How Brands Can Use AI To A Better Customer Experience
TLDRThe panel discussion, moderated by Lindsay Elleryby, VP of Product and Design at Flybits, explores how brands can enhance customer experiences using AI. Panelists Eric Fige, Joanna Pena Bley, and Chris McKay discuss the importance of literacy, trust, and ethical use of AI, emphasizing the need for a human-centered approach. They highlight the evolving nature of customer interactions with AI and stress the significance of multimodal design to create richer, healthier experiences, while also considering the business outcomes and the symbiotic relationship between humans and machines.
Takeaways
- 🧑💼 AI is transforming customer relationships and experiences, with applications like smart agents, natural language processing (NLP), and predictive models becoming integral to customer service.
- 🤖 AI isn't new, but the current wave of technology has made it more accessible and beneficial, allowing for new interfaces and experiences that can enhance customer interactions.
- 🛍️ Customers don't want to just buy products; they seek solutions to their problems, like saving for their children's future or efficiently transporting their family safely.
- 💡 Brands need to focus on the emotional and functional outcomes that customer experiences should provide, considering the 'jobs to be done' in the world of design.
- 🔗 AI should be embedded throughout the entire customer journey, from awareness to onboarding to ongoing usage, to create a seamless and personalized experience.
- 👨🏫 Businesses must prioritize AI literacy and education for their customers, helping them understand and trust the technology as they interact with it.
- 🔒 Trust is crucial in AI adoption; companies must ensure that their AI systems are transparent, ethical, and provide users with control over their data and interactions.
- 📈 AI can drive business outcomes by aligning with human values, such as wellness and financial health, creating a symbiotic relationship between business goals and customer needs.
- 👥 The collaboration between data scientists, designers, and product owners is essential to create customer experiences that are both technologically advanced and human-centered.
- 🌐 Multimodal and multisensory experiences are becoming increasingly important, as they cater to a broader range of human senses and can lead to richer, healthier interactions with technology.
- 🔄 Feedback loops and the human-in-the-loop concept are vital for the continuous evolution of AI systems, ensuring that they adapt and improve in response to user interactions and needs.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the panel discussion led by Lindsay Ellerby?
-The main focus of the panel discussion is on how brands can utilize AI to improve customer experience, exploring the disruption of traditional customer relationships and the new experiences AI offers.
What is Flybits and what role does Lindsay Ellerby have at the company?
-Flybits is a platform that assists banks in leveraging data to deliver personalized, contextual, and relevant customer experiences. Lindsay Ellerby serves as the VP of Product and Design at Flybits.
What is the significance of the statement 'people don't want to buy things' in the context of AI and customer experience?
-The statement emphasizes that customers are not interested in products for the sake of them; they are interested in solving problems or achieving goals. AI should be focused on providing emotional and functional outcomes that align with these needs.
What is the role of AI literacy in delivering successful customer experiences, according to Chris McKay?
-AI literacy is crucial as it helps educate users about the technology they are interacting with. It builds trust by ensuring users understand the technology, feel in control, and are aware of the accuracy and ethical sourcing of data used in AI models.
How does Joanna Pena Bley's background as a design engineer and her work with Vibes AI relate to the discussion on AI and customer experience?
-Joanna Pena Bley's background in design engineering and her role as the founder and CEO of Vibes AI, an AI pioneer, make her an expert in cognitive experience design. Her multidisciplinary approach in research, design, technology, and media is essential for creating AI-driven customer experiences.
What does Eric Fige believe is the key to aligning business objectives with customer experiences in industries like finance and healthcare?
-Eric Fige believes that marrying business objectives with human values, such as wellness and condition of the consumer, is critical. He emphasizes the importance of a collaborative approach between data scientists, designers, and product owners to work in harmony.
What is the importance of considering the emotional and functional outcomes when designing AI-driven customer experiences?
-Considering emotional and functional outcomes is important because it ensures that the AI-driven experiences are meaningful and relevant to the customer's needs and desires, leading to more satisfying and effective interactions.
How does the evolution of AI and customer expectations affect the design and development of new products and services?
-The continuous evolution of AI and changing customer expectations require designers and developers to create adaptable and flexible products and services. They must also bake in feedback loops to ensure the technology evolves in harmony with its users.
What are some of the challenges businesses face when trying to integrate AI into their customer experience strategies?
-Challenges include ensuring AI literacy among customers, building trust through transparency and ethical data practices, managing the pace of technology adoption, and avoiding a 'black box' approach where customers do not understand how AI decisions are made.
How can companies ensure that their AI systems are providing accurate and reliable information to customers?
-Companies can ensure accuracy and reliability by being transparent about their data sources, using confidence scoring to indicate the reliability of AI-generated responses, and maintaining a high level of accuracy in their AI models.
What is the role of multimodal design in creating richer and healthier customer experiences, as discussed by Joanna Pena Bley?
-Multimodal design, which incorporates multiple senses and not just visual input, can lead to less cognitive overload and a more engaging, human-like interaction with technology. It can also contribute to wellness, as seen in applications like Vibes AI's work with the Alzheimer's Association.
Outlines
😀 Introduction to the Panel on Customer Experience and AI
Lindsay Ellerby, VP of Product and Design at Flybits, introduces the panelists and sets the stage for a discussion on customer experience and AI. She outlines her own extensive experience in user experience, design, and innovation. Panelists include Eric Fige, a digital strategy leader with a track record in financial services and healthcare; Joanna Pena Bley, founder and CEO of Vibes AI and a pioneer in cognitive experience design; and Chris McKay, CEO and Editor in Chief of Imaginative, focusing on AI literacy and ethical use. The panel aims to explore how AI is transforming customer relationships and experiences, and the importance of personalization and context in banking and other services.
🤖 Embedding AI in Customer Experience: Trust and Literacy
Chris McKay discusses the importance of AI literacy and building trust with users as AI becomes more integrated into customer experiences. He uses the evolution of spell check technology as a metaphor for how trust is built over time through user education and control. McKay emphasizes the need for businesses to establish trust by being transparent about data sources, confidence scoring, and the accuracy of AI-generated content. He also touches on the rapid pace of technological change and the importance of designing AI systems that respect user autonomy and privacy.
👵 Overcoming Age Barriers with AI: Alexa's Appeal to the Elderly
The conversation shifts to the adoption of AI technologies like Alexa, particularly among the elderly population. It is highlighted that the initial release of a product is just the beginning of its evolution and that customer trust and satisfaction are paramount for long-term success. The panelists discuss the importance of iterative design, where feedback loops allow for continuous improvement and adaptation to customer needs. They also emphasize the need for AI systems to be transparent about their capabilities and limitations to maintain user trust.
💡 Business and Design Synergies in AI-Driven Experiences
Eric Fige joins the discussion, emphasizing the alignment of business goals with customer experiences, especially in highly regulated industries like finance and healthcare. He discusses the importance of self-determination theory in creating engaging customer experiences, which include elements of mastery, relevance, and autonomy. Fige also touches on the challenges of integrating technology with human-centric design and the need for data scientists, designers, and product owners to work together to create personalized experiences at scale.
🎥 Multimodal Design and the Future of AI Interactions
Joanna Pena Bley delves into the concept of multimodal design, which goes beyond visual input to include other senses, creating less cognitive overload and more human-centric experiences. She discusses the prototype of Vibes AI, which focuses on controlling hearing as a means to prevent dementia and Alzheimer's. Pena Bley highlights the importance of designing AI devices that are multisensory and can adapt to the evolving needs of users, emphasizing the potential for AI to enhance human experiences and contribute to overall wellness.
🚀 The Evolution of AI and Customer Expectations
The panelists reflect on the rapid evolution of AI and its impact on customer expectations. They discuss the importance of keeping up with the 'last best experience' a customer has had anywhere, as this becomes the new minimum expectation for all services. The conversation covers the transformative impact of AI on industries like ride-hailing and how it has changed the way customers expect to interact with services. The panel also emphasizes the need for AI to be adaptable and to learn from its users, creating a symbiotic relationship that evolves over time.
🔄 Feedback Loops and the Human-AI Symbiosis
The final part of the discussion centers on the importance of feedback loops in the human-AI relationship. The panelists agree that as AI learns and evolves with its users, it's crucial to incorporate human feedback into the design and development process. They also touch on the potential for AI to reveal new business models and strategies when integrated with customer experience. The conversation concludes with a look at the future of AI in enterprise settings, suggesting a shift towards smaller, more agile teams that can adapt to the evolving landscape of technology and customer needs.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡AI
💡Customer Experience
💡Personalization
💡User Experience
💡Data Leverage
💡Human-Centered Design
💡Trust
💡Multimodal Experiences
💡Ethical Data Sourcing
💡Feedback Loops
Highlights
Lindsay Ellerby, VP of product and design at Flybits, discusses leveraging data to deliver personalized customer experiences.
Eric Fige, managing director at vshift, talks about his experience with digital transformation in financial services, healthcare, and technology.
Joanna Pena Bley, CEO of Vibes AI, is known as the mother of cognitive experience design and shares her insights on AI and design.
Chris McKay, CEO of Imaginative, emphasizes the importance of AI literacy and ethical use in business.
AI is disrupting traditional customer relationships and experiences, with smart agents and NLP making interactions more humanlike.
The panel discusses the importance of focusing on emotional and functional outcomes in customer experience design.
Chris McKay highlights the need for user education and trust building in AI adoption.
Joanna Pena Bley stresses the significance of understanding the customer's journey and building trust incrementally.
The panel agrees that AI isn't new, but the current wave allows for new interfaces and experiences.
Eric Fige discusses the business outcomes and drivers in highly regulated industries like finance and healthcare.
The importance of self-determination theory in customer experience is highlighted, focusing on mastery, relevance, and autonomy.
Lindsay Ellerby points out the evolution from human-centered design to truly connecting with human experiences.
Joanna Pena Bley talks about the potential of multimodal design and products to create richer, healthier experiences.
The panel emphasizes the importance of considering both AI and customer evolution when building products.
Feedback loops and human-in-the-loop are essential for creating great outcomes in AI and customer experience.
Eric Fige mentions the potential for AI to reveal new business models and strategies in enterprises.
The panel concludes by discussing the symbiosis between humans and machines and the importance of multimodal, connected experiences.
