GDS Conference Recap: Blending AI and Empathy

As sky-high customer expectations run up against the push towards automation, customer experience teams must find the right blend of AI and human empathy to maximize resources and deliver superior service. The GDS Boston panel on "Crafting Seamless CX" focused on how businesses should think about integrating chatbots and "human experiences" to meet this challenge.

Chatbots are here to stay. 

The shift towards more sophisticated conversational AI dominated the conversation. This evolution from simpler systems to AI-driven, data-powered solutions marks a leap forward in our ability to offer tailored, efficient customer interactions.

"We have an opportunity to use conversational AI and your data to build really smart conversational AI."
- Heather Hughes, Director of Product Marketing, NICE

Embrace all chatbot technology (new and old).  

The strategic implementation of both GPT and rules-based chatbots forms the cornerstone of a forward-thinking CX strategy.

While large language model (LLM) chatbots have showcased remarkable proficiency in handling Q&A use cases, more "traditional" chatbots using NLP models are similarly improving by leaps and bounds. The true potential of customer service automation lies in the strategic application of both LLM and rules-based chatbots together.

"If we are able to adjust the way we interact with people as they come in and use chatbots and AI models as waypoints... we can become better at delivering customer experiences."
- Milton Jackson, Vice President of Customer Growth, The Hartford

"These interactions are happening now, and we can use the power of artificial intelligence to make the experience better now. Eliminate the friction now."
- Heather Hughes, Director of Product Marketing, NICE

Across the board, automation systems are becoming better. Moreover, for businesses to meet aggressive automation and containment goals, they should lean into the various strengths and capabilities of both these solutions when designing journeys.

Create “humanized" experiences.

Customers seek a humanized experience, which doesn't necessarily mean talking to a human but feeling recognized and valued.

"I think the assumption was that that meant talking to a human and what we learned through going out and talking to our own customers… it really means less about talking to a human and more about feeling like a human."
- Trish Wethman, Chief Customer Officer, Best Egg

The discussion emphasized the importance of acknowledging customers' history with a brand and personalizing interactions to make them feel seen and heard. This approach helps address customers' unique needs and reinforces their connection with the brand. Indeed, technology is key to delivering these "humanized experiences" either by assisting human agents with information when they need it or by incorporating them into the automation flow.

Customers crave recognition and personalization; they want to interact with brands that understand their unique history and preferences. Technology, at its best, may enhance human elements of service engagements rather than diminishing them.

Adopt conversational analytics.

The panelists emphasized the importance of a unified analytics platform that integrates various channels of customer feedback to provide a comprehensive view of the customer. This intelligence should be made available for agents to improve their performance, as well as to provide better customer insights for the overall business.

"And what a unified platform can do is... through speech and text analytics see what the customer is asking about."
- Heather Hughes, Director of Product Marketing, NICE

Moreover, AI's analytical strengths and human empathy are complementary. AI excels in processing and analyzing vast datasets, enabling unprecedented levels of scale and efficiency. In turn, this frees up humans from the laborious task of coding data to instead engage in understanding the subtleties of customer needs. 

"The importance of the human element in interpreting that data...is probably more crucial today than it was two or three years ago."
- Milton Jackson, Vice President of Customer Growth, The Hartford

Prepare for the future.

For CX professionals, the evolving landscape necessitates a blended approach of technologies. There are two ways this relates to our mission:

1. Embrace a variety of Chatbot solutions: Businesses should focus on deploying a blend of traditional and LLM-powered chatbots. The key to success is implementing an analytics layer across all their solutions. Dashbot's value proposition is that, as your automation deployments expand or change, the technology you use to evaluate them can remain the same.

2. Implement Omni-channel conversational analytics: More than ever, businesses need a unified conversational data platform that integrates all channels of customer interactions for a holistic view of the customer journey. Dashbot provides a channel-agnostic solution—we can deliver a full analysis starting in the chatbot onto a live chat and even incorporate survey feedback about the interaction all from separate tools.

We're thrilled to be part of the conversation and share these learnings with you as we continue to learn from our peers and practitioners at events like GDS. The conference offered valuable insights into the evolving landscape of customer experience, and we look forward to seeing you all again soon.