ONE, EMPOWERING SELF-SERVICE
Self-service is no longer just about cost savings; it ' s about delivering personalized experiences that empower customers.
According to Gartner, 73 % of customers use self-service at some point in their journey, and 89 % of companies now compete primarily on CX. This confirms that a digital-first service strategy is essential, and it better be effective and personalized, or customers will quickly seek alternatives.
In today ' s landscape, simply offering self-service isn ' t enough. To truly succeed, companies need an AI-powered experience strategy that unifies and connects the entire customer journey, starting with the ability to effectively self-serve with personalized guidance.
When customers fully resolve their issues using self-service, three things tend to be true: they understand the information, they trust the source of information, and they can confirm this is the best thing to solve their problem. In other words, customers feel confident.
XERO-ING IMPROVED SELF-SERVICE
Here is an example of how AI-powered CX can help businesses.
Xero is a global small business platform that has produced rich, contextualized content over the years. But to unlock this vast knowledge and content for its 4.2 million subscribers, it needed a new, different, and scalable way to deliver accurate, rapid answers to millions of questions every month.
Xero turned to Coveo in 2023 to provide generative answering on Xero Central, its global customer learning and support site. The company first began with a simple test to provide proof-of-concept and proof-of-technology, but this rapidly evolved into a full-scale integration with its platform.
Xero and Coveo, working together, meticulously optimized the content delivery to ensure customers receive the right information, at the right time, thereby streamlining its business operations.
Now, when a customer asks a question on Xero Central, they don’ t just receive a list of suggested links and help pages. Instead, they get an accurate, contextual, and generated answer tailored to their exact needs, with articles referenced for further clarification if needed.
As a result, Xero increased customer self-service resolution by 20 % and reduced average search times by 40 %. This generative answering capability enables 96 % of customers and users to successfully self-serve by accessing existing information in a new way.
“ The results have exceeded our expectations,” says Nigel Piper, Executive General Manager, Customer Experience at Xero.“ We’ re now expanding to other channels and experiences.”
TWO, ENABLING AGENTIC AI
AI-integrated chatbots are common for most service journeys, offering 24 / 7 support. Generative AI( GenAI) enhances them with more natural conversations and smarter routing.
But the real opportunity lies in Agentic AI. It is AI that is built on a reasoning engine with the ability to make decisions and take actions without the need of complicated workflows.
Agentic AI has the potential to transform the end-to-end CX, both in self-service and assisted support. Its ability to detect the customer’ s intent and take the right action to resolve issues or guide the agent through the resolution process is at the heart of the CX transformation.
30 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE
But the success of Agentic AI hinges on a robust data and content management strategy. These reasoning engines require accurate data to make informed decisions and identify the most relevant information to answer questions and resolve issues. Without this, the experience will fall short of customer expectations.
To make these choices and identifications necessitates a shift towards a broader, corporate-wide knowledge management program. One that encompasses all teams contributing to enterprise content( R & D, Product Management, Marketing, Customer Success, Professional Services, etc.).
The goal is to document the entire customer journey, enabling Agentic AI to deliver complete, personalized answers to all customer situations. Cross-functional collaboration is also crucial for managing customer data, ensuring every experience is tailored to the individual user.
For companies considering Agentic AI, whether in self-service or assisted support, investing in these capabilities is paramount. The payoff is a proactive, personalized experience that anticipates customer needs and resolves issues with unprecedented efficiency.
THINK OF AI AS A PERSONAL GUIDE FOR EACH CUSTOMER...
THREE, EXPERIENCE UNIFICA- TION AND PERSONALIZATION
With 81 % of customers preferring companies that offer a tailored experience, personalization is no longer a luxury; it ' s an expectation. AI offers a powerful solution by enhancing both search and omnichannel experiences, delivering unprecedented levels of personalization and convenience.
Think of AI as a personal guide for each customer, instantly providing relevant answers and tailored recommendations based on their real-time behavior and past interactions. Only AI can connect the dots and unify the experience across the entire customer journey, regardless of channel.