The customer communications market has evolved over the past three decades. Today’s customers expect instant, personalized and seamless experiences across all channels.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving this evolution, reshaping how organizations connect with customers, streamline operations and boost efficiency. Organizations in highly regulated industries, such as insurance, utilities, healthcare and financial services, are now exploring the possibilities of AI to balance innovation with compliance.
But AI adoption shouldn’t be overwhelming. Despite the pressure for organizations to “get aboard the AI train,” the process should be treated as a long-term commitment that evolves with your organization and market needs.
AI adoption should be phased, and the work required to achieve each step should be proportionate to your organization’s capabilities. Consider the size of your organization, where you are in your AI journey, as well as any barriers you may encounter along the way, such as resources and budgetary constraints. Take things slow and watch your investment value grow.
You Don’t Need to Adopt AI All at Once
A measured approach, where you can test, learn and iterate, is often the best path forward.
1. Define Your Goals
Clarify what success looks like for your organization. How does AI align with your business strategy? Where will it bring the most value? Establishing what you want to achieve early on allows you to set priorities, track progress, and ultimately gain support for future investments in AI.
2. Appoint Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
There’s more to successful AI adoption than new technology. It requires technical expertise and the appointment of a defined team to oversee your AI initiatives. These two steps ensure you maintain brand integrity, regulatory compliance, and smooth implementation. SMEs also become advocates for continuous evolution, communicating benefits and progress to teams cross-functionally.
3. Set Clear Objectives and Target Specific Use Cases
Establish measurable, achievable goals that tie into your organization’s strategic vision. Identify where AI can have the greatest impact and focus your initial efforts on those areas to gain momentum and stakeholder support.
4. Don’t Overlook Governance
Governance is essential for responsible AI use. Develop strong internal policies to prevent misuse, ensure proper data management and maintain oversight as technology and regulations evolve. By implementing AI frameworks early, organizations avoid costly rework later while benefiting from a foundation that can be applied to future implementations.
5. Be Discerning with Your Data
Not all data is valuable. Focus on quality over quantity, and ensure your data supports your most important use cases while remaining accessible and secure. Remove silos and offer secure access to accountable teams. Maintaining accessible, accurate data enables faster execution and enhances the possibilities of your AI technology.
The Secret to Enabling Successful AI Adoption
Having a plan that balances compliance with business-critical timelines is the foundation of a successful adoption. It’s your guide through the various stages of transformation, ensuring you take the right steps at the right time.
Identify Your Primary Objective: If you had to choose one objective, what would it be? That’s your North Star. Having clarity on the direction of your transformation and the problem it's intended to solve helps you zero in on the most important initiatives. It shapes your strategy and creates the outline for your performance metrics during the execution phase.
Strategy = Transformation: Your strategy is the basis for how your transformation will be measured against objectives, championed by key stakeholders and executed within your compliance framework. Without a strategy, you risk losing momentum in your transformation.
Quick Wins Come First: Once your data is primed for use, you can focus on building your use cases. They should align with your strategic goals and offer big returns on investment in a short amount of time. The point is to show business leaders the early gains you’re making, so further investments can be made down the line.
Address Silos to Maximize AI: The worst data is the kind you can’t access. With a plan in place and the support of a CCM partner, you can initiate an audit of your data library to identify any silos that prevent it from being extracted. Data is the driver of AI success. By making it accessible across departments, you’ll be able to create communications that are more personal, relevant and adhere to your customer preferences.
Focus on Centralized Communications: Centralizing your communications processes and workflows positions organizations to maintain consistency across customer touchpoints. You can maintain compliance through regulatory changes and deliver a seamless experience that enhances customer engagement.
The Whole Is Greater than the Sum of Its Parts
Taking big steps doesn’t necessarily translate into big results. Sustainable transformation is achieved through incremental, thoughtful progress, leading to long-term success. The true value of AI doesn’t come from a single initiative, but in the way each part of the process benefits everyone involved, from your employees to your customers.
Start small, build momentum as you go.
With patience and clarity, you’ll find that the transformational effect of AI is worth the wait.
As Senior Vice President of Product and Solutions Consulting, Gum Fa Ng accelerates Doxim’s product strategy by leading roadmap development and execution in alignment with business goals, client feedback, industry trends, and overall market opportunity. She brings deep domain expertise in defining technology-enabled managed services solutions for highly regulated markets. For more information, reach out at www.doxim.com.
