Over a decade ago, I developed a personal framework for how I believe customers should be treated—whether they’re seeking information, making changes, asking for help, or even lodging a complaint.
I called it EPIC, and despite the remarkable advances in Customer Experience (CX) technology, the principles of this framework seem more relevant than ever. However, ironically, we seem to be moving further away from delivering on these fundamentals.
Let me remind you what EPIC Customer Service Experience (CSX) is all about, and how we can strive to achieve it using the latest and greatest tools, including Generative AI (Gen AI).
The EPIC Framework
EPIC stands for Easy, Personalised, Intuitive, and Contextual. Here’s how I believe Gen AI can help us get there:
1. EASY:
Make Help Accessible
The starting point for any brand should be knowing who the customer is—without forcing them to repeatedly provide details you should already know. Imagine a customer already signed into your website or app.
First, don't hide the help section. It should always be obvious how to reach out—whether through a small floating widget or a design that suits the page. In fact, 58% of customers abandon a website if they can't find support quickly (Zendesk, 2023).
When a customer does reach out, use the power of natural language processing (NLP) to understand their intent. Let them speak or type naturally, and gauge their sentiment. Here’s where I diverge from the usual Gen AI approach. Don’t think of AI as merely a self-service tool. Consider it more like a concierge. Yes, if there’s an easy, self-service response, offer it—but don’t stop there.
- Summarize what the customer said (don’t just repeat their words).
- Confirm: “Is this correct?”
- If the summary is accurate, offer helpful options—not dead ends. If not, let the customer seamlessly choose to connect with a human agent.
AI-driven concierge services can handle up to 70% of routine customer inquiries, freeing up human agents for more complex issues (McKinsey, 2023).
2. PERSONALISED:
Leverage What You Already Know
If a customer asks about an order, flight, or booking, the system should identify it and play it back. If there are multiple options, let the customer confirm which one they mean.
Do not ask customers to provide order numbers, booking references, or other details you should already have. Just ask them to confirm. Eighty percent of customers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences (Epsilon, 2023).
And once again, if something goes wrong, offer immediate access to a human agent. Meanwhile, keep refining the system to prevent the issue from happening again.
3. INTUITIVE:
Provide Options When Things Go Wrong
When customers ask about deliveries, flights, or orders, your system should proactively check real-time status. Ideally, you’d be updating them before they even need to ask. Seventy percent of customers feel more positive about a brand that proactively communicates issues and solutions (Salesforce, 2023).
But don’t just give them a cold, unhelpful message like “carrier delay” or “flight delayed by 3 hours.” Offer them options. What can they do next? How can you make it right?
And if you have no good news to share, once again, let them choose to speak to a human. Customers are smart; if it’s not urgent, they’ll likely message. Just don’t force them all into the same chat or phone queues.
4. CONTEXTUAL:
Understand the Bigger Picture
Context is critical. Does a delayed flight mean a missed connection? Is a late delivery meant for a special occasion? Is the customer experiencing distress, or are they a high-value customer?
Seventy-five percent of customers expect companies to understand their needs and expectations based on past interactions (Gartner, 2023). From the moment the interaction starts, use sentiment analysis and big-picture data to identify the most urgent needs. The customers who need immediate assistance—whether human or AI—should be prioritized. Yet, all too often, that doesn’t happen.
Conclusion:
Always offer customers the choice of speaking with an agent. Don’t trap them in a self-service loop. When they do escalate to a human, there should be no need for IVRs or categorization steps—the AI has already identified their issue. By refining the Gen AI concierge approach, you’ll naturally deflect non-urgent matters and let your team focus on the truly important ones.
The Future:
I believe the future of Customer Service Experience (CSX) lies in customers being able to speak or type in their own words, and the EPIC framework handling the rest.
While we’re not quite there yet, this is the direction we should be heading. For now, we can return to static FAQs, long call center queues, and chatbot frustrations—but let’s aspire for more.
Does this make sense?
Feel free to get in touch to discuss what I can offer.