With driverless cars, chatbots, smart speakers, drones and data-phishing creating sensational headlines on a daily basis, forward thinking brands should be asking the question; "What does the arrival of Artificial Intelligence and Automation REALLY mean for customer experience?" There are massive shifts underway in consumer behaviours, habits and attitudes, making it harder to predict the future. In our Whitepaper on AI and Automation, we sort the fact from the fiction, with revealing expert opinions and the results of a Webhelp commissioned YouGov study on public attitudes towards this booming technology and most importantly – the impact of machine learning on the CX industry. It's clear that young people have become a potent force for change and that age-related preferences could play a more critical role in defining behaviour than financial or situational factors. The infographic below shares some of the report findings in a bite-size format and our Disruptor Series takes an even deeper dive into the challenges faced by the customer experience industry.

I was interested to read our CEO David Turner's recent blog on the importance of the human touch in CX, which was supported by our Whitepaper on AI and Automation. The survey, conducted with YouGov was focused on how British consumers view Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it may change the way that brands offer service to customers in future. As David notes, the initial impressions were somewhat sceptical about AI. A large majority of UK consumers still prefer dealing with humans rather than automated services. This was consistent when querying a bill (85%) making a complaint (84%), for first time purchases (77%), chasing orders (73%) and fault reporting (78%).

As new technology drives a sea change across the customer experience sector, it is important to evaluate how the public honestly values personal interaction as a service need. Webhelp conducted research with the polling experts YouGov asking 2,000 British adults for their thoughts on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it might change the way that brands offer customer service. Webhelp UK's CEO, David Turner, looks at the importance of the human touch. Rules in CX are being rewritten. It's getting harder to predict the future but we can still try.

THE REWARD - Invitation to join other winning startups in the Webhelp "Customer Experience" Lab at Viva technology Paris 2016 (June 30 to July 2016) - Opportunity to work with Webhelp's Global R&THE REWARD - Invitation to join other winning startups in the Webhelp "Customer Experience" Lab at Viva technology Paris 2016 (June 30 to July 2016) - Opportunity to work with Webhelp's Global R&D Team in our development Lab to further develop and test your product - Invitation to an exclusive event with Webhelp's Founders, Olivier Duha and Frederic Jousset and representatives from our major investors KKR to discuss their startup experiences and advice - Opportunity to make joint proposals for your product alongside Webhelp to organisations selected from our client-base of over 300 leading business THE CHALLENGE It is clear that A.I., Digital Assistants, Virtual Agents, Messaging Bots etc are going to transform how customers and organisations interact with each other. How can organisations adopt these technologies cost-effectively to provide outstanding customer experiences and increase customer value? Dave Pattman, Director Global R&D at Webhelp says "Automation and Robotics are already starting to manage interactions between customers and organisations. Understanding how and when to blend machine and human agents to optimise experience and value will become increasingly important" Webhelp is interested in hearing from startups working in fields such as artificial intelligence, biometrics, machine learning and messaging Bots If you think your startup meets these criteria, apply now to be selected in the Webhelp lab! Being in the "Customer experience" lab means: - Being at the heart of Viva Technology Paris with a dedicated 4m² stand in "Customer experience" lab of Webhelp - Engaging partnerships opportunity reviews, increasing potential business or even considering all kinds of commercial and financial opportunities thanks to becoming close to the right people at the right place - Meeting the most influential investors and thinkers About Webhelp. Webhelp is a Global Customer Experience provider.