Generative artificial intelligence: what are we talking about?
Able to generate images, videos and even music, generative artificial intelligence (AI) reproduces human cognitive capacity in a comprehensive and versatile way. Between a boon for companies and a source of ethical questioning, this technological revolution - which, by the way, makes it possible to justify price hikes - is reshuffling the cards in the competition between technological giants in CRM. The emergence of generative AI in customer relations is potentially changing the balance of power, enabling giants like Google and Facebook to compete with long-established players like Salesforce and Oracle.
In concrete terms, what are the benefits?
Artificial intelligence, in particular generative AI, is a powerful engine for anticipating customer needs. It can automate day-to-day conversations through chatbot tools that answer frequent and repetitive customer questions without dehumanizing the relationship:
- Automate tasks such as synthesizing customer information from conversations.
- Target marketing campaigns with personalized messages while optimizing interactions thanks to customer data analysis.
Generative AI makes it possible to identify needs and propose appropriate offers or services, as well as anticipating requests and, in some cases, even behavior. The benefits for customer relations teams are considerable: reduced workload and optimized working time.
More recently, at the heart of the news, generative AI helps to improve the quality of the customer experience, so that it is seamless and fluid. It also helps to meet all points of compliance, particularly in sales, and optimizes reachability to correspond with more customers more efficiently.
Generative AI in marketing and message personalization
Companies can examine the inclinations or behavior of their purchasing customers. They can use this information to create individualized advertising messages and product ideas, leading to increased conversion rates and customer loyalty. The quality of the end result is directly linked to the quality of the input data, which is why the challenge for CIOs in 2024 lies in building solid data repositories that open the doors to the innovations mentioned above.
Investing in generative AI
Investing in generative AI - through R&D or partnerships - is essential not only to remain competitive, but also to adapt one's strategy to customers or prospects (thanks to marketing twins), as illustrated by the initiatives of :
- Microsoft with Copilot
- Salesforce with OpenAI
In practice, the rapid adoption of a clear strategy in the face of AI will require massive R&D investment on the part of the major CRM vendors.
No AI without CRM Data
An AI strategy requires a data strategy. The AI value chain starts with quality, available and usable data. And these ingredients are often lacking. According to a survey by consulting firm McKinsey, "82% of organizations lack a clear strategy for accessing and acquiring the data needed for AI, and only 8% consider that their AI systems can access all useful data".
"Data is becoming an essential driving force behind digital transformation, as it is the fuel that powers new business processes and new business models," explains Assia Garbinato, Head of Data & Information Management at Vaudoise Assurances. Standardized, high-quality data is not only useful for AI, it's also easier for the business to use - it's hard to do effective marketing when customers have different names in the CRM. In some cases, you may need to datamange your data.
Towards the data-driven enterprise
Without a taste and understanding of data, decision-makers and employees will not trust the results provided by algorithms, however good they may be, and will not integrate them into their daily practice. IT undoubtedly has a role to play in this evangelization, in particular by making its work on data transparent.
