At Sabio’s recent Disrupt event in London, a panel of experts from Sweaty Betty, Zuto, Transcom and Awaze shared insights on how they are leveraging new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionise customer service and drive business growth.
One of the key takeaways from the discussion I had with the group was the importance of finding the right balance between AI capabilities and human interaction. As Laura Stevens, CCaaS & CRM Product Manager at Awaze, pointed out, their company is still in the early stages of integrating AI across different platforms and services. Their focus is on understanding how to leverage the best capabilities of each technology while ensuring a cohesive customer experience. This involves close collaboration among teams and partners to identify the most effective ways to utilise AI-driven insights and automation.
Brett Hewitt, Product Engineering Manager at Zuto emphasised the value of building technology in-house to enable rapid prototyping and iterative improvements based on customer feedback. By fostering a close relationship between the tech team and contact centre staff, they can quickly identify pain points and develop solutions that simplify the customer journey. This agile approach allows them to stay ahead of the curve in a competitive market and differentiate themselves through a seamless user experience.
Transcom’s Andras Bacsa (Product Director, Omnichannel & Conversational AI) provided some insight into how Transcom – a global outsourcing company – were taking advantage of the transformative potential of AI-powered machine translation in breaking down language barriers and democratising customer support.
By enabling advisors to provide multilingual assistance without necessarily being fluent in the language, companies can expand their reach and improve customer satisfaction. However, Andras emphasised that AI should be seen as an enabler rather than a replacement for human talent. With the right training and cultural understanding, AI can augment the skills of empathetic representatives and create new opportunities for growth.
Also during the conversation, Sweaty Betty shared their measured approach to implementing AI within their retail business. Starting with a focus on supporting their agents and enhancing internal processes, Fiona Lind – Digital Product Manager at the rapidly growing women’s fitness fashion brand – revealed they had seen significant improvements in contact handling time and resolution efficiency. The next step is to leverage AI to proactively address common customer queries and transform the service experience from reactive to proactive. By tackling the top drivers of contact, they aim to set new standards for customer service in the industry.
Start Small – But Continue to Learn
A common theme throughout the discussion was the importance of starting small and embracing continuous learning. As AI technologies evolve at a rapid pace, companies must be willing to experiment, fail fast, and adapt their strategies based on data-driven insights. This requires a culture of innovation and a willingness to disrupt traditional approaches to customer service.
Looking ahead, the panelists shared their visions for the future of customer service powered by AI. Conversational agents are expected to become more prevalent, enabling fully digital twin journeys that seamlessly integrate with human support when needed. Contact centre agents will likely become more specialised in specific areas, providing expert assistance whenever customers require additional help.
However, the human touch will remain crucial, especially in omnichannel environments where customers interact with brands across multiple touchpoints.
The end goal must always be to delight the customer
As Fiona aptly pointed out, the goal is to create truly exceptional experiences that delight customers and make the technology investment worthwhile. This requires a holistic approach that considers the interplay between AI, human talent, and the unique characteristics of each customer engagement channel.
The insights shared by the panelists at our Disrupt event demonstrate the transformative potential of AI in revolutionising customer service. By finding the right balance between technology and human interaction, companies can deliver personalised, efficient, and emotionally intelligent support that strengthens customer relationships and drives business growth.
To hear more from our panel of experts, watch the full session from Disrupt here.
About Sabio
Sabio Group is a global digital customer experience (CX) transformation specialist with major operations in the UK (England and Scotland), Spain, France, Netherlands, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and India.
The Group, which includes ‘makepositive’, delivers solutions and services that seamlessly combine digital and human interactions to support exceptional customer experiences.
Through its own technology, and that of world-class technology leaders such as Avaya, Genesys, Verint, Twilio, Google, Amazon and Salesforce, Sabio helps organisations optimise their customer journeys by making better decisions across their multiple contact channels.
The Group works with major brands worldwide, including Aegon, AXA Assistance, Bankia, BBVA, BGL, Caixabank, DHL, loveholidays, Marks & Spencer, Rentokil, Essent, GovTech, HomeServe, Sainsbury’s Argos, Telefónica, Think Money and Transcom Worldwide.
