Is GenAI about doing more (e.g., sales) of the same but with agents? Or is there a fundamental difference in what GenAI can do?
Imagine being on the receiving end of an AI SDR blasting automated emails/calls at you. Would that interest you in buying?
Or if you want to know why a $450 charge was made on your credit card twice in minutes and your only option is to converse with a chatbot that is unable to understand your anxiety or urgency? Would you be a happy customer?
I have experienced both of these situations.
I blocked all incoming emails from the address that was sending me automated emails, and I urgently spoke to someone who could block my credit card.
I am sure many would have done the same.
Does that mean GenAI is a flash in the pan?
I would say no.
Yes, GenAI can be messy. But here’s how we can reimagine these processes
For Sales, I would build a multi-agent workflow to:
- Research Defined Channels – e.g., review recent blog posts about scaling customer success teams AND Series B Funding AND active hiring on LinkedIn
- Incorporate Business Rules – e.g., highlighting specific pain points AND looking to buy now
- Communication Channel Preference – e.g., the prospect has a strong 2nd degree connect to the COO and would prefer to be contacted by the COO
- Continues refinement – e.g., monitor outcomes and revise strategies in real-time
For customer support, I would build a multi-agent workflow to:
- Research Account – e.g., Multiple high-value transactions (>$100) from the same vendor have never happened
- Research Vendor – e.g., 17 other customers also faced similar charges
- Incorporate Business Rules – e.g, all previous charges were reversed, ergo this transaction is fraudulent
- Communication Channel Preference – e.g. share the findings with a customer care executive along with evidence and reasoning for them to reach out to the customer.
- Continues refinement – e.g., monitor outcomes and revise strategies in real-time
These are fairly straightforward use cases (pro tip: complex use cases for cocktail party conversations are available upon request 😊). Yet, many businesses fail to solve these basic customer issues.
You may also ask, why do we need GenAI for these? Why can’t existing automation and workflows or better-trained team members solve these issues?
Well, firstly, existing automation and workflows gave us robotic menu-driven chatbots, which generated memes but did not solve customer issues.
Secondly, we should improve training, which will still not address these issues at scale. Even the most exclusive (read: $$$$) providers struggle with it.
GenAI promises to understand intent, be empathetic, listen, go where the customer wants to go, and when coupled with well-trained team members, actually solving customer issues…first time around…and at scale!
To realize the promise of GenAI, leaders will need to re-think how they want to serve their customers and work their way back from there.
What do you think?
#GenAI
