CX News
Salesforce slashes 4000 jobs in support
Marc Benioff says he was able to reduce support headcount from 9,000 to 5,000 due to the rise of AI Agents. He says across 26 years there were 100 million leads that were never called back because they did not have enough people, but now, AI can call those leads back.
AI Agents might be able to call leads back, but can they convert them? They don’t have the intrinsic drive of humans. Will people like the AI sales experience?
It remains to be seen if this will end up like Klarna who rehired their support staff after making cuts.
ServiceNow hasn’t cut headcount despite deflecting 75% of cases
In contrast to the news above: Amit Zavery, President, CPO, & COO of ServiceNow, shares that despite deflecting 75% of customer cases, its contact center team is no smaller than two years ago - because the company’s case volume has increased 40%.
ServiceNow is taking the opposite approach. It’s empowering employees with AI tools of their own to provide deeper, higher quality customer service for more complex cases - and actually solve issues. As a result, CSAT results have improved.
ServiceNow shows how AI can be used to deflect or contain simple questions but is not stopping at that use case.
Addressing the knowledge gap between shoppers and associates
A new report finds 45% of retail store employees are spending too much time trying to find answers to customer service questions - and 36% of retailers report that meeting demands of hyper-informed customers is a top threat to their business. Consumers have smartphones with them as they shop and they can access the store app, promotional communications, and product reviews easily as they shop.
One example of a brand that has used AI to address this gap is Lowe’s, providing store associated with a device that has information on comprehensive product information, project guidance, and stock levels.
Retailers: this is going to be key as the holiday season approaches. Explore how AI and other tech can help enable your in-store associates to help provide a better experience for customers.
Capacity planning flowchart
We’re in the last third of the year: it’s time to start thinking about staffing, either for the holiday season or the whole next business year.
You can hire, optimize workflows, lean on AI, or adjust your tech stack. But which is best to meet your needs? Plan for today’s volume and tomorrow’s growth while saving your company money on headcount.
Get clarity on customer service capacity planning now with our new capacity planning flowchart!
AI Headlines
- Accelerating AI adoption for the US government - Microsoft and the US General Services Administration announced an agreement to bring AI productivity tools to the federal government at no cost
- Colorado delays AI law implementation amid backlash - The law is set to go into effect 5 months later than originally planned, on June 30, 2025 after state lawmakers could not agree on changes to the law
- Why voice still rules in the AI-powered contact center - human conversation is essential when customers have urgent or complex issues
- When AI Sounds Human: What It Means for the Future of Customer Service - AI voice tools will soon be able to handle more and more phone calls, not just text-based conversations
- LayerX, a Japanese AI SaaS startup that enables businesses to cut back-office workload, has raised $100 million in a Series B - transforming corporate expense management in Japan, where many companies still rely on paper and Excel for invoice processing
Tune In
Big, splashy “surprise and delight” moments are easy for CX leaders to talk about, but brands often overlook the smaller moments that truly build customer loyalty.
I interviewed Alice Shabazian, CX Supervisor at Wool&Prince, about her approach to building loyalty with “micro moments” and consistent experiences.
