Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving, and its impact is being felt across all industries and regions. Every day, more companies are leaning into AI as a powerful business tool. In fact, a new MIT report found that 97% of large companies will deploy AI by the end of 2020. With the support of AI, brands can better unify siloed data, provide in-the-moment insights to agents, and manage standard customer requests and questions. But as a relatively novel contact center tool, the full potential of AI is yet to be realized.

In its report, MIT surveyed over 1,000 senior executives of leading brands to identify how they’re using AI — and how they plan to in the future. Taking a closer look at the results, it’s clear that AI is already a major focus in consumer goods and retail firms, with over 47% using the technology in their customer care efforts. The potential of AI in contact centers is far reaching, including:

  • Predictive routing and engagement, ensuring every customer interaction reaches the right support and resolution
  • Bot functionality for both voice and chat, providing real-time, conversational service when the customer needs it most
  • Interaction analytics, identifying what went well and what could use improvement to continuously improve your customer experience

What’s more, AI can directly impact a brand’s ability to seamlessly unify data across channels. According to Tony Bates, CEO of Genesys, “The use of algorithms is helping companies to understand the channels that customers want to use in interactions, and precisely when they want to use them. AI makes it possible to learn about customer preferences near ‘the front door’— when and where interactions happen. It will challenge companies’ previous thinking about how they use traditional CRM systems and databases.”

Beginning with the first moment of brand discovery, AI can build unique customer profiles that dive deep into customer preferences, delivering the interactions they want and enhancing their experience. It’s important, however, that all AI activities — especially those related to data collection and activation — comply with local, federal and international laws. With over half of survey respondents expressing a need for more clarity regarding privacy regulation and standards, this can be a daunting task.

By implementing value-for-value exchanges, you can entice customers to share their data and express permission. AI can directly impact this effort by analyzing customer data and by identifying the proper value experience to provide. This could range from a special offer (e.g., 20% off your next order) to a unique experience (e.g., Join our exclusive club). When the value exchange is clearly communicated, customers are more willing to be an active participant in their customer profiles. AI can personalize offers and engagement, increasing the value to customers.

For those looking to implement AI for the first time, industry leaders recommend starting with small steps. A pilot program is an achievable way to explore the power of AI. With it, you can begin to integrate data, see how AI can help your business scale and more.

To learn more about how AI is affecting businesses like yours, check out the full report.