Customer experience x artificial intelligence relationship - Mkt4edu

How to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve the customer experience in your company? 

Although studies related to artificial intelligence began around 1950, with the Turing Test, it was not until 1997, with the creation Deep Blue, of IBM winning a game of chess against professional player Garry Kasparov. , that public attention began to turn to the importance and capability of this type of intelligence.  

Following this milestone, in 2011, IBM introduced Watson to the world, a business-oriented cognitive services platform. Since then, investments to improve the use of AI have massively intensified until they have become part of the consumer's life and, consequently, indispensable for business strategies around the world. 

How AI improves customer experience in practice

Artificial intelligence enhances customer experience by turning large volumes of data into fast, personalized decisions throughout the entire journey, from first contact to after-sales. Using algorithms and real-time analysis, AI helps identify opportunities, anticipate questions, reduce waiting time in service and automate repetitive tasks. This allows your team to focus on more complex cases, while chatbots, predictive systems and tools integrated with CRM ensure faster, more relevant interactions aligned with each customer’s behavior.

• • Optimize time spent on data analysis and real-time monitoring.

  • Automate processes and stages of the customer journey.

  • Reduce friction and waiting time in service using chatbots.

  • Personalize actions according to the customer’s stage in the journey.

  • Act in a predictive way based on behavior and collected data.

What you will see in today’s content

• How artificial intelligence evolved until it became part of customer experience

• What the goal of AI is and how it simulates human behavior

• How AI helps your company get closer to consumers using real-time data

• Advantages of AI in process automation and in the customer journey

• How AI tools and CRM unify data to generate relevant insights

• The role of chatbots and generative AI in service and conversion

• How to work on customer experience in a predictive way across all journey stages

Enjoy your reading!

But what is the purpose of Artificial Intelligence?

Since the first study to use AI (the Turing Test), the goal was to test a machine that could mimic and map human behavior. In 1956, at the Dartmouth Conference, the development of intelligent machines came to be considered a science. From there, the name Artificial Intelligence emerged. 

This science aims to simulate human behavior and intelligence without needing a human. Studies in AI have improved the ability of machines to learn from data and even make decisions. For this, the basis used are the so-called algorithms, and it is from them that the data are studied and transformed into data and actions. 

If you still feel you are “free” from sharing data with this technology, think again: have you ever searched on Google or clicked on a personalized recommendation in a streaming app?

Have you used Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, Google Assistant, or chatted with customer service bots on your bank’s website, your telecom provider’s app or your university portal?

If you answered yes to any of these, AI is already part of your daily life — often through virtual assistants with artificial intelligence that learn from your behavior to deliver faster and more relevant experiences.

According to the IBM Global AI Adoption Index 2023, conducted by Morning Consult, around 42% of large enterprises worldwide already use artificial intelligence in production, while another 40% are experimenting with the technology.

In Latin America, 67% of organizations have accelerated AI implementation over the last 24 months, which shows that AI is now embedded in everyday business operations rather than being just a trend.

The use of artificial intelligence has overcome the barriers of doubt and has been taking place in spoken reality players even in medicine, education and marketing. No matter your company's area of ​​activity, the use of AI can help you get even closer to your lead and, consequently, to your customer. 

In recent years, generative AI has made this landscape even more powerful. Tools that understand natural language and generate text, images and even video in seconds enable much more personalized customer experiences, from the very first touchpoint through post-purchase support.

Recent reports indicate that the adoption of artificial intelligence in companies now spans multiple stages of the customer journey, from real-time recommendations to predictive service and automations that proactively address issues before they surface. When governed well, this AI layer becomes a true customer experience engine rather than just an efficiency play.

How can artificial intelligence help you get closer to your consumer?

So far, you've already noticed that artificial intelligence is based on data, right? In the times we live in today, where everything happens very fast, it is important to have access to data in real time. One of the main advantages of Artificial Intelligence for companies, without a doubt, is the optimization of time spent on massive data collection and analysis activities.

The migration from face-to-face systems to online accelerated time even further and made consumers more thirsty for information and answers in real time. That piece of Legião Urbana's song that says "We don't have time to lose" never made so much sense. 

By the way, if you already know the theory of Marketing 5.0 exposed by Kotler, in 2021, you must have already understood where we want to go. We are living in an era where we have to be "ready to change". And what does that mean?

That we, as companies, need to be ready to identify opportunities and quickly change the strategies necessary to have greater assertiveness in contact with the consumer. Content exposed for a second on social media can make a difference. 

Good customer experience management involves data science and artificial intelligence to have greater agility in data analysis and decision making. 

Delivering a smooth and consistent experience from acquisition to post-purchase (when the goal is retention) requires much more than isolated campaigns or one-off media actions.

Investing in acquisition without tracking data and clear KPIs (key performance indicators) makes it almost impossible to measure, compare and improve the effectiveness of your customer experience strategy.

The monitoring offered by AI allows you to analyze results in real time, identify gaps quickly and, consequently, make agile and data-based decisions to optimize actions or solve problems - a marketing 5.0 imperative.

This effort to analyze data in an agile way allows you to optimize your time and your client's time, as your UX strategy will be increasingly assertive, avoiding friction in the moments when there is contact between you and the client. 

Read too:

• How to decrease the rejection rate and increase the conversion

• Blog Post: the 6 most common mistakes when publishing

• Which are the best tools to optimize a website

How does this work in practice?

When you choose to use a tool that uses artificial intelligence (like Hubspot), many processes change. And that's where you start to optimize your budget in hiring people, your team's operational efficiency and customer service. 

An artificial intelligence tool will collect data from wherever it is connected (emails, social networks, websites, blogs, landing pages, etc.), unify the extracted numbers and transform them into relevant data, so that you and your team can make more assertive decisions. 

In case you still haven't understood the full potential of artificial intelligence, here are some advantages of using this science in favor of your business: 

• Time optimization in data analysis; 
• Real-time data analysis;
• Process automation; 
• Reduction of waiting time for service (use of chatbot);
• Predictive data analysis; 
• Helps in defining and monitoring the consumer journey;
• Customization of actions according to the customer's moment in the purchase journey.

To give you an idea, here, at MKt4edu, using Watson, we got around 90% of success in the predictive lists for converting potential contacts into customers, amazing, isn't it?

The use of artificial intelligence allows your customers to have unique and differentiated experiences, and this is only possible with the use of technology. After all, have you ever imagined having to enter all the records of each lead/customer that has ever had contact with yours? database? It would be a bit complicated, wouldn't it? 

Image: Customer experience evaluation showing how satisfaction can be measured and improved throughout the customer journey.

Chatbot, the customer interface you need to know 

Did you know that Chatbots can significantly improve customer service wait times and also help increase your product/service sales conversion rate? 

Obviously, we couldn't finish this post without talking about one of the most important tools that the use of AI has allowed to develop: the Chatbot. 

Designed to interact with humans in real-time conversations, chatbots help significantly reduce repetitive call volume in contact centers and relieve pressure on support teams. They use artificial intelligence and machine learning to continuously learn from interactions and deliver more consistent results over time.

Here are some advantages of using this tool:

• Service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
• Instant answers;
• Simultaneous service for more than one customer;
• Efficient data collection;
• Increase in lead generation;
• Reduction in customer service;
• Help in qualifying leads;
• Helps in increasing the conversion rate;
• Reduction in the number of complaints due to delay in service.

With the rise of generative AI and AI agents, chatbots are moving beyond rigid decision trees and starting to understand context, history and intent much more accurately. This makes it possible to design conversations that feel closer to human interactions while still resolving complex requests quickly.

To unlock this potential without creating frustration, you should pair chatbots with generative artificial intelligence with thoughtful journey design, clear handoff rules to human agents and continuous monitoring of key metrics such as satisfaction, resolution rates and handling time.

Phew! There are numerous advantages of using this type of technology in your business. A very important thing is that the use of the chatbot allows your service team to focus on handling more complex cases when necessary.

Here at Mkt4Edu, we have had expressive results when we talk about using chatbots in optimizing lead bases and converting leads into customers. Our tool integrates with Hubspot, the CRM we use to automate and optimize our processes. 

The combination of our team's expertise with the use of insights and indicators provided by artificial intelligence and made available by the tool has led us to be a reference in capturing and retaining leads throughout Latin America. 

The big thing to improve the consumer experience using AI is to follow the data in real time and, through that follow-up, take actions based on the behavior of that consumer. This way of working will lead you to work predictively and be closer to the customer at every stage of the journey.

By the way, if you want to better understand how using Hubspot can help improve your company's processes, check out this post from our blog: What is Hubspot? See how the tool will help your company.

Frequently asked questions about using Artificial Intelligence in customer experience

What is artificial intelligence and what is its main goal?

Artificial intelligence is a field dedicated to developing machines capable of imitating and mapping human behavior and intelligence without directly depending on a human. Since the Turing Test and the Dartmouth Conference, AI has focused on creating systems that learn from data and make decisions based on algorithms. In practice, this means using models that analyze information, identify patterns and generate automated actions, supporting companies in tasks such as service, results analysis and customer journey personalization.

How can artificial intelligence improve customer experience?

AI improves customer experience by enabling fast, data-based decisions at every stage of the journey. It accelerates information analysis, helps identify opportunities and gaps, reduces waiting time and makes service more accurate. Using algorithms, data science, predictive resources and chatbots, a company can provide real-time answers, personalize actions according to each customer’s moment, reduce friction and keep consumers closer, from the first contact through after-sales and retention.

What are the main advantages of AI in data analysis and decision-making?

The main advantages of AI in data analysis and decision-making include time optimization, agility and greater accuracy. The technology collects data from multiple channels, unifies information and generates relevant insights in real time. This makes it possible to monitor KPIs, quickly identify bottlenecks and adjust strategies more confidently. Predictive analysis also helps anticipate behaviors, making actions more proactive than reactive. As a result, the company reduces manual effort, gains operational efficiency and reaches more assertive decisions in marketing, sales and customer service.

How does artificial intelligence work in practice inside a company?

In practice, AI works integrated with the tools the company already uses, such as CRM, marketing automation, websites, blogs and social networks. The technology collects data from interactions, consolidates numbers from different sources and turns them into actionable information. From there, it can automate communication flows, segment leads, prioritize contacts with higher conversion likelihood and track results in real time. One example mentioned is the use of predictive systems, such as Watson, which can reach a high hit rate when identifying potential customers with greater chances of becoming clients.

How does AI help bring the company closer to consumers?

AI brings the company closer to consumers by allowing a better understanding of each person’s behavior, needs and stage in the journey. With real-time data, the organization can quickly adapt strategies, adjust campaigns, personalize messages and respond faster to doubts and objections. This movement is aligned with Marketing 5.0, where being “ready to change” and anticipating demands is essential. As a result, the brand stays more present and relevant, increasing the chances of both conversion and customer retention.

What benefits does AI bring to the customer journey and process automation?

AI brings benefits such as automating repetitive tasks, reducing waiting time in service, clarifying the journey stages and personalizing actions in each phase. Processes like email nurturing, lead scoring, contact prioritization and KPI monitoring can be automated based on data. This frees the team to focus on strategic and complex cases, while customers receive faster responses, more relevant content for their needs and interactions with less friction throughout the entire journey.

What are AI-powered chatbots and what are their main benefits?

AI-powered chatbots are programs designed to interact with humans in real-time conversations, using AI and Machine Learning to continuously learn from interactions. They reduce the volume of repetitive calls, ease the load on call centers and improve response times. Benefits include 24/7 availability, instant answers, simultaneous service for many customers, efficient data collection, increased lead generation and qualification, support in conversion and fewer complaints about delays. With generative AI, these bots better understand context, intent and history.

How does generative AI contribute to service and personalization?

Generative AI contributes significantly by understanding natural language and generating texts, images and even videos in seconds. This enables much more personalized experiences, from first contact to after-sales. Agents with generative AI stop following only rigid flows and start holding more natural conversations, adapting responses to each customer’s context and history. As a result, it becomes possible to maintain the brand’s tone of voice, solve complex demands in fewer steps and create interactions that feel more human while preserving the efficiency of automation.

Why is real-time data monitoring so important for customer experience?

Real-time data monitoring is important because consumer behavior changes quickly and opportunities may appear in seconds. AI makes it possible to track results instantly, identify gaps, test adjustments and react quickly when something goes off track. This matches the idea that “we don’t have time to lose”: businesses must always be ready to change. When decisions are made based on up-to-date data, experience becomes smoother, friction is reduced and the company can act in a more predictive way instead of only reacting to problems.

How can combining AI, CRM and human teams improve customer experience?

Combining AI, CRM and human teams means using technology to automate and prioritize tasks, while people focus on strategic service. AI integrates data from channels such as email, social media, websites and landing pages, feeding the CRM with consolidated information. This generates insights about the journey, conversion likelihood and retention opportunities. The team uses these indicators to make decisions, adjust campaigns and handle complex cases. This balance allows customers to receive agile, personalized service without losing the human touch when it is most needed.