Healthy mix of digital with human assisted CX the key

Nikhil Pereira, Customer Experience (CX) Practice Leader at Tech Mahindra talks of leveraging AI to analyze hundreds and thousands of customer touchpoints and feed insights at a macro and micro ecosystem that use technology to provide differentiated service.

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

With the pandemic CX leaders like it or not had to adopt technology to offer their customer Digital-First CX. Post Covid CX has become multi-device and always-on. Technologies such as Smart Speakers are going channels for CX as they provide handsfree always on channels for customers to interact with the service providers be it eCommerce, retail, healthcare, insurance etc. Customers want to interact with their service providers on their channel of choice and not be compelled to use their website or mobile app. Customers now expect personalized customer service that is proactive rather than reactive. Studies show customers are willing to pay more for good CX hence price is no longer the key parameter organizations need to focus on.

Leveraging AI to analyze hundreds and thousands of customer touchpoints and feed insights at a macro and micro ecosystem that use technology to provide differentiated service, which will ultimately brands create a unique CX value proposition in the highly competitive market.

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 a critical asset to CX. AI coupled with generative AI/Large Language models will pave the way to predictive, proactive and personalized CX. Leveraging AI to analyze hundreds and thousands of customer touchpoints and feed insights at a macro and micro ecosystem that use technology to provide differentiated service, which will ultimately brands create a unique CX value proposition in the highly competitive market.

What are the specific AI tools, apps and techniques Tech Mahindra is using in the field of CX?

Tech Mahindra is on the forefront in all things CX be it new-age technologies such as Conversational AI we have our proprietary framework called m.ai.a, we have an AI/ML based analytics platform SeeR. We have a Metaverse offering called TechMVerse. We have also co-created offerings with our partners such as Celonis for Frictionless Customer Experience.

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

Every industry is looking at ways to capitalize on AI and various industries are finding niche areas to leverage AI. For example, the most potent industry is retail and ecommerce where they are using AI to shift the service pyramid where AI is the first point of contact with humans at the end of the support system handling exceptions and complex queries. They also using AI to enhance the support experience with Augmented and Virtual Reality offerings. FinTech is also greatly using AI to provide curated financial experiences that are tied into a Digital-First ecosystem to provide effortless CX.

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

Yes, there will continue to be tremendous focus on Digital-First CX as this model has been well accepted by customers globally for every single industry. Even critical industries such as healthcare has gladly embraced digital with the rise of digital consultations over video conferencing tools but even social messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger etc. In this day and age of hyper-care and the constantly evolving CX model organizations cannot afford to not invest in digital. However, organizations need to be careful not to overtly force digital on their customers and make it impossible to interact with a human. Organizations that build a healthy mix of digital with human assisted CX will emerge as industry leaders.

Nikhil Pereira

Customer Experience (CX) Practice Leader, Tech Mahindra

sunilr@cybermedia.co.in