In today's digital era, digital transformation is atop, gone are the days of offering courteous and superficial customer interaction. To satisfy the customer using the right tone of voice has no more space in this digital era. Earlier, businesses were required to ensure how their agents were hitting the target KPIs such as average wait time, average handle time, talk time, follow-ups – all of these metrics are still significant, but customer service industry has realized that CX – customer experience is king. To enhance the customer experience one of the best ways is to set your business apart from the herd and leverage the benefits of higher ROI. As of 2018, 84% of organizations have surveyed in the Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report and acknowledged that CX is indeed key differentiator and 81% of them have identified customer experience as a cost-saving effect.

In today's world, it's almost impossible to avoid Artificial Intelligence (AI). From daily interactions with Voice assistants and smartphones to the content recommended to you by media streaming services; everybody is already interacting with AI in some shape or form, even if they don't realize it. The workplace is no exception. AI is rapidly reinventing the way we work across every industry, with 70 percent of organizations set to assist workers with AI solutions by 2021. Terms like'AI', 'Automation' and'Machine Learning' are now commonplace in offices throughout the world, where they are often used arbitrarily, incorrectly and even interchangeably.

As the world is moving towards a digital age, traditional retailers face existential threats from the likes of Amazon and Walmart. To level the playing field, offline retailers are also turning to artificial intelligence as shoppers take a multichannel approach to making purchases. From helping customers find the items through visual search to personalizing their entertainment experience through chatbots, AI is revolutionizing the retail industry in a number of ways. Major retailers like Starbucks and Lowe's use AI to improve customer experience. Companies are investing hefty amounts on AI to stay on top of the game.

Marketers have become more receptive to the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies, such as machine learning, and their capabilities to deliver better customer experience and marketing performance, according to new research from SEO and content performance marketing firm BrightEdge. The future of marketing is here. David Meerman Scott, who pioneered the practice, wants to give you the lowdown on how to inject your ideas into a breaking news story to get the coverage you want. The firm's second annual 2017 Future of Marketing survey reveals marketers believe in a future ruled by the likes of AI and voice search--yet, most in-house marketers and agency practitioners had done little to introduce these powerful components into their digital marketing strategy to deliver compelling customer experiences that perform. In 2018, marketer responses on the survey reveal quite different patterns of technology adoption and benefits. Most notably, this year's findings revealed 60 percent of marketers intend to use AI to develop content marketing strategy in 2018.

A new survey released by BrightEdge, the leader in enterprise SEO and content performance marketing, reveals marketers have become more receptive to the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies, such as machine learning, and their capabilities to deliver better customer experience and marketing performance. In its second annual "Future of Marketing" survey, BrightEdge surveyed over 500 digital marketers at Fortune 500 brands split evenly across both B2B and B2C companies over a one-month period in February 2018. The "Future of Marketing" survey offers a bevy of insights on the current state of how brands are using AI to deliver a more personalized customer experience through smart content. In the 2017 "Future of Marketing" survey, marketers believed in a future ruled by the likes of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and voice search. Yet, most in-house marketers and agency practitioners had done little to introduce these powerful components into their digital marketing strategy to deliver compelling customer experiences that perform.

In the quest to deliver a more personalized customer experience, businesses have found an unlikely ally in machines. From tiny sensors to artificially intelligent contact centers, machine-based technologies can help businesses better understand, serve and communicate with their customers. This white paper, based on a recent survey conducted across six countries and 2,500 IT decision-makers, discovers businesses almost universally see machine-based technologies as a significant value-add in delivering a more personalized customer experience. See an excerpt below or download the entire white paper. Every business believes they offer something unique to their customers that differentiates them in the marketplace, whether it's a patented product or a specialized service.

The explosive growth of structured and unstructured data, along with the availability of new technologies such as cloud computing and machine learning algorithms, have made the expanded use of artificial intelligence (AI) in banking possible. According to Goldman Sachs, AI will enable $34 billion to $43 billion in annual "cost savings and new revenue opportunities" within the financial services sector by 2025. With more data accessible than ever before, banks are actively working on opportunities to better integrate machine learning into their businesses. However, this does not have to mean a less personalized experience for customers. Rather, it is crucial for customer loyalty that, even with decreasing face-to-face interactions, customized interactions are the norm.

The explosive growth of structured and unstructured data, along with the availability of new technologies such as cloud computing and machine learning algorithms, have made the expanded use of artificial intelligence (AI) in banking possible. According to Goldman Sachs, AI will enable $34 billion to $43 billion in annual "cost savings and new revenue opportunities" within the financial services sector by 2025. With more data accessible than ever before, banks are actively working on opportunities to better integrate machine learning into their businesses. However, this does not have to mean a less personalized experience for customers. Rather, it is crucial for customer loyalty that, even with decreasing face-to-face interactions, customized interactions are the norm.

Nearly half of Americans working in retail are at risk of losing their job to a robot, a new study has revealed. An analysis has found up to 7.5 million jobs that deal with merchandise are set to be automated over the next decade. The researchers discovered that those who work as cashiers have the highest risk of being replaced - and 73 percent of those positions are held by women. An analysis has found up to 7.5 million jobs that deal with merchandise are set to be automated over the next decade– leaving behind a large portion of'stranded workers'. The study was released by Cornerstone Capital Group that found there are some 16 million American working in retail, 'which represents 10 percent of the nation's working population and generates 6 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP),' reads a press release. 'This in-depth examination of retail automation gives investors insights as they consider investment risks and opportunities,' said Jon Lukomnik, IRRCi executive director.

Data can be a tricky thing for loyalty marketers. If used and refined in the right manner, data can be the golden key to success or loyalty marketers. Machine learning is also becoming a more prominent ingredient for successful loyalty programs. Loyalty360 caught up with Jennifer Bontas, vice president of data science at CrowdTwist, to find out more about this burgeoning trend. How are marketers leveraging loyalty program data/machine learning to drive more personalized customer experiences?