Feature
The Gist
- The double-edged sword of AI in customer experience and marketing. AI's introduction, exemplified by platforms like ChatGPT, offers transformative potential for marketing and customer experience, from predictive analytics to personalization. But it has cautions.
- Practical applications of AI in enhancing the customer experience. AI-powered chatbots, IVRs and virtual assistants can swiftly address common customer queries, allowing human agents to handle more intricate cases.
- The need for thoughtful AI integration. While the adoption of AI continues to accelerate, there's a growing understanding of the need for careful planning when implementing AI tools. The technology's incorporation should consider how customers interact with it, and ensure that it complements rather than replaces the human element in customer experience.
Marketers and customer experience (CX) professionals undoubtedly stand at the precipice of a new era. An era fueled by the profound potential of artificial intelligence (AI), a technology promising to transform the way we understand and engage with our customers.
As powerful as it can be, it’s also a source of debate, and a harbinger of change — one that directly impacts customer service and support agents, for instance.
The ongoing conversation has moved beyond the realm of “if” and into the more complex territory of “how.” How do we use AI to augment our strategies without diluting the human element that forms the core of our disciplines? How do we harness this tool to drive efficiency, while ensuring ethical practices and maintaining the trust of our customers? Can it help practitioners in the realm of things like digital experience management?
Can AI have a tangible impact on marketing and customer experience now — and now as in 2023? From predictive analytics to machine learning algorithms, AI has introduced new opportunities and challenges.
“AI's infusion into the customer experience and marketing arenas since ChatGPT's disruptive entrance onto the scene in November of 2022 has been nothing short of transformative,” said Brianna Langley Henderson, regional CX strategist for Waste Connections, and a CMSWire Advisory Board member and CMSWire Contributor. “Since then, we've seen companies increasingly turn to AI-powered tools and solutions to enhance their customer experience strategies, optimize their marketing efforts and improve overall bottom line. From predictive analytics to machine learning algorithms, AI has provided marketers and CX professionals with an array of powerful technologies that have the power to help them understand their audiences better, personalize their messaging, and, ultimately, drive conversions.”
We caught up Langley Henderson and other CMSWire advisers to cut through these opportunities and challenges as they relate to CX and marketing practitioners.
AI’s Not the Ultimate Marketing Path Forward?
Not everyone’s all in on AI, though.
Jeb Dasteel of Dasteel Consulting and a CMSWire Contributor said we’ve got a ways to go before AI can be deemed the savior for marketing experiences.
“At the risk of sounding like a heretic, I’m not bullish on AI’s contribution to strategic marketing or experience management,” Dasteel tells CMSWire. “Are there tactical gains in improved efficiencies, new business opportunities and improved job quality? Sure, no question about it. I’m as onboard for that as anyone else. But when you look at strategic imperatives for 2023, is AI going to get us there? Nope.”
Then what will?
According to Dasteel, the imperatives for marketing and customer experience management should be:
- Creating a cohesive experience strategy that envelopes customer feedback and analytics, engagement, success advocacy, and driving customer-centered organizational change.
- Doing a better job of linking experience management objectives to the company’s strategy.
- Connecting employee experience and customer experience. In tough economic conditions, employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction are more interdependent and essential than ever.
Related Article: Good Customer Data Fuels AI Revolution in Customer Experience Management
Leadership, Human Engagement and Strong CX-EX Will Drive Best Path Forward
The path forward for each of these relies on leadership, human engagement and relating customer outcomes to employee outcomes, he added.
“AI can help around the edges, but humans lead, engage and are uniquely able to apply the social skills and creativity needed to change the status quo and innovate,” Dasteel said. “No amount of machine learning will get that job done. If general artificial intelligence were here, I’d reconsider, but — even at today’s pace of AI development — we are a long way off.”
He believes that while AI can support human endeavors, the crucial leadership and creativity needed in strategic decisions still rest with humans. AI must work hand-in-hand with human roles, rather than replace them.
Nichole Hinton, owner and principal CX consultant at LYSI Holding Company and a CMSWire Contributor, shares a similar perspective adding, "Humans want more interaction with other humans, not 'machines.’”
While AI works for faster analysis of data and predictions for trends/outcomes, Hinton’s not convinced it's great for anything else.
“Right now, many brands using AI are trying to better understand why they are getting poorer ratings on customer experience, and it's fairly simple — humans want more interaction with other humans, not 'machines,' she said. “Over time, it's going to look poorer on organizations replacing people with this technology, simply because it saved money. This is in addition to some organizations not practicing responsible AI which can lead to what feels like an invasion of privacy, for the sake of highly personalized experiences. Largely, I think there are a lot of great and practical uses, but it's still so new that any organization needs to put a lot of thought and careful planning into why/how they want to use it.”
Related Article: Accelerating Customer Adoption of AI-Driven Personalization
Cultural Shift and Awareness: AI’s Here Now and Here to Stay
However, some see AI adoption accelerating across various industries, largely due to increased awareness of the benefits AI can offer. And we all know ChatGPT’s record-breaking numbers for application adoption.
Shri Nandan, vice president, head of digital products and product management for Momentum Financial Services Group, notes the shift saying, "There is a bigger appetite across industries and organizations for investing in initiatives that use AI because there is more awareness now." Nandan indicates that the value proposition of AI has become more apparent, causing a meaningful cultural shift toward AI adoption.
“It is not something we can postpone for the future,” Nandan said. “AI is here, easily consumable and has proven to show dramatic results. That is creating a cultural shift that we should exploit and harness to create better experiences for the customer.”
Efficiency Gains, Personalized Experiences and Better Data Analysis
So how can and will AI be adopted in customer experience and marketing circles?
According to Nandan:
Quicker Solutions: AI-Powered Chatbots, IVRs and Sentiment Analysis
Using AI powered chatbots and IVRs can ensure customers no longer have to be “on hold." Especially for industries that rely heavily on the voice of the customer (such as airlines), it is critical that they start adopting and incorporating machine learning into their customer interactions.
Webinar
Sep
25
CMS Briefing: A Live Look at What’s Next in AI-Driven Platforms
Learn how leading organizations are using AI‑driven tools to publish faster, personalize smarter and stay secure.
Register
Webinar
On demand
Ready or Not: How Data-First Organizations Are Unlocking Agentforce Potential
Learn how to cut through the noise, activate Agentforce and build a Salesforce AI strategy that actually delivers.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
AI in Customer Service: Faster Resolutions, Happier Customers
Don’t let rising demand burn out your team. See how to build a smarter, more resilient support org.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
From Hype to High-Impact CX Strategies That Actually Scale
Turn buzzworthy AI and outsourcing trends into measurable CX wins with fresh 2025 data.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
Insights to Action Rethinking the Contact Center for Real Business Impact
Join our exclusive webinar to hear CX executives share their innovative strategies for transforming service delivery.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
Accelerating Healthcare Ops with AI
Sign up to see how your peers are putting AI to work — and making it stick.
Watch Now
Similarly, Langley Henderson notes the role of virtual assistants in streamlining customer service, arguing that these bots "can answer common questions, provide recommendations, and even resolve customer issues, freeing up time for customer service agents to focus on more complex cases."
Henderson this year wants to see an increase in AI-powered sentiment analysis tools that would allow CX teams to monitor customer feedback in real-time and adjust their approach with more agility than ever before, ensuring that customers remain satisfied and engaged.
Personalization: Personalize My Customer Journey
A customer’s journey between digital and retail channels needs to be seamless. Using AI, it is a lot easier to walk a few miles in the customer’s shoes and create “pause and resume” experiences that ensure that as a customer we never know the difference. Example: We order on the app, walk into a store and either talk to the customer or go phygital and use a kiosk to make modifications, leave and pay on a website. Through this entire experience AI has the ability to personalize my journey and push me in the direction of least friction.
“With AI-powered tools, businesses can now analyze vast amounts of data to gain insights into consumer behavior, preferences and needs,” Langley Henderson said. She emphasizes that this "level of potential personalization will only help brands build stronger relationships with their target markets, increase customer loyalty, and drive repeat business."
Data Analytics: AI's Ability to Predict Customer Behavior
Automating the process of gleaning insights and predicting customer behavior using machine learning is a marketing weapon that needs to be wielded more. Many off-the-shelf solutions out there can help amplify and promote the brand while creating meaningful experiences for the customer.
Related Article: 4 Ways to Revolutionize Customer Experience With AI
Future Prospects: Careful Planning for AI in Marketing, Customer Experience
There is a sense of optimism for the further integration of AI into customer experience and marketing in the future. However, these expectations are tempered by an understanding of the need for careful planning and a considered approach to how customers might interact with the technology.
As Hinton envisions, "I am hoping that the initial craze of AI will give way to better and more careful planning, testing, and executing of programs that support the use of this."
