AI Masterclass Review – 15th October
On Tuesday, 15th October, we hosted a dynamic AI masterclass, featuring three expert speakers who shared invaluable insights on implementing AI in contact centre operations. We delved into the AI journey of SimplyHealth, explored the complexities of deploying AI in a legacy organisation, and emphasised the importance of careful vendor selection.
Key Insights from the Session
We gained fantastic insights into SimplyHealth’s AI journey, as they aligned their AI strategy with their purpose of delivering high-quality, affordable healthcare amidst the UK’s ongoing health crisis. Sham Aziz provided a behind-the-scenes look into launching an AI programme within a 100-year-old organisation, highlighting the challenges of dealing with layers of technical debt. Kathryn further underscored the need for a meticulous vendor selection process, echoing the sentiments of both Sham and Dan.
The feedback we’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive, whether it was about starting your AI/GenAI journey or using free tools like ChatGPT to build foundational knowledge.
Leading with Purpose
When building a business case for AI, it’s critical not to start with the technology. The AI landscape is vast and filled with vendors, so it’s easy to get lost. Instead, begin with the core purpose of your organisation and the problem you’re aiming to solve.
SimplyHealth started their AI journey by focusing on their purpose: providing affordable, quality healthcare. In 2021, they faced unacceptably long queue times and lengthy email response rates. By initially deploying AI (EinsteinGPT) to tackle a single FAQ in emails, they achieved significant time savings—cutting response times from 12 minutes to just 1 minute, while ensuring compliance in their highly regulated sector. This small, proven use case allowed them to scale AI usage safely and confidently, eventually applying conversational analytics to reduce call queues without sacrificing quality. As a result, they’ve increased their call-handling capacity from 40 to 60 calls per day, with minimal customer complaints, a huge improvement over previous years.
Involving Your People
The consensus was clear: engage your teams early. Frontline agents, who handle the day-to-day interactions, are the best resource for understanding customer queries and service challenges. Sham emphasised how invaluable it was to include agents in vendor meetings—they knew exactly what the system needed to do and could highlight potential gaps.
AI should be viewed as a tool to enhance—not replace—frontline roles. However, there’s a risk that agents will now bear a greater emotional burden as they shift to handling complex, emotionally charged calls. Dan explained that SimplyHealth addressed this by raising salaries to reflect the increased responsibility. Sham took a different approach at Selfridges, evolving the role of agents from reactive customer service to proactive brand advisors, turning AI into a revenue driver for the business. Both examples illustrate how AI can elevate the agent role, making it more engaging and rewarding, with higher retention as a likely outcome. But as the role evolves, so must the hiring criteria—emotional intelligence will become a critical skill for telephony agents in the AI-enhanced workplace.
Vendor Selection
With so many vendors available, it can be tempting to send out blanket RFPs. However, it’s far more effective to start with your use case. Do you need conversational analytics? Email automation? Language translation? These are crucial questions to ask before engaging vendors. If you’re already tied to a CRM, compatibility becomes key.
AI adoption is a long-term investment, so choosing a vendor that can continuously innovate in this rapidly evolving field is essential. Kathryn warned against lazy procurement processes—rather than asking vendors what their product can do, ask them to show you. Case studies and demonstrations are vital. Sham shared that when working at Selfridges, the brand’s prestige often prompted vendors to promise capabilities they hadn’t previously demonstrated, which a deeper dive quickly exposed.
Addressing Compliance Concerns
A strong compliance framework is essential when implementing AI, especially in regulated industries. Ensuring that quality assurance (QA) and compliance are baked into the AI project from the start can prevent costly issues down the line. SimplyHealth established an AI Forum, where representatives from key departments regularly collaborated to address potential concerns before new features were built or deployed. This cross-functional approach was critical to their success, ensuring compliance was maintained at every step.
Quickfire Tips for Starting Your AI Journey:
- Start with the problem you’re solving – focus on your organisation’s purpose.
- Engage your team early – involve Compliance, Legal, QA, and frontline agents right from the start.
- Start small and scale – run a pilot and expand once you’ve proven success.
- Leverage free resources – tools like ChatGPT can help build foundational knowledge.
- Choose your vendor wisely – focus on long-term partnership and innovation.
This session made it clear that AI can be transformative, but success hinges on thoughtful planning, collaboration, and a clear sense of purpose.
Check out the full sessions here: https://www.linkedin.com/events/unlockinggenai-revolutionisingc7247163130932342784/theater/ (you may want to fast-forward the first 5 mins!)