Intelligent CIO Kuwait Issue 1 | Page 18

EDITOR’S QUESTION ///////////////// W hile it is tempting for every business to look at AI as the magic pill that could drastically improve the customer experience, in reality the results may not be the same for all businesses. AI is no magic; ultimately it is a set of algorithms whose effectiveness depends on how well it is actually implemented. What is even more crucial is the amount and relevance of historical data available to train the AI systems. So businesses have to fundamentally understand all aspects of their business and the customer touch points, model them effectively in the various software applications and retain the necessary data over a period of time to be able to even start training the AI systems to eventually help them solve business problems. The other important consideration is the business’ understanding of the customer base, the touch points and the engagement channels that have been 18 INTELLIGENTCIO built and commissioned, and factors like if the business has low numbers of high- engagement customers or a high number of low-engagement customers. Before investing in AI technologies, businesses should clearly understand if they have a sufficient amount of data that the AI system can learn from and accurately engage with customers for their requests and issues. The same goes for engagement channels like chatbots, if the business has a low number of high value and close-engagement customers, it is better to have the human touch, whereas for businesses serving a huge number of customers, often needing trivial help, investing in chatbots gives great ROI. AI of course can greatly enhance customer experience by being available all the time, providing lightning fast response without sounding fatigued, but businesses should clearly define the readiness and gating factors with respect to their environment and not do AI just for the sake of it, giving in to the hype. “ BEFORE INVESTING IN AI TECHNOLOGIES, BUSINESSES SHOULD CLEARLY UNDERSTAND IF THEY HAVE SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF DATA THAT THE AI SYSTEM CAN LEARN FROM AND ACCURATELY ENGAGE WITH CUSTOMERS FOR THEIR REQUESTS AND ISSUES. www.intelligentcio.com