The humanizing power of AI in CX

With all the hype around AI, it’s easy to forget that, no matter what industry you’re in, every interaction is ultimately in service of humans. And when we operate from this principle, we can see how transformational AI can be. This is especially true for CX leaders.

For over a century, we’ve heard that the customer is always right, but as we look ahead to a future powered by AI innovation and promise, we must remind ourselves of a simple truth: the customer is always human. Because on the other end of every call, text, or chat is a real person wanting to return a gift for their granddaughter, or make an airport connection so they can get home in time for dinner.

This focus on the human is all the more important as we advance toward a world where 100 percent of customer interactions involve AI in some form, and 80 percent of all inquiries will be resolved without the help of a human agent. It’s a massive amount of change in a very short period of time, but when done right, AI can help you create connections that feel more personal, more authentically human with your customers.

The right experience for every customer, every time

Customer experiences that reflect exactly who a person is, what their preferences are, and what they need at that exact moment are possible—and will soon be expected. Just as no two humans are exactly alike, no two interactions with a customer are exactly the same. Issues change, moods change, and AI can help organizations quickly assess what someone needs and how they’re feeling before prescribing the right mix of automation and human assistance to help them.

Whether automating actions and recommendations, running the entirety of a support interaction, or empowering a human agent, AI helps teams recognize points of friction and deliver richer engagement. Rather than serve a list of suggested help center links, Zendesk AI agents have the intelligence to navigate the twists and turns of customer conversations and resolve even the most complex tickets. And with Zendesk AI copilot in their corner, every human agent will know exactly what to say and do at every step of every bespoke customer interaction, thanks to their copilot’s proactive guidance.

Beyond more personalized and proactive service, AI makes it easier to get help. We’ve known for years that minimizing customer effort is one of the strongest drivers of satisfaction. AI stands to dramatically simplify the customer experience and transform how service is delivered in just three years’ time.

We’ve heard that the customer is always right, but as we look ahead to a future powered by AI innovation and promise, we must remind ourselves of a simple truth: the customer is always human.

AI that speaks customer service

But not all AI is created equal. Realizing this vision requires AI that actually understands your customers because it was built to do so. Only AI trained on billions of customer interactions knows in an instant how best to serve them. And only AI that reasons and orchestrates across your systems can bring your entire operation together, front to back, in an end-to-end, secure solution.

You no longer have to choose between efficiency and customer connection or cost and quality. The right solution can achieve all of this. When you can streamline the path to resolution, either through full automation or boosting the productivity of your human agents, you can build a more efficient and empathetic customer experience. By resolving issues faster, at higher volumes, and with higher customer satisfaction, you can serve the needs of your business and get your customers back to what matters most: living their lives.

Powering exceptional experiences for all

Zendesk was founded on the belief that we could improve customer experiences with a digital-first approach. Nearly two decades later and we’re here to disrupt the industry once again—this time with AI.

We believe AI shouldn’t be something that you bolt on like a sidekick and have to constantly prompt for answers. The magic happens when you have AI purpose-built to enhance human connection sitting at the core of your system, continually learning and improving over time, resolving more issues through automation, enhancing the productivity of agents, and enabling you to assess and fix issues with confidence. It all adds up to exceptional service that’s more accurate, personalized, and empathetic for every human that you touch.

This isn’t some far-flung future; this is here and now. With AI that knows exactly what your customers need before they do, that gets smarter and better over time, that doesn’t require an advanced degree to work, we are helping businesses seize this opportunity to create richer, more human experiences for all involved—agents, admins, managers, and most certainly your customers.

At Zendesk, we’re democratizing AI by making it easy to use, affordable, and accessible for all. Learn more about our approach and join us in our mission to power exceptional service for every person on the planet.