Will AI Change The Customer Journey
Is AI (artificial intelligence) going to change the customer journey? AI change is happening now. Nearly everything is being influenced and driven by data. Data means automation, and automation means AI.
It has been happening for years. In the past decade it has been accelerating. Are you moving towards AI? Probably, whether you recognize it or not.
Front runners in AI will change the definition and behaviors of the customer journey. Businesses who have not adapted will appear to be offering an inferior experience.
Data Driven
We once went to the bank on Friday to cash a paycheck. Then direct deposit became popular, first as an option, eventually as the norm. People are also using less cash and doing more debit or credit card purchases.
This isn’t news, but what does it mean? It means data. Data means automation, and automation means AI.
Now imagine interfacing this data capture with other data to enhance the customer experience. Imagine knowing when, how, and what your next move will likely be, or perhaps, should be.
Imagine every Friday you go to a local ATM and withdraw fifty dollars in cash. Next imagine that every holiday weekend in the summer you spend at a family home two hours from your residence.
What is the AI application here? Will AI change something?
AI Change
On the Friday of a holiday weekend imagine the ATM asks you one additional question. “It is a holiday weekend, you’ll likely be out of town, would you like to withdraw additional cash?”
Of course, some would quickly identify that the ATM could be programmed to do this without knowing your usual travel plans.
What if you started out of town on Friday of a holiday weekend and your smartphone reminded you that you had not yet visited the ATM?
Imagine that you also normally visited the dry cleaner, stopped at a convenience store, and checked the weather through an on-line app.
Now imagine you are running late and you get a (smart phone) reminder that the dry cleaner is about to close, the convenience store is nearly out of ice for your cooler, and a thunderstorm is about to break out in the area.
Better yet, it reminds you that you’re now traveling away from your home and with the coming storm you’ve left two windows open.
Wouldn’t it be great? It is coming. In fact, most pieces of this are already emerging.
-DEG
Originally posted on July 16, 2018, last updated on May 4, 2019.
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
