ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
AI works best when it is part of a broader operating system for performance, not when it is treated as a shortcut around leadership, training, process improvement, and employee engagement.
PRACTICAL QUESTIONS FOR CONTACT CENTER LEADERS
Before implementing or expanding AI, leaders should ask:
• Have we clearly communicated the purpose of AI to our employees?
• Have we involved frontline employees in identifying the best use cases?
• Have we cleaned up our knowledge base, SOPs, and process inconsistencies?
• What is our actual goal in implementing AI: cost containment, customer satisfaction, or agent engagement and retention?
• Where can AI help our human agents the most, not just our customers?
• Have we created feedback loops so agents can flag where AI is helping, hurting, or creating new friction?
The organizations that get AI right will not be the ones that simply automate the most. They will use AI to remove friction, elevate frontline performance, reduce customer effort, and strengthen the relationships between employees, customers, and the business.
AI, THEN, DOES NOT MAKE AGENTS LESS IMPORTANT. INSTEAD, IT MAKES THEIR SKILLS MORE IMPORTANT.
AI may be new, but the leadership lesson is not. Technology performs best when people are prepared, involved, and supported.
The last technology rollout should have taught us that. AI gives contact centers another chance to get it right.
MIKE AOKI
ADAM BOELKE
Mike Aoki, President of Reflective Keynotes, trains EQ-based customer service and sales skills for regulated Canadian institutions. A 2026 CX Network Top 50 AI Leader. Adam Boelke, CEO of Alignment Advantage Group Consulting, created the 7 Cs to Success ® Leadership Operating System to align leadership and culture to optimize performance.
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