Technology Over Philosophy Even as the technology evolves, it is clear philosophicalobjection may prevent BFSI institutions from deployingself-service for certain disputes and emotional matters. If the willingness touse AI for sensitivematters transforms intocontentedness to requireAI for such matters, itcould have a negativeeffect on customer trustand brand reputation.“ Interestingly, many of these institutions arenotinherently opposed to using self-service for matterswhere compliance, data privacy, or payment processingwould be in play. In these cases, the present objectionistechnologyand process. In an interview portion of CCW Digital’sstudy, leaders routinely confirmed that they would feelcomfortable using self-service in sensitive situations aslong as their AI solutions and security protocol were upto par. This perspective, ultimately, serves as a ringingendorsement of how AI-powered self-service willtransform the BFSI customer experience. If leadersexpect to eventually feel comfortable using self-servicefor the most fundamentally risky, quintessentially “BFSI”use cases, customers should expect to soon see evenmorechatbots, AI agents, and intelligent IVRs in theirbanking and insurance journeys. The key, of course, will be deploying these AI solutionsin a way thatempowerscustomersto convenientlyaccess high-quality outcomes without losing the abilityto escalate to human support. If the willingness to use AI for sensitive matterstransforms into contentedness to require AI for suchmatters, it could have a negative effect on customertrust and brand reputation. From the perspective of BFSI leaders, thistransformation will be a boon for efficiency.Approximately 64% feel that the rise of AI will ultimatelyreduce the time it takes for their employees to completetasks. Only 18% believe it will have the opposite effect. Intelligently Augmentingthe Workforce It is, of course, important to note that the oppositeperspective is not necessarily tantamount to an anti-AIstance. These leaders may, instead, be arguing that agentswill be pivoting to more complex or challenging work,which may by definition require more time and effort. Some solutions, such as agent copilot or call summarization tools,have a direct impact on agent workflow. Others, such as chatbots,have an indirect impact by virtue of their ability to change the types ofinteractions agents support. Either way, it is clear that the AI revolutionstands to transform the employee experience. The key to addressing that concern is to not onlyconsider AI that helps agents focus on better work buthelp them better focus on that work. Amid the rise of AI, how do you think it will affect thetypical CX/contact center employee overall? AI technology or because they believe AI-poweredmessaging might fuel different types of transactionalengagements, 24% actually feel agents could end upspending more time on simple matters. If brands can providebetter proactive andself-service experiences,fewer customers will beemotional when theyescalate to agents.And if AI solutions canempower agents tobetter understand andsupport those customerswho are emotional, thetime spent on theseinteractions can still fall.“ Thirty-five percent (35%) meanwhile acknowledge thepivot to high-value work but noting that agents willspend more time on emotional interactions. A non-trivial 28%, though, say their employees will spend lesstime on these issues. Although thiscouldbe perceivedas pessimism about AI’s impact on workflow, it couldalso be seen as optimism about its ability to helpBFSI organizations – and their employees – supportcustomers. If brands can provide better proactiveand self-service experiences, fewer customers willbe emotional when they escalate to agents. And if AIsolutions can empower agents to better understand andsupport those customers who are emotional, the timespent on these interactions can still fall. The data for time spent on complex interactions reflectsa similar mindset. The fact that 23% feel employees willspend more time on these issues and 33% feel they willspend less time could easily be a joint declaration thatcustomer-facing AI will even eliminate some complexinteractions, before agent-facing AI enables employeesto more efficiently handle the challenging inquiries theydo receive. Mapping the Workflow Transformation In theory, the customer contact community seeks adichotomy in which “AI handles simple issues, so agentscan focus on complex ones.” In practice, BFSI leadersacknowledge room for nuance. This logic also extends to the findings for sales andoutreach (26% say more time, 38% say less time) andknowledge management (21% say more time, 33% sayless time). Rather than unintuitively suggesting thatagents will spend lowerpercentages of their daysonthese matters, the statistics may imply that agents willbe able to accomplish this work more quickly. Many do agree that AI will free agents from simple tasks;with 57% declaring that employees will spend