Addressing customer needs before they even ask

According to Aparna Gupta, Executive Director, Customer Success, Microsoft India, there is a need for customer first digital strategy that enables enhanced omni-channel customer experience to be more agile in adapting to changing customer needs.

The pandemic saw a techceleration. What are some of the changes that came about in CX as a result?

The pandemic brought a tectonic shift in the ways we communicate, work and play. With social distancing measures in place, customers had to rely more on digital channels to meet their shopping and other essential needs. This directly affected how businesses manage resilient operations and customer experiences, leading to an increased adoption of digital channels like mobile apps, websites, and chatbots.

AI adoption is critical for organizations to overcome today’s toughest challenges and Microsoft Cloud is leading the charge with 95% of the Fortune 500 using it today

As a result, customer expectations and behaviour has also evolved as they now expect companies to provide more personalised experiences to them. According to Forrester, 75% of consumers say that the pandemic and related crises will drive long-term changes in their behaviours and preferences. There is a need for customer first digital strategy that enables enhanced omni-channel customer experience to be more agile in adapting to changing customer needs. The growing affinity of consumers for quick and round the clock service availability is pushing businesses to invest and deploy conversational AI. Also, organizations are pivoting to use insights drawn from the vast amount of data available to personalise customer experience, provide better recommendations and reduce the turnaround time without any human interaction. With the increased use of digital channels, companies have access to more data on their customers, which can be used to personalize the customer experience. For example, AskDISHA, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation’s (IRCTC) chatbot built by CoRover and powered by Azure, uses Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Understanding (NLU) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to handle billions of transactions with nearly zero waiting time per query.

AI is already being used in CX. What further kind of changes can we expect with generative AI applications like Chat-GPT/GPT-4 and the others that are coming on the way?

AI is the defining technology of our times and has immense potential to transform industries and society. As leaders look to embrace AI, it becomes more critical than ever to prioritize having a data-driven business, fortified with digital and cloud capabilities. This approach will help organizations leverage generative AI as an accelerant to transformation. Applications such as ChatGPT built on GPT-4 is expected to bring significant changes in the field of customer experience. These advanced AI models have the capability to provide more natural and human-like interactions between customers and business, improving the overall customer experience.

Generative AI uses algorithms to analyse existing data such as text and images to then make new content. Generative models like GPT-3, DALL-E, Variational Autoencoders learn the underlying probability distribution of the dataset and generate new examples from it. In contrast, discriminative models, like deep neural networks, learn to differentiate between different classes or categories, and are used for tasks that involves large corpus of data including image or speech.

In the Banking, Financial services, and Insurance (BFSI) industry, banks are using Microsoft’s Azure Bot Service to provide customers with quick and efficient customer service.

With the implementation of generative AI applications, organizations can provide proactive customer care by anticipating and addressing customer needs before they even ask. Generative AI uses large language models, making customer interactions more natural and human like. Chatbots can engage with customers more effectively resulting in more engaging conversations. The development of Conversational AI has also enabled multilingual interactions, making businesses more accessible to a wider range of customers. JioHaptik, one of the world’s largest conversational AI companies, is an example of this progress as it leverages Azure Cognitive Services to enable an AI translation model that supports end-to-end conversations in Hindi, English, and “Hinglish.”

What are the specific AI tools, apps and techniques is Microsoft using in the field of CX? While the Copilot has already taken off, what about its widespread enterprise use? What is Microsoft’s strategy here and how are we thinking about it?

AI adoption is critical for organizations to overcome today’s toughest challenges and Microsoft Cloud is leading the charge with 95% of the Fortune 500 using it today. Azure AI empowers every individual in any organization to achieve more secure, productive, enterprise-scale, solutions and 85% of Fortune 100 companies are already using it. Microsoft is committed to helping customers simplify and scale AI adoption with impactful services.

The launch of Copilot demonstrates our continuous development and expansion of AI tool capabilities. Copilot is a productivity tool that uses large language models and data from Microsoft graph (such as emails, chats and documents) to help users be more efficient. It operates within Microsoft 365 and prioritizes data security and privacy in the enterprise. Microsoft 365 Copilot is designed for the needs of the enterprise. The Dynamics 365 platform includes a range of AI features such as chatbots and virtual assistants that help to improve customer engagement and support. Additionally, we are leveraging our Azure cloud platform to develop AI-powered CX solutions. Azure’s Cognitive Services include a range of APIs and tools that can be used to build intelligent applications that can recognize speech, understand language, and analyse sentiment.

To ensure the highest levels of security, AI solutions must be delivered in a safe, secure and responsible way. At Microsoft, we are committed to upholding these principles with our security Copilot which reinforces our dedication to impactful and responsible AI practices. While technology plays a vital role, successful security is, and always will be a human endeavour. Microsoft Security Copilot is the first security product that empowers defenders to move at the speed and scale of AI. It combines OpenAI’s large language model with a security specific model from Microsoft, informed by our unique global threat intelligence and over 65 trillion daily signals. With Security Copilot, we are leading the way in secure, responsible, and effective AI-powered security solutions.

We are now entering a new era where AI will be the ultimate amplifier and defining technology of our time. Everything we encounter has the potential to be turned into a transaction, whether it is through social media, streaming channels, or in-store experiences.

As for Microsoft’s strategy for these tools and techniques, we are focussed on making them widely available to businesses of all sizes all over the world. Our goal is to democratize AI and make it accessible to everyone, regardless of their expertise. We are also extensively investing in research and development to improve the capabilities of AI tools and techniques and to explore new areas where AI can be applied to improve the customer experience.

How are various industries and verticals using AI differently in the field of CX?

Our customers and partners using Azure OpenAI Service represent Fortune’s Global 500 and Future 50 companies, Global Systems Integrators and Startups, and span multiple industries including financial services, insurance, healthcare and manufacturing. At Microsoft, we recognize the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in enhancing customer experiences (CX) across industries. Here are some examples of how AI is being utilized to transform CX in various sectors:

In the Retail industry, retailers are using chatbots powered by AI to provide quick and efficient customer service. Microsoft Business Applications enables organizations to revolutionize their CX, resulting in increased sales and improved operational efficiency that can drive meaningful growth and sustained profitability.

In the Banking, Financial services, and Insurance (BFSI) industry, banks are using Microsoft’s Azure Bot Service to provide customers with quick and efficient customer service. Additionally, banks are using Microsoft’s Azure Machine Learning and Azure Cognitive Services to detect and prevent fraud in real-time. Banks are using Microsoft’s Azure Machine Learning and Power BI to assess risk and make more informed lending decisions.

In the Healthcare industry, Microsoft’s Azure Machine Learning and AI tools can analyze large volumes of patient data to identify patterns and make predictions about future health outcomes. Healthcare providers are using Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 and Power Platform to create personalized care plans for patients based on their individual health needs and preferences.

Going forward, is the focus totally going to be on the digital customer in CX given the fact that everything is going online?

After facing the significant headwind of the global pandemic, businesses have faced a dramatic shift to serve their customers online, making online channels a business priority. Businesses are today stressing on providing an integrated and cohesive experience across all touchpoints allowing customers to connect through multiple channels. This rapid advancement in customer journey has also enabled solution providers to enhance their offerings to match the need of the industry.

We are now entering a new era where AI will be the ultimate amplifier and defining technology of our time. Everything we encounter has the potential to be turned into a transaction, whether it is through social media, streaming channels, or in-store experiences. The distinction between online and offline selling is fading with augmented reality, and physical stores embracing digital technologies.

Hence, it has become integral to empower enterprises with all the information they need to make the most of the face-to-face time with customers. With the recent developments, Microsoft is focused on empowering businesses with the information and insights they need to provide consistent and high-quality support. With its seamless integration with Microsoft’s existing customer service platform, Copilot holds the potential to enrich the customer journey across different touchpoints, be it online or offline. By providing enterprises with relevant information and insights, Copilot empowers enterprises to make the most of their face-to-face interactions with customers, leading to enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty.

While the focus on the online customer in customer experience is growing due to the increasing shift to online channels; with Copilot, Microsoft is focused on enriching the customer journey of both offline and online customers with AI.

Is CX different based on the device used, and how so?

Absolutely, the customer experience can vary depending on the device they use. Screen size, interface and functionality of different devices can impact the way customers interact with a business or brand and their overall experience. The Bing Edge and mobile apps act as a convenient Copilot for users on the go. For instance, the Bing mobile app features a new interface that includes a Bing icon at the bottom, allowing users to initiate a chat session. Users can also request responses in various formats such as bullet points, text or simplified responses making it ideal for those seeking quick answers. This feature is particularly useful for users with low bandwidth connections such as a famer in a remote village. On the other hand, a CEO of a retail company may prefer to use the desktop browser to access the sales report of their team and draw insights. Overall, the device used can significantly impact the customer experience, and it is essential for businesses to consider this when designing their user interfaces.

sunilr@cybermedia.co.in