Top 5 things you need to do to ride the AI innovation wave

As our CEO Barak Eilam recently said, we're amid a "technology super wave of far-reaching consequences" simultaneously shaping the world and the CX space.

I think the imagery of a super wave perfectly encapsulates the impact of artificial intelligence in transforming customer experience. Indeed, the sheer power of the AI wave can be intimidating unless you learn to catch it and ride it to your full benefit.

Riding the AI innovation wave requires a solid game plan, starting with three critical ways to fast-track CX operations to surf the AI super-wave.

1. Move to the cloud

Companies that are off the cloud are behind the curve. They are using outdated systems that are not as scalable, secure, or efficient as cloud-based systems, leaving them at a competitive disadvantage. Not moving to the cloud makes it extremely difficult to keep up with the latest trends and technologies, and can ultimately lead to losing customers and revenue.

As the companies that have embarked on this journey can say, the true accomplishment lies in experiencing a substantial boost in innovation. Accelerating the pace of innovation can only be realized by replacing legacy technology infrastructure with a streamlined and cohesive cloud-native platform, marking an essential first step in advancing innovation fully.

2. Reboot your digital strategy

To achieve a truly fluent customer journey, digital CX must be an inherent part of your overall CX strategy and a native part of a single platform. This means that every customer touchpoint-from website to mobile app to contact centre-must be integrated and seamless.

It might be hard to imagine restarting your digital efforts, but the good news is AI is waiting in the wings to turbocharge your digital interactions by tapping into a new wellspring of information. AI has made it possible to zero in on the optimal conversations from top-performing agents to create smarter self-service that personalises communications, anticipates customer needs and resolves issues quickly and efficiently.

3. Go big with AI-or go home

As you choose a new AI infrastructure, don't repeat the mistakes of the past. Don't create a siloed and complex "frankenstack."

Instead, build a simple and robust platform that natively brings together all applications, data and AI to create more complete customer journeys.

Only then can you deliver the seamless, streamlined experiences that customers demand. Customer service is a highly specialised domain, and your AI efforts must be CX-specific and done at scale from day one.

How to catch the AI wave without wiping out

Building on the first three critical steps, let's dig into the final two focus areas that can enable managers, customers and agents alike to harness the power of the AI wave.

4. Adopt a disciplined approach and timing to get wave-ready

It's not enough to say, "we already have digital channels." Your consumers want you to prove it.

Organisations may already be supporting chat, email and SMS, but this is where thinking big picture comes into play again. To be a leader in digital, organisations need to have a five-year plan to be ready for adding the next new channel.

Even with the digital channels they have, routing is disparate, so agents become siloed.

Voice agents don't do chat.

Chat agents don't do messaging or social.

So, the result is everything that's great about the seamlessness of digital gets lost.

These point solutions are often focused on solving a specific problem rather than providing a comprehensive customer experience. To be fully leveraged, they need to be integrated into a broader customer experience strategy to address specific challenges and enhance various aspects of the customer journey.

However, it's important to ensure that these solutions work cohesively to deliver a seamless and consistent customer experience. In essence, a unified platform will get you wave ready.

5. Find your centre of gravity to grow CX at scale

A good foundation enables organisations to achieve balance. Finding that centre of gravity to ride the AI wave requires an overarching CX strategy to enable growth at scale, and only a unified platform can serve as a fundamental underpinning providing stability, strength and a solid starting point for artificial intelligence endeavours.

But how do you find your centre of gravity? Stay true to that big picture vision without shifting too far in one direction or another. Focus on your core goals by asking what's most important to consumers. Once you recognize this, you can guide your decision-making and ensure that you are always moving in the right direction.

Using a little AI here and there sounds experimental, not strategic. Also, a piecemeal approach can easily fall apart, so it's critical to incorporate AI to support interactions at every level, to serve the entire AI landscape and prepare for the long run, including:

• AI for managers
• AI for customers
• AI for agents

Riding the AI wave for the long term is challenging, but within reach. Just get into position early and anticipate the future by continuing to stay centred, balanced, and focused.