How artificial intelligence can enhance that gut feeling - Martin Dowson of Optima Partners

Data and digital technology are no substitute for emotional intelligence, but they can be used to support interactions with customers, as Martin Dowson, MD consulting at data science specialist Optima Partners, explains.

It’s a situation that will be familiar to countless people in businesses throughout the country – you’re in the midst of an important conversation and you’re getting nowhere fast. Both parties have shared their thoughts, but you still feel like you’re no closer to an agreement. Then, inspiration strikes. It could be adjusting a price, it could be changing the terms of a contract, it could be that wee sweetener that finally gets the deal over the line. Shake hands, job done.

Some call it emotional intelligence; others call it gut instinct. However it’s labelled, that human insight, that connection with another person, that bit of inspiration about what makes them tick, is something that artificial intelligence (AI) simply can’t replicate.

Yet using data and AI in smart ways can enhance that gut instinct and make interactions with customers even more successful, helping to give both the customer and the company what they need. Combining data with design is key to getting the most out of that combination of AI and gut instinct. That design must begin with people, not data. Having people at the centre of a design means processes and systems can then be built around those people and the jobs they do.

The businesses that will reap the rewards in the long run are those putting the customer at the heart of the processes they design, says Mr Dowson (file image). Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto.

By understanding what people do within a company, it’s then possible to pick the right technology to help them deliver an even better service to customers and improve the performance of the business at the same time. It should never be about installing technology for technology’s sake.

When they’re speaking to a customer on the phone or in person, an experienced member of staff will use their emotional intelligence and gut feelings to do their best to help that customer. Technology can give them a helping hand, in effect allowing them to call on the experience and expertise of fellow members of staff or giving newer members of a team the opportunity to draw on knowledge of what’s gone before.

Analysis

This is where AI comes into play. For example, if a customer calls to say they’re having difficulty keeping up with their bills, then a well-designed system that uses AI can not only present the employee handling the call with details of that customer’s file but can also provide analysis of what steps have helped other customers in similar situations.

Maybe another tariff will be more appropriate for this customer’s needs? Or perhaps a payment plan could be put in place to help them manage their spending? It might even be the right moment to call for external input to help that customer manage their debt.

Those suggestions drawn from AI can then be considered by the member of staff handling the call. They can use their gut instinct to work out the right course of action for each customer. A deep understanding of data science is needed to create that combination of emotional intelligence and AI, so that the latter and other forms of technology are only used where they’re going to make a difference.

The data used to train the AI models must also be sourced responsibly and inclusively. AI models are only as good as the data they use at their source and the feedback they receive. It is critical that businesses purposefully design their data strategies to support this. Brands that want to win the trust and loyalty of consumers now and in the future will focus on the fields of responsible and inclusive design, data ethics, and trust.

We’ve seen this again and again when working on successful projects with clients – putting people at the centre of the process combined with responsibly implemented AI brings the biggest benefits. Designing the right system becomes much easier when you speak to the people on the ground and find out what they need.

Pivotal

The same is true for marketing. AI can give insights into what customers have bought, which could help shape how products and services are promoted to both existing and potential customers – but there’s still often the need for the gut feeling of the salesperson to kick in, so they can judge which item might appeal most in each case.

Questions around this combination of emotional intelligence and data analysis are being faced by more and more businesses as the wider economy wakes up to the opportunities presented by AI. In a Harvard Business Review article back in 2017, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee pointed to AI being the next example of what economists call “general-purpose technologies” – such as the steam engine, electricity, and the internal combustion engine – that go on to trigger waves of innovations and opportunities.

Those waves are now washing through the wider economy, with companies of all shapes and sizes getting to grips with the ways in which AI can be useful. Computing giant IBM’s latest Global AI Adoption Index report found that 35 per cent of companies are already using AI – up four percentage points in a year – while a further 42 per cent are exploring it.

Of those already harnessing AI, 54 per cent said it was bringing “cost savings and efficiencies”, with 48 per cent noticing “better experiences for customers” and 46 per cent reporting that “employees are freed to focus on higher value” tasks. The businesses that will reap the rewards in the long run are those putting the customer at the heart of the processes they design, rather than relying on AI as merely the latest fad.

Trusting their intuition and harnessing their emotional intelligence is how the most successful members of staff keep their customers happy, and their businesses profitable. Bringing AI into the mix by using well-designed systems and processes creates the opportunity to take that gut instinct to the next level.