AI won't replace employees, it will make CX better

AI is everywhere, in all industries and has generated a great deal of hype, concern and predictions. Many businesses don't even know where to start with AI, but there are a few guidance points to follow. A session called "Leveraging AI for enhanced operations and superior customer satisfaction" covered this topic at the Interactive Customer Experience Summit, held in Charlotte, North Carolina from Sept. 11 to 13.

Daniel Brown, editor of Digital Signage Today, moderated the panel with panelists Elad Inbar, founder and CEO, RobotLab, Steve Lieber, VP of franchise business development, BurgerFi and Justin Bartek, VP of marketing, Dog Haus Worldwide.

What is AI?

When asked how they define AI, Inbar said, "AI is a form of decision making, based on data. It is impossible for a human to process the huge mountains of data. AI can make a decision based on data."

Lieber said that AI for him has allowed him to process information much faster, such as making executive summaries of reports with ChatGPT.

"It [ChatGPT] improves my productivity by 40%. The quote to start the day with is I'm more worried about natural stupidity than I am about artificial intelligence," Lieber said.

Bartek also agreed that his restaurant uses ChatGPT, particularly for brainstorming, but that it is a "good thought starter, not necessarily a start ender."

Use cases

When asked about specific use cases of AI, Inbar pointed to his company's robots, such as Pepper, a customer service robot that can interact with guests and bring trays to tables. It uses laser sensors and AI to tell where it is, where customers are and how to best serve them.

Lieber said that his business struggled with delivery as often food would be cold by the time the driver arrived and angry customers would demand a replacement. So it partnered with a company called Flybuy to provide an AI solution to fix this issue.

"We used a company called Flybuy that tells us when the delivery driver is getting close and it only flies (the) order to the kitchen when (the) driver is eight minutes away," Lieber said.

Bartek said that his business is working on facial recognition technology for kiosks that can deliver customized orders based on a customer profile.

"Some people will say 'hell no to that,' but if you're 12 you'll say 'hell yeah give me what we want,'" Bartek said. "The future is to build a customer profile and give them what they want."

Bartek also said that Dog Haus used AI to answer customer reviews and deliver customized digital advertisements.

Lieber agreed with this, saying that AI can help understand, "what their [customer's] preferences are, what price point, what occasions they come for."

Will AI replace humans?

One major concern that Brown pointed out is that robots and AI will replace human workers, but Inbar said this isn't the case.

"The idea is not to replace people. Robots are not here to replace people, they are here to fill up gaps," Inbar said.

For example, robots can help deliver checks or replacement utensils to patrons, a task that might typically take several minutes as customers try to get the attention of servers who may be doing multiple tasks at once. In other words, robots are there to improve the customer service.

Ultimately all the panelists agreed that robots will not fully replace humans. Lieber said that it's too complicated, for example, for robots to make sandwiches. The real purpose of robots is to impress guests, not to replace employees.

"Robots are a sidekick. I don't think we will ever have a robot to make a sandwich. That takes heart," Inbar said. "It's an assistant to the humans, it's never going to replace, or eliminate the human."