A global survey of more than 550 senior executives across 30 countries and territories reports that 91% of ‘iconic’ companies will deploy artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to increase customer satisfaction, compared to 42% of companies in their fields overall.
The new report from MIT Technology Review is sponsored by Genesys, known as Getting to Iconic, reveals that firms are more likely to recognise automated AI tools are most effective when they supplement and extend the capabilities of their customer support team, rather than replace human investment.
As such, 60% of survey respondents felt they had the right mix of automated customer communication channels, compared to only 26% of the poor performers and 40% overall.
The report also noted that optimising tools, applications and operational processes to engage with customers across every stage of their shared journey has always been a core growth strategy for successful global firms. This has only accelerated with the advance of technologies such as big data analytics, which turns customer information into predictive assets, and virtual assistants, which help firms more efficiently manage customer inquiries.
Iconic companies are also nearly three times as likely to consider leadership in technology adoption as a crucial component of maintaining customer experience excellence. In contrast, only half of firms with low levels of customer experience satisfaction and low brand recognition currently employ enabling technologies, and 10% have no intention of doing so.
Merijn te Booij, Chief Marketing Officer at Genesys says: “We’re excited that Kate, our new customer experience AI, will enable a smooth and contextual handoff between bots and humans. The combined power of automation with the finesse of the human touch across the enterprise delivers the kind of blended AI solution every customer experience leader needs today.”
Overall, Getting to Iconic determines iconic companies are much more advanced in their deployment of leading customer experience technologies, including the use of emerging AI applications. They are also much more able to follow customers across all channels, and manage customer experience levels across their extended ecosystem.
