Is AI the new big thing? Well, everyone seems to have an opinion about it, and we hear all opinions from “we are doomed” to “this is the greatest thing since the invention of sliced bread”. 

Lately, every discussion I have been a part of in my professional environment has veered towards one question: Is AI going to take over our jobs? Are we all going to be replaced by robots?! The conversations are always full of fear of the future with a dark cloud looming overhead.

My opinion could not be clearer: No, AI will not take over our jobs and yes, it can be an outstanding asset if used correctly!

The fear of AI has recently grown in our societies (and Hollywood is fueling it). In reality, AI has been a part of our lives for much longer than most of us in the workforce today can remember. The first AI was developed in the 1960s, but its development has massively accelerated in the past few years with applications such as self-driving cars, medical diagnosis, and customer service.

Coming back to the main question, will AI take over my job? I would like to focus on my area of expertise which is customer experience and customer success management.

What defines customer success and what is a customer success manager (CSM)? The role of a CSM is, in its most simplified form, focused on two elements: 

  1. Driving adoption of a tool/solution and
  2. Delivering clear value to clients with this solution. 

AI solutions have been rapidly applied in customer success in recent years with the introduction of chat bots, data analytics and automated recommendations. This definitely supports CSM to bring higher added value services to clients. And that is just the beginning. 

As we further develop AI, repetitive, non-value-added tasks can become automated. A bit further down the line, as machine learning enhancements come into play, predictive analytics can be used to predict customer churn and begin taking steps to prevent them from leaving. By using personalized recommendations, AI can provide customers with recommendations for products or services relevant to them. It can also provide real-time support or create self-service portals, ensuring that clients queries and needs are answered around the clock and that they never feel left in the dark.

However, despite the automation of these CSM tasks, the key role of the CSM remains integral to any organization. What the AI cannot replace (yet!) is the trust and relationship that the CSM develops with their clients. The “human touch” will always be an integral component of this role. Talking to and understanding your clients’ pain points cannot be effectively taken over by an AI. The human relationships that we have, asking about each other’s families, sharing a joke in the beginning or the end of a good meeting. These are all things that remain very relevant to managing clients successfully in a data and insight-driven environment. 

It might be tempting to jump on the AI bandwagon immediately. Afterall, it makes a compelling selling point for every company now. But not every version of AI is suitable for everyone. My recommendation is to start by looking at all the processes in your organization across different functions. How do they fit in together? How can they be optimized? Start small, test, run a transparent feedback loop, then add more. Understand and learn what is working and, more importantly, what is not before adding more. When used correctly, AI solutions can bring significant enhancements in efficiency. To get it right, you need to invest time in machine learning to continuously improve the accuracy of the output models and predictions.

The future of CSM is bright, and AI is playing a major role in shaping it. By automating tasks, providing insights, and personalizing experiences, AI is helping CSMs to be more efficient, effective and client-centric. So, while you focus on building long-lasting relationships and retaining your clients, your bot is in the background doing the grunt-work for you. 

AI is not turning us into robots, on the contrary, it is our chance to become more human!