Liveops brought together a group of customer experience and contact leaders for a virtual Sip & Swirl roundtable focused on artificial intelligence (AI) in the industry, according to an April 2 event summary. The session, guided by Nicole Kyle, Managing Director and Co-Founder of CMP Research, centered on how organizations can distinguish between AI hype and real operational benefits.
The topic is important as companies face increasing pressure to modernize operations with AI while proving return on investment. The roundtable paired peer-driven discussion with CMP Research insights and included a guided wine tasting for attendees.
Kyle said the headline for customer experience strategy over the next two years is “more self-serve and more AI tools.” She also highlighted that “there’s a real acknowledgment that there’s a people consideration to our AI investments as well.” Participants discussed challenges such as organizational caution, workforce resistance, change fatigue, fragmented systems, and integrating new capabilities into complex environments. According to Kyle, successful adoption requires trust, clarity, and usability.
One major theme was the rise of agent assist technology. Real-time agent assist was identified as one of the most active areas for AI investment because it improves speed and consistency without removing human involvement from interactions. Kyle described agent assist as vital due to increasing complexity in frontline work: “Agent assist helps close that gap by giving agents faster access to answers…while still preserving human judgment.”
The discussion also covered growing interest in agentic AI—systems capable of more autonomous actions—but noted concerns about risks such as hallucinations, governance issues, infrastructure readiness, privacy concerns, and potential negative impacts on customers if not properly managed. While some openness exists toward deploying autonomy in voice or chat tools, participants stressed careful evaluation before moving forward.
Another insight was that customers value speed above all else during live service experiences. Kyle stated: “In live experiences,
customers want speed.” This challenged previous assumptions that empathy is always most important; instead participants agreed efficiency can be part of respectful service.
Measurement practices are also evolving alongside new technologies. Metrics like customer satisfaction rates remain key but leaders are rethinking which measures best reflect improved outcomes for customers rather than just internal efficiencies. As simpler tasks shift to self-service channels and agents handle more complex issues,
leaders discussed separating metrics between automated services versus live-agent services.
Kyle concluded by saying: “Managing change of an AI augmented workforce” will be one of the defining questions facing CX leaders over the next two years.
