By: Hitesh Morar, Chief Product Officer, Tecnotree
In the midst of an explosion of new, digital-first touch points, how are organizations managing to set themselves apart? The answer lies in the intelligent use of data and analytics, which is the key to better-anticipating consumer requirements and providing a humanizing customer experience at the right time. Every industry has seen a shift due to the increasing use of digital-first consumer engagements; however, quicker decision-making has been the true driver of this AI revolution. All transactional processes must be completed in real-time, including choosing which promotional offers to advertise, or providing an optimized & personalized product to consumers, and utilizing data plays a huge role in this.
Personalization, or humanizing the customer experience, is a key element in giving customers meaningful and intuitive experiences. Even if an AI model might predict the same result for two individuals, there may be differences in the way information is presented to each. Thus, the context must be understood by the AI model, and this context can be derived through a combination of data & models.
Decoding Personalization through Data Insights
There are generations of massive amounts of data across various touchpoints, that present both opportunities and challenges. Organizations are making efficient use of this data through personalization driven by AI. Models can contribute to the creation of humanized experiences by using vast amounts of data to build comprehensive profiles, that go beyond simple demographics and are suited to certain use cases. These are highly detailed profiles that include both declared data (shared by the customer) and observed data (captured through customer interactions). The profiles include usage patterns, service history, and real-time context. This holistic viewpoint is the basis for delivering humanized experiences that connect with customers more deeply.
Three key elements can be taken into account when trying to drive personalization are declarative information - that has been specifically gathered and categorized about an individual, like their demographic history; observations - which are analytics and trends that can be combined to observe behavioral traits; and inferences - which are the results of machine learning models that offer insights into each individual, such as recommendations.
Through incremental build-out of these essential characteristics around an individual, we can then start to understand the journey that a consumer takes. AI ought to anticipate the path that people will take in order to accomplish a goal or KPI, much like a GPS system directs you from point A to point B. In the same way that GPS systems instantly notify you of better routes based on outside variables, personalization allows us to change customer journeys and influence the trajectory by providing more relevant and meaningful experiences. Omni-channel experience delivers these by sending suitable contextual messages via appropriate channels (e.g., web, mobile, chat) at the right moment.
The Next Frontier: AGI and the Evolution of Consumer Experiences
When it comes to humanizing consumer experiences, artificial general intelligence (AGI) is thought to be superior to artificial intelligence (AI). In computer science, artificial general intelligence (AGI) refers to a system that possesses comprehensive or complete knowledge and cognitive computing capabilities. In theory, these systems' performance would be identical to that of a human. But because artificial intelligence (AGI) can access and process massive amounts of data at speeds never seen before, its broad intellectual capacities would surpass those of humans. Currently, there are no real AGI systems. However, Tecnotree Sensa secured 20 + patents in 2023 on Augmented Intelligence and have built working prototypes for existing customers. Creativity, sensory perception, fine motor skills, natural language understanding (NLU), and navigation—the ability to project movement through physical locations more accurately than current systems—are practical examples of AGI capabilities.
AI Trust and Governance
How can an AI decision be trusted? is often the first question an end user asks after receiving an insight. If something is unexplainable in a way that a non-technical audience can understand, the insight can be immediately rejected. As a result, every decision being made should be explainable enough for it to be presented to the end user. For users to fully utilize AI and realize its potential, models must be transparent and provide access to a range of approaches, such as Tecnotree Certifai which provides additive explanations and counterfactual explainability, and model governance.
Throughout the process of development & operationalization of AI, trust is crucial and should always be prioritized. Tecnotree Certifai must thus be taken into consideration at every stage, from deciding which datasets are needed to train a model to be transparent to the end-user on why a particular decision was made. A multi-role team is needed for the construction of AI; therefore, the idea of trust & governance should encompass a range of personas. For instance, when it comes to AI, customers, legal/compliance, and data scientists would all define trust very differently. As a result, trust should be seen as an end-to-end governance strategy that considers all personas.
Fairness/bias is another aspect of trust that needs to be taken into account. Without an understanding of data validity and drift, it might be challenging to determine whether bias has been introduced while training a model. This impacts risk for organizations more broadly and from a regulatory standpoint as well. To give the quickest route to realizing business value, Tecnotree Certifai considers these standards and drift controls that can be put in place as soon as emerging technologies like ChatGPT and generative AI, are introduced.
The impact of AIML enabled through 5G, can help Telcos monetize across different industries and verticals. AI is revolutionizing telecom by interacting with consumers in a near-real humanized manner, paving the way for exceptional customer experiences. Tecnotree offers new digital technologies such as AI analytics with Tecnotree Sensa, to extract relevant business insights and humanize customer experience. Tecnotree Sensa digital business orchestration platform with advanced embedded intelligence combines the power of 5G and AI to offer telco operators, MVNOs/MVNEs, Banks, BFSI, Fintechs, and industries like healthcare, the ability to deliver actionable insights, reimagine customer interactions with personalized experiences, along with AI Governance - improving KPIs with Goal-Based Optimisation for telecom BSS use cases and monetizing 5G connectivity through our Tecnotree Moments Market Place.
Connect with us at [email protected] for more details.
About the Author:
Hitesh heads the Product Office within Tecnotree and is responsible for the Solution Consulting practice along with the overall management of the product portfolio offered by Tecnotree. The Product office is instrumental in defining the overall product strategy and leading the creation of a best-in-class product experience for each of the products in the portfolio whilst aligning with industry best practices. From a Solution Consulting perspective, the Product Office is also responsible for engaging with and driving customer success through the use of the Tecnotree product set.
Hitesh brings a wealth of experience in the telecom sector having been the former group CIO of the largest operator in Africa, delivering and executing the IT and digital transformation strategies across key markets in Africa and the Middle East as well as being a Consultant to Operators and Service Providers alike across various geographies.