered by information on the app or a bot, and agent-led calls. The second category, Mohapatra said, was crucial for customers who didn’t interact in English, or spoke a mix of English and local languages. In this case, Flipkart used technology as an enabler, and all information was customised to address and resolve the pain point of the caller.

Technology needs to be smart to understand why a customer is calling and interpret what they are saying. It will then consistently share information that is useful with the agent during the conversation. “At no point of time do we want technology to dictate what the agent should say, because we really believe that kills empathy,” he said. 

Mohapatra also shared how Flipkart measures customer experience. By resolving pain points at every stage of the customer journey, the organisation increases the chance of repeat customers. While they measure Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) and Customer Satisfaction Scores (CSAT), Flipkart also uses an unique and intuitive measure called On Time, In Favour, which audits calls and shares whether the resolution of the call was favourable or not.  

At Simpl, customer experience is measured through a unique metric called Real Time Resolution. Sagar Telele spoke about resolving issues instantly as the company, a checkout solution, cannot afford to provide solutions in minutes or days. Simpl uses feedback loops to continuously measure the efficacy of resolutions through these customer interactions.  

Is AI the answer?

AI has the capabilities to power exceptional customer and employee experiences, if leveraged correctly. Panellists explored the role of conversational AI - chatbots, voicebots and GenAI bots - in helping customers resolve issues efficiently and empathetically.

Mohan Krishna Devarapalli, of PayU, discussed the role of voicebots in creating personal connections with customers. However, the company faced difficulty in connecting with the lakhs of merchants that PayU works with. He wondered if there was a solution that offered personalised answers to queries. While voicebots gave “nice” answers and replied pleasantly, they weren’t able to answer within the context or offered a generalised response. “When it comes to voicebots, ensuring we get the right contextual responses will take some time. That's why human agents continue to work in these roles. If AI can support this move, it will be a significant change,” he said.

AI can transform customer experience, but must be driven by strategy and operated through a single platform. “It's pointless to leverage AI on its own. We discovered that standalone AI reduces Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) by almost 27%. So, even if you have predictive AI, generative AI, or conversational AI, how do you operate each one of them? I can look at my cost to serve the customer and say that AI makes sense. But does that make sense to the customer?“ asked Raja Lakshmipathy of Genesys.

A customer is ultimately driven by four factors - their prior experience, what they want, the kind of engagement they want, and the choices you are giving them. He stressed that technology must be “viewed through the customer lens”. 

Dhivya Raghuraman, of Credit Saison India, spoke along similar lines, emphasising how technologies like AI and GenAI can augment customer experience. However, companies must identify the problem first instead of the technology. “We always come up with solutions that are not technology-driven, but are augmented and enhanced by technology,” she said. 

Protecting customer data is more important than ever. As more customers entrust their personal information to online platforms and digital services, the need for robust data protection measures has grown exponentially.

Laxmipathy spoke about how brands have to navigate the ins and outs of a complex data protection landscape, taking into account the India Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, compliances in different industries, and international regulations. He said Genesys offers a single platform with omnichannel capabilities that can integrate with any kind of system and is fully compliant. 

What’s next for customer experience? 

With GenZ and millennials forming a large part of the consumer market, panellists addressed how customer service will have to change to keep up with evolving needs.

Reena Evans, of Acko, spoke about a general lack of awareness that GenZ and millennials display when buying insurance. She urged customers to be transparent about policy requirements, so that companies can align them with the right product. Anjani Kumar, of Tata AIG, seconded this, and highlighted the low levels of penetration in India. 

Amit Sharma, of Cytecare Cancer Hospitals, advocated for feedback analysis in the healthcare sector, citing its immense potential. Sharma revealed that most patients don’t share a completely truthful account of their experience with doctors out of the fear that it could compromise any future appointments. He hoped that a solution could be built that could create empathetic communication with patients, based on their experiences (positive or negative) with a doctor or healthcare provider.

Dr Shalu Srivastava, of Portea Medical, offered a counterpoint, stressing that feedback was contingent upon many factors and touchpoints in the customer journey. She stated that the entire customer experience could be tainted by one factor going wrong, and feedback should be treated with caution. 

As the discussion wound down, panellists discussed problems that needed to be addressed. While Lakshmipathy pointed out the futility of choosing monolithic technologies that would require consistent updating. Chander Damodaran, MD and Global CTO, Brillio, summarised things succinctly. “You can’t future proof a product, but you can be future-ready,” Damodaran said.

While AI continues to be a powerful force in customer experience, panellists were unanimous that it needs to be leveraged with strategic thought and tempered with genuine empathy.