When it comes to artificial intelligence, one of the most common questions in the mind of retail customer experience leaders is, “what will happen to humans when AI takes over?” “Will AI eliminate humans in the contact centre?” On one side of projections, analysts cite a dismal future for the role of live agents in retail, with estimates of redundancy within the decade. These sensationalists, as I’ll call them, are more interested in evoking shock than they are in preparing customer experience leaders for the future. Continue reading Will AI eliminate humans in the retail contact centre? →

As the customer experience continues to evolve and omni-channel engagement becomes more commonplace, the appetite for automated customer self-service – such as text-based chatbots – is leading many businesses to take steps to deploy technologies to make this a reality. Continue reading Successful automated customer self-service can only be achieved through mastery of natural language processing, says Aspect Software →

Surely robots don’t get tired, can work 24/7, are fully skilled at what they are programmed to do, and don’t have any pesky motivational issues – so their productivity must always be consistently high? Absolutely not. This is according to Neil Bentley, Non-Executive Director & Co-Founder of ActiveOps, a leading provider of digital operations management solutions. Continue reading Robot productivity fluctuates just as much as human productivity does →

As new technologies and changing compliance requirements transform customer interactions, a blended approach to customer service is critical, says Colin Hay at Puzzel. In the first of his ‘people, process and technology’ blog series, he explains more… Continue reading Delivering an exceptional customer experience through people, process and technology – a three point plan →

WH Smith published its third quarter earnings after it was voted worst shop on the high street by Which? 5 years in a row for its poor service, high prices and untidy shops. According to Intelenet Global Services in this fast-paced, hypercompetitive retail environment, customers expect a single brand experience across all channels. Continue reading British Icon WH Smith feels the expensive price to pay for poor customer experience →

Quality assurance (QA) is an essential process within any business, but did you know it’s also the key to creating a culture of good governance? Martin Ellingham, Senior Product Manager for Aptean Respond, explains why… Continue reading How to create a culture of good governance through QA →