Jeannie, as the CEO of Pulsepoint, a digital marketing firm, is in a debacle as to whether to adopt generative AI into their customer service and sales. Her main concerns with adopting AI involve the readiness of the technology in providing consistent and quality client experience and client alignment with the company’s new change. Her main concern with not adopting includes lagging in innovation behind competitors, who are pioneering this new space at full speed.
Should they deploy a AI chatbot now or wait?
Yes. I believe customer service is an area where there has demonstrated reliable performance from AI. Automating low-effort tasks such as customer service can allow talent to work elsewhere.
What should they consider as they make that decision?
- Motivation and vision overhaul: Very much like the CEO of HubSpot who voiced his criticism on Jeannie’s motivation for adopting AI, I believe that Jeannie needs to think critically about the vision of the company and her motivation for adopting new technology. What is the blue-sky vision for the company if it had unlimited resources to grow? Does it entail expanding market size or maintenance of current client relationships? Does it entail producing the most creative work possible? Either way, an overhaul needs to be done to illuminate the company’s direction for the future, which all decisions should be aligned with. At what expense is this new goal worth pursuing? Are you willing to lose current clients to secure a new market? Next, Jeannie should consider which tools or resources (human or tech) are capable of reaching this blue-sky vision to see if generative AI would fall within this set.
- Technological readiness: Jeannie needs to consult with more companies who have either already adopted this technology or experts who understand the technicalities of integrating AI in this specific use case. The company should dogfood this technology internally to determine its readiness, which can lead to greater insight as to how well-suited the AI is for customer service.
