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Customer Experience (CX) focuses on helping customers achieve their needs or desires from a vendor or service provider. Zendesk is increasingly recognizing the significant impact of AI on CX. Over the years, Zendesk has been continually integrating AI into its intelligent CX platform.
Adrian McDermott, Zendesk’s Chief Technology Officer, was part of a panel at the VB Transform 2024 event discussing the role of generative AI in transforming CX. Before his session, he spoke with VentureBeat about Zendesk’s new report on the future of AI-powered CX.
The report, which surveyed over 1,300 senior CX leaders, revealed a strong interest in AI. It found that 81% of CX leaders believe AI will improve CX, and 86% anticipate that CX will be completely transformed within the next three years. Additionally, 77% of respondents think traditional CX will be replaced by radically different industry dynamics due to AI’s influence.
While not every organization prioritizes AI today, McDermott sees a clear direction and impact for Zendesk.
McDermott mentioned that, in a few years, AI will play a role in 100% of interactions for all their customers, whether through copilot experiences, knowledge discovery, or full conversational experiences.
Despite the prevalence of AI in CX, maintaining a human aspect is still crucial. McDermott highlighted the need for well-designed customer journeys and effective escalation protocols in AI-driven customer service. He pointed out that human conversations will always be important, and as customer interactions become more complex, tools supporting human agents will become increasingly essential.
To address the need for quality human interaction within AI-driven systems, Zendesk acquired Klaus, an Estonia-based Quality Assurance company, earlier this year. Klaus provides tools that help managers assess the quality of both human and AI interactions, ensuring the human experience remains integral in AI-driven customer service.
The report also indicates that fully embracing AI in customer service will take time. McDermott described three stages of AI implementation in customer service:
1. Human-in-the-middle: AI assists human agents, enhancing their efficiency and consistency.
2. Concierge implementation: AI manages initial interactions and simple queries, with humans stepping in as needed.
3. Expanded automation: AI takes on more customer interactions, with ongoing quality monitoring.
Many companies start with the first stage due to its lower risk and then gradually move towards more automation as they gain confidence in the technology.
Looking ahead, McDermott anticipates significant changes in the industry’s comfort level with AI over the next year, expecting that as more people gain real-world experience with AI in CX, adoption and trust in AI-driven solutions will grow.
However, he emphasizes that these changes will not happen overnight but will be a gradual evolution over time.