CX Pulse Podcast | Insights on Customer Experience, AI, WFM, Customer Service, Customer Satisfaction & Contact Centers

Artificial intelligence (AI) is often seen as the future of customer service. This shift is primarily driven by advancements in natural language processing and machine learning. As AI evolves, so does its ability to help businesses improve the customer experience. With the rapid growth of these technologies, contact centers need to start preparing themselves for a future where AI plays an even bigger role in customer experience.In this episode, Amelia is once again joined by Donna Fluss, Founder and President of DMG Consulting, to discuss AI in action. As an expert in AI in contact centers, Donna will cover the most practical applications of AI for customer experience, how AI has been implemented in the industry, and what advice she can offer organizations just getting started with AI.Enjoy!In This Episode01:00 - What is AI in contact centers03:50 - How widely has AI been implemented in contact centers05:22 - The most practical uses of AI for customer experience14:46 - Donna's advice to organizations just getting started with AIFavorite Quotes01:30 - "AI is a branch of computer science that's focused on the development of programs and machines, which are of course computers to solve complex problems by simulating behaviors associated with intelligent beings." - Donna Fluss04:17 - "The amount of innovation and practical capabilities that are being enabled by AI is nothing short of phenomenal. It's almost been an exponential series of enhancements." - Donna Fluss11:17 - "It is absolutely AI in action, which really is the name of the game because what we're looking for in contact centers are applications that enhance the customer experience, that enhance and improve the employee experience and do things cost-effectively."- Donna Fluss15:14 - "AI is here to stay. And so, companies really need to get on board with this, but not just haphazardly finding it in one application or deciding to go with another application. What we recommend is that companies go through a very thoughtful process of developing an AI strategy." - Donna FlussEngage with Donna FlussLinkedInDMG ConsultingVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

Maps are essential for getting from point A to point B. They provide a visual representation of the route one needs to take as well as how to navigate along the way. Similarly, journey maps help business stakeholders define exactly what customers want and what the customer journey actually looks like. When done correctly, they can help businesses achieve their goals by revealing opportunities for improvement and optimization.In today’s episode, our guest, Jeannie Walters talks about journey mapping, what key elements are needed to map a digital first customer experience, and what business data are most beneficial to understanding the customer experience.Jeannie Walters is the CEO & Founder at Experience Investigator, a global customer experience consulting firm helping companies improve loyalty and retention, employee engagement, and overall customer experience. Jeannie has 20 years of experience helping companies improve loyalty and retention, employee engagement, and overall customer experience. Jeannie was named one of the Huffington Post’s “Top 100 Most Social Customer Service Pros on Twitter," Tenfold’s “Top 40 Customer Success Influencers,” one of “The Top 5 Women Customer Experience Influencers” by CloudCherry. Her mission is “To Create Fewer Ruined Days for Customers™.”In This Episode01:02 - Why Jeannie is passionate about journey mapping02:14 - The main goal of journey mapping03:43 - The key elements needed to map the digital first customer experience06:25 - What CX leaders should strive for08:06 - What are some ways to collect customer feedback for journey mapping09:56 - What business data are most helpful in understanding the customer experienceFavorite Quotes01:31 - "Journey mapping is a tool that we have in our toolkit that really can help us understand our customer needs better. It can help us anticipate what the future will hold. And it's a really great tool to get everybody on the same page, to understand more so that we can make more strategic decisions moving forward." - Jeannie Walters03:14 - "I like to say journey mapping is a verb, not a noun because it really is about the process of gaining those insights and then acting on them. That's what ultimately improves the customer experience. The map itself, it doesn't really do that. We have to do that. And so, the mapping is what's most important, but we need to know the goal before we start." - Jeannie Walters04:52 - "The power of customer journey mapping is really stepping into what is actually happening with the customer." - Jeannie Walters09:25 - "If you really get to know who your customers are, you can start expanding that lens and look at who are these people and what is their real life like because that can really give you data points about where they are in the market or where they are regionally or culturally. There are some differences we have to consider." - Jeannie WaltersConnect with Jeannie WaltersLinkedInExperience InvestigatorsYear of CXVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

Self-service is nothing new, but the ways in which data and technology are being used to power it are changing rapidly. Artificial intelligence (AI) provides businesses with new opportunities for customer experience, driving the expansion of self-service. Today, customers have more options for engaging with businesses and their favorite brands. At the same time, businesses can provide a more personalized experience as well as predict what customers might want in the future.In today’s episode, Amelia talks with Dan Miller about whether or not chatbots can improve customer experience. Dan will also discuss how data and technology are redefining self-service, how CX leaders are now improving their digital CX, and the four pillars of maximizing the conversational cloud.Dan Miller is the Lead Analyst and Founder at Opus Research, a diversified advisory and analysis firm providing critical insight on software and services that supports digital transformation.In his role, Dan conducts research, writes reports, provides consulting services and administers conferences specializing in Intelligent Assistance and Intelligent Authentication. He coined the term "Conversational Commerce" to describe applications and services that improve person-to-person, person-to-machine and machine-to-machine interactions.Enjoy!In This Episode01:00 - What led to the founding of Opus Research03:00 - What CX looks like today04:25 - How data and technology are redefining self-service06:01 - How CX leaders are now improving their digital CX07:33 - How companies are making the most of their data08:40 - The four pillars of maximizing the conversational cloudFavorite Quotes01:50 - "I coined the term 'conversational commerce' to capture the idea that the best CX, the best customer experience, takes the form of a conversation between individuals and the brands or companies that they want to do business with." - Dan Miller04:01 - "And what's basically happening, because we're looking at bringing some form of artificial intelligence or conversational AI into the conversations between companies and their customers is that we're really defining self-service." - Dan Miller09:58 - It's the resources, both human and automated that smooth things out, that orchestrate the conversations, and that keep track of things over time but amount to the integration of multiple systems to provide coherent and correct responses at scale." - Dan MillerConnect with Dan MillerLinkedInTwitterOpus ResearchVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

Nowadays, the business world is buzzing with words like "great resignation" and "digital transformation". While such changes profoundly affect people’s lives and careers, contact center agents are far from being threatened. The human element still plays a crucial role in contact center management. How can businesses empower their people to deliver top-notch service in an ever-changing and complex environment?In today’s episode, Amelia talks with Omer Minkara about why the great resignation is relevant to contact centers, how the transformation between the digital and human elements works, and in what ways contact centers are solving the challenge of agent attrition.Omer Minkara is the Vice President & Principal Analyst at Aberdeen, a leading global provider of behavioral-based marketing solutions, from intent-targeted media to demand gen programs and independent industry research. In his role, Omer is tracking and reporting the key trends and best practices in customer experience management, contact center, and e-commerce fields. Through a combination of prior experience, skills in financial and data analysis as well as passion, Omer helps organizations build and maintain profitable customer relationships and reduce unnecessary costs.Enjoy!In This Episode01:21 - Why the 'great resignation' is relevant to contact centers02:57 - Why going digital is not a threat to contact center agents04:05 - How contact centers are solving the challenge of agent attrition05:48 - What impact agent empowerment and empowerment programs have on businessFavorite Quotes01:00 - "We're all consumers at the end of the day. I feel like through our research, we're able to provide a new light, a fresh perspective on what the leading brand is doing to create happier customers and how they can spread those best practices so that we all as consumers can have better customer experiences." - Omer Minkara03:35 - "The perception is that, as digital becomes more pervasive, companies may be thinking that agents are not as important as last year or maybe a decade ago. And that's completely inaccurate. What we are seeing today is a lot of those emerging digital channels or channels that are increasing in traffic, they also have agent involvement." - Omer Minkara07:47 - "Companies that engage and empower their agents are improving customer satisfaction, driving down cost, increase in revenue, and maximizing efficiency through productivity." - Omer MinkaraEngage with Omer MinkaraLinkedInTwitterAberdeen ResearchVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

Robotics Process Automation (RPA) is changing the way businesses operate. It can work independently or alongside people to streamline business processes. As RPA becomes more widely adopted, an increasing number of businesses are turning to automation to improve efficiency and accuracy, reduce operating costs, minimize the risk of human error, and will likely play a bigger role in the future of organizations.In today’s episode, Amalia talks with Amardeep Modi, a Vice President at Everest Group, about what RPA is and why it matters for organizations, what enterprises expect from an enterprise-grade attended RPA solutions, and how to make the most of attended RPA deployments. Amardeep is a seasoned advisor and leader with more than nine years of consulting and research experience. At Everest Group, Amardeep leads the service optimization technologies research and advisory practice globally. The majority of his work is focused on leading industry-defining research on intelligent automation technologies, such as attended RPA, unattended RPA, process mining, intelligent document processing, process orchestration, and conversational AI.Enjoy!In This Episode00:34 - The role Amardeep plays at Everest Group01:52 - RPA: what it is and why it matters for organizations05:21 - What enterprises expect from an enterprise-grade attended RPA solutions09:13 - How to make the most of attended RPA deployments10:42 - Real-life examples of how RPA worked in an organization13:12 - What business owners need to know before adopting RPAFavorite Quotes04:43 - "We found that improving employee productivity, generating cost savings, and increasing operational efficiency are among the top three drivers for adopting attended RPA at an overall level." - Amardeep Modi09:23 - “Adopting and scaling attended RPA is not without challenges. However, these challenges can be overcome by following a set of best practices, such as securing executive sponsorship and empowering the center of excellence, appointing champions to drive awareness in the enterprise, driving citizen developer focused on training programs, enabling a crowdsourcing approach for use case identification, and early partnership and alignment with enterprise IT." - Amardeep Modi10:10 - "Now when done right, attended RPA can yield phenomenal returns by decreasing onboarding time, reducing errors, improving first call resolution, and drastically reducing average handling time." - Amardeep ModiEngage with Amerdeep ModiLinkedInEverest Group WebsiteVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

Artificial intelligence has been making waves in the contact center industry for a few years now, and for good reason. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are changing customer service for the better, from how customers communicate with businesses to how businesses manage their workforces. As these technologies continue to evolve, do contact center agents need to be educated on them?In today’s episode, Amelia talks with Sheila McGee-Smith, President & Principal Analyst at McGee-Smith Analytics, about whether or not contact center agents should be educated about AI. They will also discuss the value AI can bring to the contact center space, what lessons contact center agents can learn from top CX performers, and how AI can help them interact with customers.Sheila McGee-Smith is a leading communications industry analyst and strategic consultant with a proven track record in new product development, competitive assessment, market research, and sales strategies for communications solutions and services. She founded McGee-Smith Analytics to offer enterprises and solution providers an expert and reliable source for information and analysis related to the contact center and customer experience markets. Her expertise has helped enterprises and solution providers develop strategies to meet the escalating demands of today’s consumer and business customers.Enjoy!In This Episode00:46 - An overview of Sheila's role in the contact center industry01:39 - What contact center agents can learn from top CX performers 05:21 - The benefits of AI for contact center agents08:00 - How AI and analytics prepare agents to interact with customers09:40 - How agents perceive AI in the workplace12:06 - How AI eliminates bottlenecks and frustrations in call centersFavorite Quotes07:20 + 11:10 + 10:58 - "That's the power of artificial intelligence for agents, that it helps them take more difficult calls. It allows them to do things they might not have been able to do before and to deliver better service. It's helping the agent do their job better." - Sheila McGee-Smith10:42 - "Once we educate agents about what their role is, it's doing the people work and that when adding automation, we're doing that to take out the work that machines could do." - Sheila McGee-SmithEngage with Sheila McGee-SmithLinkedInInteractions Live 2022McGee-Smith AnalyticsVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

Contact center companies are always on the lookout for new and better ways to improve their customer service. This often comes in the form of new technologies, such as chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI). With many companies turning to AI to optimize their business processes, contact center executives are also becoming more aware of just how important contact center agents are to their overall success, increasing their focus and appreciation of their agents.In today’s episode, Amelia talks with Donna Fluss, Founder and President of DMG Consulting, about the findings of the DMG report, Customer Experience, Contact Center and Servicing Priorities and Investment Plans for 2022. They will also discuss the top contact center and servicing goals for enterprises in 2022, what technologies contact centers intend to invest this year, and where employees are likely to work in the future.With over 30 years of hands-on experience helping organizations build world-class call centers and assisting vendors to deliver differentiated solutions, Donna is leading global contact centers, analytics and back-office industry analysts and consultants to deliver outstanding customer experiences. A recognized visionary author and speaker, Donna drives strategic transformation and innovation throughout the service industry and provides strategic and practical counsel for enterprises, solution providers, and the investment community.Enjoy!In This Episode00:44 - The role Donna plays at DMG Consulting01:20 - What the DMG report, Customer Experience, Contact Center and Servicing Priorities and Investment Plans for 2022, is all about02:29 - The top contact center and servicing goals for enterprises in 202204:24 - What technologies contact centers intend to invest this year06:38 - A comparison of the 2022 survey findings with the previous years08:11 - Where employees are likely to work in the future09:56 - The most significant finding in the DMG reportFavorite Quotes04:55 - "We are seeing a lot of practical and effective AI applications coming into the market. Even though they're still relatively new, we are seeing benefits from those innovations." - Donna Fluss07:48 - "It's wonderful to see that executives are finally paying attention to their agents who are the front door into the company and play an essential role in building relationships with their customers." - Donna Fluss10:06 - "Executives are finally starting to appreciate their agents, the job of a contact center agent. It's a difficult job to consistently and empathetically deliver an outstanding customer experience." - Donna Fluss10:52 - "Executives are demonstrating an appreciation of the critical role that agents are playing in their companies. And that is delivering that outstanding CX." - Donna FlussEngage with Donna FlussLinkedInDMG ConsultingVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

Culture is often seen as something that is intangible and hard to measure. However, it is one of the most important aspects of any organization. In fact, culture plays a key role in employee engagement, and the employee experience drives the customer experience. What are ten critical principles that form the foundation of creating a culture?In this episode of the CX Pulse Podcast, our guest, Annette Franz talks about the top three basics that many companies still overlook, why culture is so important in an organization, and what the ten critical principles are that form the foundation of building a culture.Annette Franz is the Founder and CEO at CX Journey Inc., a global customer experience strategy consulting firm that specializes in laying the groundwork required to establish a CX roadmap and strategy that drive culture transformation efforts. She is an internationally recognized customer experience thought leader, coach, consultant, and keynote speaker. Annette is also an official member of the Forbes Coaches Council.Enjoy!In This Episode00:42 - Great ways to help customers connect with brands02:06 - The top three basics that many companies are still missing04:45 - Why culture is so important in an organization06:54 - The ten critical principles that form the foundation of building a culture09:32 - How to get a hold of Annette Franz's booksFavorite Quotes01:51 - "There are so many ways that customers can contact a brand these days. And the challenge for the brand is that they've either got to understand the preferred channels, the preferred methods that customers want to contact them and then be there and be responsive when customers do contact them." - Annette Franz04:52 - "Culture is really about core values and behaviors. If we're building this customer-centric culture, we have to include values that drive that customer-centric behavior. Then we take those values, we define the associated behaviors, and behaviors we don't want to see so that employees are really clear on what those core values mean. And then they have to be socialized and operationalized." - Annette Franz07:07 - "Culture is really the foundation, leadership has to be committed and aligned, and the employee experience has to come 'more' first. If we put employees 'more' first, customers can still be first." - Annette Franz07:24 - "Employee experience drives the customer experience. People have to come before products, profits, and metrics. Customer understanding is the cornerstone of customer-centricity. Of the customer-centric culture, we have to bring that customer voice into everything we do." - Annette Franz07:52 - "Governance is an important thing that we need to have in place. It bridges the gaps across the organization. It helps to break down and connect silos. It helps to get everybody working together because my definition of customer-centric culture really is one that is collaborative." - Annette FranzEngage with Annette FranzLinkedInCustomer Understanding: Three Ways to Put the "Customer" in Customer Experience (and at the Heart of Your Business) on AmazonBuilt to Win: Designing a Customer-Centric Culture that Drives Value for Your Business on AmazonBuilt to Win: Designing a Customer-Centric Culture that Drives Value for Your Business on Amazon Visit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=all Listen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple PodcastSpotify

Customers' purchasing habits, needs, and preferences evolve over time. One thing that will never change, however, is their need for support and service. A great customer experience goes beyond just meeting expectations, but also taking it a step further to succeed. At its core, great customer service results in greater customer loyalty and more repeat business.In today’s episode of the CX Pulse Podcast, our guest, Shep Hyken talks about what amazing customer service looks like, why customers terminate a business relationship, and how companies can still create emotional connections with little or no person-to- person contact.Shep Hyken is the CAO (Chief Amazement Officer) of Shepard Presentations. As a customer service and experience expert, keynote speaker, and bestselling author, Shep works with companies that want to build loyal relationships with their customers and employees. His focus is on delivering amazing customer service, customer engagement, managing the customer experience and creating customer loyalty. Shep is a hall of fame speaker (National Speakers Association) and a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.Enjoy!In This Episode00:54 - What the book, I'll Be Back: How to Get Customers to Come Back Again & Again, is all about.03:21 - The difference between repeat business and loyal business.04:44 - What amazing customer service looks like.08:16 - Why customers terminate a business relationship.11:40 - How companies can still create emotional connections with little or no person-to- person contact.14:23 - How proactive communication is also a key to customer satisfaction.Favorite Quotes06:56 - "The word 'always' followed by something positive is what you're looking for in the experiences that you want to create that are amazing. That's when customers say, "I love doing business with them" because that word always just creates this consistency and this confidence in their minds. And that's what customers like. They like to have confidence and trust in who they're doing business with." - Shep Hyken02:48 - "Metrics are history and you learn from history, they're really important. You've got to get them. And once you understand the 'why' behind the metrics, we can make improvements, and we can change whatever to make sure we do it better next time and forever." - Shep Hyken05:39 - "You need to be so good that when the customer calls to complain, at the end of the conversation, they're the ones that are apologizing." - Shep Hyken 14:23 - "One of the other things we found is that a large number of our customers that we surveyed want proactive communication. So, they want to know if things are going well. They also wanna know if things aren't going well." - Shep HykenEngage with Shep HykenLinkedInWebsiteAmazonVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

Artificial intelligence has been around for a long time, but it has exploded in popularity in recent years. This is especially true in the contact center space, where businesses are looking for new and innovative ways to improve customer service. Artificial intelligence has already proven itself to be a valuable tool in many industries. Why should contact centers be on board with embracing AI?In today’s episode of the CX Pulse Podcast, our guest, Keith Dawson talks about why artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining popularity in the contact center space, the impact of AI on contact center agents, and the many ways AI can be used in the future of the contact center industry.Keith Dawson is the Vice President & Research Director, Customer Experience at Ventana Research. He leads the expertise in Customer Experience technologies (CX), covering systems that facilitate engagement and allow businesses to influence and optimize their customer-facing operation. Keith is focused on how businesses can break down technology and operational silos to provide more efficient processes for two-way engagement with customers.Ventana Research is the leading benchmark research and advisory services firm. They provide expert guidance to help organizations manage and optimize performance – to become not only more efficient but more effective. Using a combination of primary market research, rigorous market coverage, and in-depth knowledge of hundreds of technology providers, Ventana Research delivers business and technology education and expertise to clients and the marketplace.Enjoy!In This Episode00:56 - Brief backstory of Keith Dawson1:33 - How AI is making its way into contact centers3:21 - How AI is used across different areas of contact centers6:10 - The impact of AI on contact center agents8:57 - The role data professionals play in the age of artificial intelligence10:55 - The many potential uses of AI that have yet to be explored13:18 - Why you should consider a vendor instead of building your own AIFavorite Quotes00:04 - "The fact that AI has become so pervasive means that it's coming at that kind of problem from a variety of angles. One of the things it's doing is surfacing better information, better knowledge, and the knowledge management system, but it's also directing it to where it can do the best and where it's the most useful." - Keith Dawson2:52 - "As contact centers have become more entwined with other processes in customer experience and in the back office, the need for the kind of complicated data analysis that AI can provide has become a lot more intense and modern systems have really stepped to fill what I think has become an emerging need." - Keith Dawson12:01 - "When we talk about broader ways of orchestrating the customer journey and having more control over the customer's life cycle, the need to automate the processes that cross different teams and different technology stacks become pretty sharp." - Keith DawsonConnect with Keith DawsonLinkedInTwitterVentana ResearchVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

As technology constantly evolves, it's no surprise that artificial intelligence (AI) is playing a larger role in customer experience. With the rise of chatbots and virtual assistants, businesses are starting to see the value in using AI to improve customer interactions, making it easier than ever for customers to engage with brands. How can businesses make the most of AI to improve their business outcomes?In today’s episode of the CX Pulse Podcast, our guest, Maribel Lopez, talks about some of the best practices organizations can get in touch with customers. She will also discuss the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in customer experience, how bots and virtual agents can improve sales conversion as well as some of the pitfalls organizations often fall into with AI.Maribel Lopez is the Founder and Principal Analyst of Lopez Research, a market research and strategy consulting firm. In her role, Maribel tracks the evolving trends in mobile, IoT (transportation, retail, telecom, healthcare) and machine learning that leads to cognitive computing services. She helps companies select the right technology to build new agile business processes and advise technology vendors on how to build better products and go-to-market strategies. Enjoy!In This Episode00:41 -What Lopez Research is all about01:07 - How organizations can seize the opportunity to connect with their customers02:07 - The role of AI in customer experience03:15 - How bots and virtual agents can improve sales conversion04:40 - Examples of how virtual agents have improved business outcomes06:43 - Some of the pitfalls organizations often fall into with AIFavorite Quotes04:15 - "We've seen it happen in travel where someone might not know where they want to go next. But the right type of virtual agent can guide them down a path to say, 'Here are some things that might be interesting to you based on what you're looking at right now'." - Maribel Lopez01:25 - "Customers want to be served on their channel. They expect you to know them, even proactively reach to them to alert them of issues. You have to be available on their channel of choice" - Maribel Lopez06:59 - "I think one of the pitfalls that a lot of organizations fall into with AI is trying to make the scope of what they're doing too big. You have to really narrow it down to make sure that you can have success." - Maribel Lopez07:53 - "Don't assume that the fallout (AI) is a result of just the technology. Sometimes the fallouts result of needing to change the process, needing to change the terminologies, or needing to broaden things." - Maribel LopezEngage with Maribel LopezLinkedInTwitterLopez ResearchReimagine Hybrid Work PodcastVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

Knowledge management programs can falter because companies see them as technology projects. Learn how curated content can fuel agent productivity and empower self-service resolution.

Learn about the latest in robotic process automation (RPA) and the value of a holistic approach to avoid random acts of automation that can impede your progress on your road to digital transformation.

Discover the source of your quality program’s pain and learn how to improve your contact center’s wellbeing by implementing a structured, standardized quality program and dedicated platform.

The pandemic has changed the way we work. If you are managing a hybrid workforce, you need to think of it as remote. Treating employees consistently no matter where they are is essential.

Have you assessed your AI risk? You might be surprised to discover the scope of your own vulnerability. Learn how ethics and best practices can prevent your RPA from propagating the wrong AI.

Customer behavior and expectations digitally transformed during the pandemic. Learn what unique long-term implications will impact your contact center operations and CX priorities moving forward.

With the increasingly remote contact center workforce, Paul Stockford talks about the latest applications of gamification to enhance agent engagement, connectivity, and job satisfaction.

The pandemic has caused seismic contact center shifts, including agents working remotely, customer traffic swings, as well as rapid migration to the cloud. Now, learn what cloud “flavor” is right for you.

Discover how the RPA COE can help large, high-security organizations create consistencies, best practices, and economies of scale to maintain seamless operations—even in times of disruption.

The future of work is becoming more hybrid as offices are reopening. Learn how contact centers are effectively combining remote and onsite workforces to meet shifting agent and customer expectations.

As the pandemic eases and the hybrid work model continues to evolve, hear how digitally powered agile staffing practices can transform your contact center’s onboarding, training, engagement—and CX.

Discover how Digital plays a key role in delivering exceptional customer experiences and the strongest competitive advantage a company can focus on.

Learn how personalization programs have changed over the past decade, and how modern CX leaders use personalization as a competitive advantage.