Below is an Autogenerated Transcript

No, we all live in a world infused with technology. And that’s been true for human beings since we figured out how to pick up a rock and hit something and make that thing, make the nut break open. Then the rock was our first technology. We just happened to be alive in a historical era in which the technology is amazing. I mean, the evolution, the power the… you know, thank goodness we get to be alive and experience it. What a gift. If you’re a service provider and you’ve got these incredibly powerful tools that we’ve never even had before, you’re calling it digital efficiency. Well, it’s a toolset and it has an… a possibility, etc.. And then who is that really for? Humans. And who’s ultimately going to assess whether or not it created value? Humans. And what you’re asking is, okay, But if I’m the service provider, should I just let the technology do it? Or should I have the human being in there like that’s the human touch? And so as I’ve thought about this and watched this AI era evolve, at this moment, I can see three places where it’s really important to have a human touch, but it can work this closely with the technology. So it’s not draw a line, it’s you know, it can be together.

And the first one is when you’re introducing something new to a, let’s say, a customer. And that customer like we said, it’s a human being. It’s not just another machine. If it’s a machine to machine, it’s a different story. So, when I’m introducing something to you, I could do a great job by having AI produce a video. I could have AI, you know, tell you in any language and in any tone of voice that you want all about it. I can generate the slides that that will take, you know, it will listen to your questions and give you answers. But none of that is going to be the same as if a human being looks you in the eye and says, “Got it. That’s a great question.” Let me just say, you know, so what you’re really concerned about is this. And what you want to achieve is that. And how does that feel to you? And, you know, a human to human in introducing something new can be very, very helpful because the human that would be the customer, the buyer doesn’t know about that before. It’s kind of like when you interview somebody for a job and you’re the HR department. You want that interviewee If they’re like the customer. Come join us. This is a good place for you to work. You’re a great talent. We want you. So then should just the AI system do that or do you think ultimately that human being who may or may not take the job, should have the opportunity to talk to a human being? What’s it really like working in there? What’s the culture like? Well, what about this? And have that human sense person to person? So on the introduction side, I think there’s a role for humans.

The second is when you’re migrating your existing customers into a new way of being served. There’s an educational component that needs to happen there. And it’s not always an easy lift for the customer. So I’ll give you an example. I mean, there are apps that I look at today and I go, you know, I’ll get my kid to help me because she can go, oh, dad, it’s like this. Or my wife, who’s a genius at that stuff. You know, she goes, oh, it works like this, like this, like that. Okay. So what if the service provider, the company, the organization, the government agency, let’s say the bank wants to get me out of coming to the branch. They want me to use the ATM. Oh, now they don’t want me to use the ATM. They want me to go to online. Oh, now they don’t want me to go to online. They want me to use the app. Okay. So if we look, for example, at banking, you’ve got this customer segmentation over the years. And frankly, it’s the older customers who have accumulated wealth. And these people may have been with the bank for a long time. And they’ve got a range of accounts and you’ve got their assets under management. You got their loans, you got their savings, you got all kinds of different things. And now you as the bank want to reduce costs. You want to improve efficiency. You want to get them out of the branch. So you close the branch. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute. I like going to the branch. I like talking to Sally over the counter. Sorry. Branch closing, but you’re going to have a great experience online. You’re going to have a great experience using the app. Oh, boy. Now you got this person picking up the phone and looking at it, and they might be a little concerned.

That’s where the bank should put human beings like, let’s use Sally, get her out from around one side of the counter. Sit down in a comfortable chair with those customers as they come in and go, “Hi. Listen, you know, in a month’s time, this branch is going to be closing. I wanted to spend a little time with you and make sure you can get comfortable with how to do banking. It’s so easy now on your phone. You’ve got your phone. Great. Come on, bring it on. Let’s do this together.” And create this moment of human interaction in which human to human, the service provider can do things like, “Okay, so you start by just… Yeah. You put, exactly. That’s right. Now over here. Right. We fill that in with your, your account number. You know that. Okay. Good. Right. Okay. Now look at how the menu works. Right.” “What’s that? Let me explain.” Bah, bah, bah, bah, bah. “Yeah, but you want the… Right, the one below it. Click.” And you know, by the time the transaction is complete, this human is saying to the customer, “I knew you could get this. You’re good at it. This is going to be easy.” Now, the truth is that customer may need to come back and have that kind of human to human experience a couple times, but at a certain point, there’s been a migration, there’s been an education, there’s been an encouragement. And that customer has become comfortable with the new digital technology. But how did that comfort get produced? A human helped. And the third is when something goes wrong. So you got introduction. You got education on migration and then you got recovery.