Your CX Workforce in an AI world

What you will hear and learn:
- What AI Can and cannot do
- Why Humans are still relevant
- Why I hate the word Agentic (and you should too)
- How all of these things impact the future of your workforce
- Ideas for how to evaluate AI Agent solutions and how they fit (or not) into your team

In a world racing toward automation, what’s next for your CX team? Let's dive into what AI can—and can’t—do, why human roles still matter, and how to future-proof your workforce. You’ll get a practical take on evaluating AI agents (plus why the term “Agentic” needs to go), and leave with clear, actionable ideas for navigating the shifting balance between tech and talent. If you’re responsible for navigating the tension between technological innovation and human connection, this talk is your roadmap to building a CX workforce that’s not only resilient, but ready for what’s next.

Transcript

1. Your CX Workforce in an AI World Adapting talent, technology, and strategy for the next era of customer experience.
2. Craig Stoss* *Or at least a version of me after asking ChatGPT what my headshot would look like as a Stock Photo for a Contact Center Who am I? • A CX Enthusiast with 25+ years of torturing himself helping customers • Often contrarian and thinks we all (including me) do most of CX wrong • Posts spicy takes on LinkedIn to feel fulfillment in life • A believer that AI will not destroy the world • Did not use AI to write these slides • Cooking, travel, LEGO, and baseball fan VP of Solutions
3. 01 Things are changing 02 Let's kick up the Spiciness 03 Some solutioning AGENDA CX Team Evolution Where AI Fits Future-proofing CX How Spicy should we get?
4. CX Team Evolution
5. • Customer expectations higher: instant answers, empathy, consistency. • Complexity higher: more channels, higher volumes, technology, and tighter budgets. • "The formula that never scaled" (more tickets = more people) scales even less now MARKET TRENDS The CX workforce model needs a redesign, not a headcount adjustment.
6. Stats 91% 67% 40% 70% 52% Customers that prefer Self-service Customers get frustrated when AI can't understand context Consumers prefer brands that provide personalized recommendations Say failed automations reduce trust Reduction in resolution time for routine inquiries Nuance research Accenture PwC Zendesk desk365
7. Where AI Fits in
8. What AI Can Do What AI Can’t Do Automate repeatable tasks Summarize, classify, and route Hyper-personalize based on known metadata Provide instant, multilingual responses Identify sentiment, trends, and anomalies in real time Build trust and emotional connection Handle ambiguous situations gracefully Create policy judgment or ethical reasoning Motivate, empathize, or advocate
9. Wait. Don't we want ALL of these things? Build trust and emotional connection Handle ambiguous situations gracefully Create policy judgment or ethical reasoning Motivate, empathize, or advocate Automate repeatable tasks Summarize, classify, and route Hyper-personalize based on known metadata Provide instant, multilingual responses Identify sentiment, trends, and anomalies in real time
10. The Singularity AI is incredible at consistency, speed, and scale. + The human edge still lives in empathy, creativity, and contextual judgment.
11. Future-proofing CX
12. Ignore "Agentic" Merriam-Webster Defines "Able to accomplish results with autonomy… refers to someone or something capable of achieving outcomes independently (“functioning like an agent”) or possessing such ability, means, or power (“having agency")" "Independently" is used pretty loosely here: I still have to tell AI what and how to do things. Every tech is Agentic… Spreadsheets, Adaptive cruise control, HUMANS! It literally just means "Something that does something" By That definition
13. Include AI Agents in your WFM Upskill your Human Agents on IndustrY, Product, Empathy Transparency AI-Enabled Workforce Seriously, give them names, give them "hours", assign them volume. See where the seams burst. When a customer does reach a human, they will want and expect more than a script. Show the team what the AI Agent is doing (and not doing). Elicit feedback, QA them, include them in reports.
14. CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, and includes icons by Flaticon, infographics & images by Freepik and illustrations by Storyset THANKS! DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? cstoss@gmail.com https://Stoss.ca