The Dynamic Future of Customer Service: How Machine Learning Will (Finally) Make Business Personal

It's no secret that brands have been trying to make business-to-consumer interactions more personal, and it's also no secret that the B2C relationship is far from monogamous. In order to facilitate choice, convenience and control, brands have used data to categorize (or "bucketize") customers in any number of segments and act accordingly. For example, looking at a laundry list of factors and behaviors, "Joe's characteristic make-up is A, B, C and his behavior patterns are predominantly G, P, X and Y, so we know that we'll have pretty good luck engaging him in these ways…" But business analytics and, specifically, machine learning are turning the proverbial "dating" game between businesses and consumers on its head. Instead of assembling interactions based on preconceived notions about how consumers want to be treated, machine learning enables companies to deliver truly personalized communication based on up-to-the-moment data: "Joe is uniquely Joe, and right now, he needs 1, 2 and 3." Smart, fast and personal. Data big and small has already been transforming the way brands interact with customers (or prospective customers) – whether it's remarketing ads for the shoes we abandoned in our online carts, curated playlists based on our listening preferences, or automatic notifications to refill our prescriptions based on our typical use.