From support function to growth engine: The future of AI and customer service

When it comes to imagining the future, customer service often gets painted in a dystopian light. Take the 2002 sci-fi film Minority Report. Tom Cruise's John Anderton walks into the Gap, an identity recognition system scans him, and a hologram asks about a recent purchase. There's something unsettling in this vignette--an unsolicited non-human seems to know everything about you (or, as in the movie, mistakes you for someone else). But the truth is, customers today expect this kind of sleek, personalized service.