In today’s hyper-digitalized economy, delivering an exceptional Digital Customer Experience (DCX) isn’t just about staying competitive—it’s about survival. Yet for B2B companies, creating a seamless, end-to-end digital experience remains a significant challenge. As Vele Galovski, Vice President of Support Services at TSIA, explains in Digital Hesitation , overcoming DCX obstacles requires addressing structural inefficiencies, closing gaps in product adoption, and aligning support with evolving customer expectations. His insights reflect a broader industry shift that places efficiency, personalization, and intelligent automation at the heart of modern support strategies.  Bridging the B2B Digital Experience Gap with AI: A Collaborative Approach to Support Transformation At Ascendo AI, we believe AI is the cornerstone of this evolution. Our AI-driven platform empowers companies to meet these challenges head-on by transforming traditional technical support into proactive, seamless experiences. Let’s explore how AI agents and AI teammates are reshaping B2B DCX for a future-ready world.  The Consumption Gap: Simplifying Complexity with AI Agents   The consumption gap—the disconnect between product complexity and customers’ ability to leverage features—is a costly challenge. According to Galovski’s research, companies spend up to 40% of their operational budgets compensating for inefficient DCX processes. This gap erodes satisfaction, delays value realization, and drives up support costs.  AI agents play a pivotal role in closing this gap. By automating repetitive tasks and offering contextual, proactive assistance, AI teammates reduce onboarding time and simplify product usage. Imagine a dynamic AI guide that walks customers through key features step-by-step, monitors real-time adoption trends, and surfaces personalized recommendations to boost engagement. Automating these processes not only accelerates time-to-value but also frees human support teams to focus on complex, high-value interactions.  Breaking Down Silos: Creating Unified Support with AI Teammates   Many B2B organizations operate in silos, with disconnected systems and fragmented communication. This stovepiped structure leads to inconsistent customer experiences that feel disjointed and inefficient. Galovski advocates for end-to-end integration and unified data systems—and AI-powered platforms are uniquely positioned to make this vision a reality.  Ascendo AI’s AI teammates unify the support journey by integrating across all digital touchpoints. With a holistic view of each customer’s history, interactions, and support needs, these intelligent agents ensure seamless transitions between sales, onboarding, and ongoing support. AI teammates leverage centralized data to personalize every interaction, making it feel like a continuous conversation rather than a series of isolated events. This unified approach creates smoother journeys, reduces churn, and fosters long-term relationships.  Personalization and Proactivity: Meeting Customers Where They Are   The third major hurdle Galovski highlights is misalignment with customer desires. Today’s customers expect personalized, relevant experiences—not one-size-fits-all solutions. AI-driven platforms excel at delivering personalization at scale.  Ascendo AI’s AI teammates use prescriptive analytics to anticipate customer needs and suggest next-best actions. For example, predictive AI can flag potential issues before they arise, guide customers to self-service content tailored to their exact product version, and even offer automated health checks to maximize uptime. By integrating these proactive capabilities, AI teammates shift support from reactive problem-solving to proactive value delivery, significantly improving satisfaction and loyalty.  The AI-Powered DCX Advantage   Implementing an AI-powered DCX strategy isn’t a quick fix—it’s a strategic investment in future readiness. As B2B companies continue to innovate, adopting AI teammates and agents helps break down silos, simplify complexity, and deliver highly personalized, proactive experiences.  At Ascendo AI, we’re not just reimagining technical support—we’re empowering businesses to create scalable, intelligent, and human-centric solutions that drive growth. Inspired by thought leaders like Vele Galovski, we recognize that the journey to DCX excellence is continuous. Let’s collaborate to build the future of B2B support—one AI-powered interaction at a time.  Learn More: Data Quality: The Foundation of Efficient, AI-Powered Technical Support The Future of AI in Technical Support: Big Ideas for 2025

AI is reshaping the business world, and nowhere is its impact more transformative than in technical support. But as Grant Gross highlights in his recent article  for CIO, many IT leaders feel under pressure to deliver AI solutions without fully grasping the technology's nuances. At Ascendo AI, we see this gap not as a challenge but as an opportunity—an invitation to rethink how organizations deploy AI in ways that are intuitive, scalable, and transformative.  Bridging the AI Knowledge Gap: Transforming Support Strategies with AI Teammates Gross’s article  underscores a central truth: the fast-paced evolution of AI means today’s expertise might not fully prepare organizations for tomorrow’s needs. This dynamic can feel daunting, but it also opens the door to innovation. The secret lies in collaboration—not just between people but also between humans and AI. That’s where  AI Agents and AI teammates  come in.  Empowering Support Teams with AI Teammates   Gross’s article sheds light on the pressing need for CIOs to close the AI knowledge gap. The solution isn’t just about learning more—it’s about leveraging the right tools and partnerships. At Ascendo AI, our AI teammates are designed to make this transition seamless. These agents aren’t just tools; they’re collaborators, streamlining repetitive tasks and helping human agents focus on complex, relationship-driven work.  Imagine an AI teammate that can instantly analyze data, predict customer needs, and recommend solutions—all in real time. This not only accelerates issue resolution but also improves the overall customer experience. By offloading routine inquiries to AI teammates, support teams can focus on what matters most: empathy, creativity, and problem-solving.  Learning Through Partnership and Experimentation   Grant Gross emphasizes the importance of partnerships, quoting Salesforce  CIO Juan Perez, who recommends working with trusted AI vendors to mitigate risks and build expertise. This aligns perfectly with Ascendo AI’s collaborative approach. Partnering with an experienced AI provider means your team doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel. Instead, they can focus on learning how to work alongside AI teammates to maximize impact.  Seth Blank, CTO at Valimail, highlights the value of experimentation. Starting with small, targeted AI projects allows teams to build confidence while identifying where AI adds the most value. This is why we often recommend pilot programs where AI Agents handle repetitive, low-risk tasks, giving teams room to adapt and scale gradually.  Addressing the AI Learning Curve   The learning curve is a natural part of adopting any transformative technology. Gross cites Pavlo Tkhir’s  call for investing in training—not just for IT leaders but for entire teams. At Ascendo AI, we couldn’t agree more. AI teammates are only as effective as the teams they support, and understanding their capabilities fosters trust and collaboration.  Our AI platforms are designed to adapt and learn alongside your team, becoming smarter and more efficient with use. This iterative approach ensures that your organization doesn’t just adopt AI but grows with it, unlocking new possibilities along the way.  Building for Long-Term Success   As Gross points out, successful AI adoption isn’t just about deploying technology today—it’s about building a foundation for tomorrow. In technical support, that means using AI to enhance efficiency, improve customer experiences, and free human agents to focus on strategic, high-value tasks.  At Ascendo AI, we’re here to guide organizations through this journey. With AI teammates that adapt to your workflows and the expertise to help you integrate them seamlessly, we make the transition to AI-driven support a collaborative, empowering process. Ready to Transform Technical support?   The future of technical support isn’t just about being faster—it’s about being smarter, more collaborative, and more human. At Ascendo AI, we specialize in AI solutions that empower teams to work better, not harder. If you’re ready to explore how AI teammates can transform your support strategy, let’s start a conversation.  Together, we can bridge the AI knowledge gap and create a future where technology and people work side by side to deliver extraordinary customer experiences. Let’s build that future—one AI teammate at a time.  Learn More: Navigating the AI Frontier: Transforming Technical Support Through Intelligent Automation AI Agents: Redefining Technical Support in the Digital Era

Customer experience (CX) is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by advanced AI innovations that are reshaping the way brands interact with their audiences. Customer experience (CX) leaders are constantly seeking ways to optimize support strategies. The recent article  by Tom Lewis, a CX veteran at TTEC Digital, highlights a crucial challenge: demonstrating the ROI of AI in customer service . Lewis argues that while brands are excited about AI's potential, many struggle to see concrete benefits. At Ascendo AI, we understand this frustration. We believe the key lies in shifting the focus from technology to experience .  Beyond the Hype: How AI Can Become Your Reliable Teammate in Technical Support At Ascendo AI, we’ve been at the forefront of this transformation, championing the potential of AI Agents and AI Teammates  to redefine support strategies. These technologies go beyond automating repetitive tasks—they empower businesses to deliver smarter, faster, and more seamless support while unlocking unparalleled efficiency.  AI Teammates: Your Support Team’s New Best Friend   AI teammates aren’t here to replace your human agents—they’re here to supercharge them. By analyzing customer interactions and identifying patterns, these AI systems proactively flag emerging issues before they escalate. They empower agents with instant insights, enabling faster resolution and reducing repeat contacts.  Tom’s insights on conversation intelligence  illustrate this beautifully. By integrating AI to monitor and analyze support interactions, brands can proactively identify product issues and reach out to customers before they pick up the phone. This kind of insight-driven deflection isn’t just cost-effective—it’s a game-changer for customer loyalty.  Why Effortless CX is Non-Negotiable   Tom pointed out that effortless CX must be every brand’s “North Star.” Friction is the silent killer of customer loyalty. With customer satisfaction at an all-time low despite the rise in digital interactions, the pressure is on to create support experiences that are intuitive and seamless.  At Ascendo AI, we design our platform with effortless CX  as the guiding principle. Whether it’s assisting with complex technical inquiries or helping businesses detect and resolve issues before they arise, our solutions focus on making every experience smooth and rewarding.  Turning Hype into Tangible ROI   Tom’s article underscores a critical challenge: despite AI’s buzz, many companies struggle to see a return on their investments. The reason? Rushing into AI without clear use cases. We see this often, which is why Ascendo AI takes a consultative, goal-focused approach. Our AI Agents and teammates are purpose-built to address specific CX challenges, delivering measurable savings, increased productivity, and stronger customer relationships.  Your Journey to Better Support Starts Here   AI isn’t just a tool—it’s a partner. As Tom’s insights demonstrate, the key to unlocking AI’s potential lies in aligning technology with well-defined CX strategies. It’s time to move beyond traditional support models and embrace a future where AI works alongside your team to deliver results.  At Ascendo AI, we’re ready to help you take that leap. Ready to explore how AI Agents and teammates can transform your support strategy? Let’s build the future of customer experience—together.  What’s your biggest CX challenge right now? Let’s discuss this in the comments.   Learn More: Breaking Down Silos: How AI Agents Are Transforming Technical Support From Complexity to Clarity: How AI Agents Are Simplifying Field Service

As we approach 2025, the conversation around AI’s transformative power is shifting from speculation to strategy. In his recent article, AI in 2025: Key Considerations for Technology Leaders , Udo Sglavo, a visionary in applied AI, underscores a pivotal truth: generative AI is no longer a novelty—it’s a necessity. At Ascendo.ai, we couldn’t agree more. The future belongs to organizations that harness AI not as a standalone tool, but as an integrated, intelligent partner capable of redefining how businesses operate and serve their customers. AI Agents in 2025: Transforming customer support through advanced collaboration and cutting-edge technology. From Hype to Hyper-Efficiency: The Rise of Specialized AI Agents Sglavo highlights a critical trend: the commoditization of large language models (LLMs) and the rise of niche, domain-specific AI applications. This mirrors our philosophy at Ascendo.ai. While broad AI models have their place, the real magic happens when AI is tailored to solve specific problems . Enter AI Agents —specialized teammates designed to handle precise tasks within customer support workflows. Imagine an AI Agent that resolves routine technical queries in seconds, freeing human agents to tackle complex issues. Or an AI Teammate that analyzes customer sentiment in real-time, empowering your team to proactively address frustrations. These aren’t hypotheticals—they’re realities we’re already delivering. By focusing on targeted, efficient solutions, Ascendo.ai ensures businesses avoid the bloat of oversized systems while maximizing ROI. Sustainability Meets Scalability: Doing More with Less Sglavo rightly warns of AI’s environmental toll, noting that inefficient models strain energy resources. At Ascendo AI, sustainability isn’t an afterthought—it’s core to our design. Our AI Agents are built with lean architectures, optimizing performance without excess energy consumption. This isn’t just good for the planet; it’s smart business. Efficient models reduce operational costs, enabling companies to scale support without sacrificing sustainability goals. Decentralization and Compliance: Building Trust Through Flexibility The AI landscape is diversifying, with open-source models challenging monolithic providers. Ascendo AI embraces this shift. Our platform integrates seamlessly with both proprietary and open-source tools, allowing businesses to customize solutions that align with their unique needs. But flexibility must coexist with responsibility. As regulations tighten, compliance becomes non-negotiable. Our AI Agents are designed with ethical guardrails, ensuring transparency and adherence to global standards—turning compliance from a hurdle into a competitive edge. Closing the Skills Gap: Empowering Teams, Elevating Careers Sglavo’s warning about the AI skills gap resonates deeply. At Ascendo AI, we believe technology should empower people, not replace them. Our AI Teammates handle repetitive tasks, but they also serve as collaborative tools that upskill your workforce. By partnering with Ascendo.ai, companies invest in a future where employees focus on creative problem-solving and relationship-building—areas where humans excel. The Ascendo AI Advantage: Where Innovation Meets Empathy The future of customer support isn’t about replacing human touchpoints—it’s about enhancing them. Our agentic AI platform acts as a force multiplier, enabling teams to deliver faster resolutions, personalized experiences, and seamless scalability. For instance, an e-commerce client using Ascendo.ai reduced average handle time by 40% while boosting customer satisfaction scores, proving that efficiency and empathy can coexist. Ready to Lead the AI-Powered Revolution? As Sglavo notes, organizations that operationalize AI now will outpace competitors. But success requires more than technology—it demands vision. At Ascendo AI, we’re committed to being your thought partner, not just your vendor. Whether you’re exploring AI Agents for technical support or seeking sustainable, compliant AI strategies, we’re here to help you navigate this evolution. The question isn’t if AI will transform customer support—it’s how . Let’s ensure your “how” is intelligent, innovative, and unmistakably human. Explore Ascendo AI’s AI Agents today—because the future of support isn’t just automated; it’s empowered. Learn More: 2025 Vision: The Role of Multimodal and Agentic AI in Technical Support Why 2025 Will Redefine Technical Support: The Role of AI Teammates in Driving Efficiency

In today’s dynamic economy, the field service industry faces a perfect storm of challenges and opportunities. From economic uncertainty to the relentless pace of technological innovation, companies must constantly rethink how they deliver service excellence. Wael Mohammed’s insightful exploration of 10 Field Service Trends  for Field Nation highlights how businesses and technicians are navigating this complex landscape—and it’s a must-read for anyone interested in staying ahead of the curve.  10 Game-Changing Trends in Field Service—and How AI Teammates are Leading the Charge At Ascendo AI , we see these trends as a call to action for transforming technical support and service delivery through AI-driven solutions. In this post, we’ll share how AI teammates—intelligent, adaptive systems that augment human expertise—can help service teams tackle evolving industry demands with precision and efficiency.  1. Responding to Economic Uncertainty with Smart Resource Allocation   High interest rates and restrained consumer spending are reshaping capital investment. Companies need to do more with less, prioritizing high-demand projects while minimizing costs. Here, AI Agents  shine by offering data-driven insights for resource planning. Predictive analytics can identify which projects yield the highest return on investment, helping service leaders allocate technicians and equipment where they’re needed most—and avoid overspending on lower-impact initiatives.  2. Addressing the Skilled Technician Shortage with AI-Driven Training   The demand for highly skilled field service technicians is rising, yet finding talent remains difficult. Companies are investing in training, but manual efforts are often time-consuming. AI teammates  can accelerate upskilling by delivering personalized, context-aware learning experiences. Imagine a technician receiving step-by-step augmented reality support from an AI-driven guide while on-site—reducing the need for lengthy classroom sessions and enhancing real-time problem-solving.  3. Harnessing the Power of IoT and Digital Solutions   From smart shelves to Wi-Fi 7 upgrades, technological innovation is transforming the physical landscape. As businesses adopt these advancements, the complexity of technical support rises. Here, AI-powered troubleshooting systems  can act as collaborative teammates, diagnosing device issues and suggesting solutions faster than human agents working alone. This leads to quicker resolutions, fewer repeat visits, and a seamless customer experience.  4. Data Center Growth and the Role of Predictive Maintenance   The surge in data center projects signals a growing need for proactive service management. AI Agents  can monitor equipment health and predict failures before they occur, empowering teams to perform maintenance only when necessary—saving time and reducing downtime.  5. Enabling Retail Healthcare and Digital Signage Support   The retailization of healthcare demands complex digital infrastructures, from kiosks to signage. AI teammates  simplify these installations by dynamically adjusting configuration workflows based on real-time data. Imagine deploying hundreds of devices with automated setup verifications—what once took days can now be completed in hours.  6. Enhancing Warehouse Automation with AI   Modern warehouses depend on robust connectivity and automation. When network issues arise, AI-powered virtual support agents can rapidly diagnose and resolve problems, ensuring smooth operations with minimal human intervention. These AI agents don’t replace skilled network engineers—they free them to focus on strategic improvements rather than reactive firefighting.  7. Driving Retail Revenue with AI Innovations   Mohammed’s report highlights how AI and smart devices have already boosted revenue for 69% of retailers. The lesson? AI-driven customer support doesn’t just solve problems—it creates competitive advantages. From smart kiosks to AI-managed surveillance systems, the opportunities for proactive, AI-assisted service are vast.  8. Supporting Hybrid Work with Collaborative AI   The hybrid workforce demands seamless digital collaboration tools, and investments in AV technology are skyrocketing. AI-powered teammates  can manage and optimize virtual meeting systems, troubleshoot issues, and ensure reliable performance—turning tech complexity into a frictionless user experience.  9. Strengthening Physical Security with AI Agents   Safety and security are top priorities, with a 13.8% increase in spending on advanced systems. AI-driven surveillance solutions can provide real-time monitoring, anomaly detection, and actionable insights to enhance protection across industries.  10. Expanding Opportunities with AV and IT Convergence   The convergence of AV and IT technologies has revolutionized digital collaboration and signage installations, reflecting a 46% year-over-year increase in related work orders. AI-powered systems can streamline deployments by automatically configuring devices and ensuring compatibility, allowing faster rollouts and reduced manual errors. This convergence not only improves operational efficiency but also empowers teams to deliver more cohesive, scalable solutions.  The Future of Field Service with AI-Driven Support   Field service is no longer about fixing things when they break—it’s about anticipating needs, optimizing resources, and delivering unparalleled customer experiences. As Wael Mohammed’s research shows, industry leaders are already embracing these changes. At Ascendo AI, we’re inspired to continue pushing the boundaries of what AI can achieve in customer support.  Empower your support strategy with AI teammates.  Explore how intelligent, agentic systems can transform your service operations today.  Learn More: The Year Ahead: How AI Agents Are Shaping Field Service Excellence in 2025 Disruption, Data, and the Future of Field Service: The Role of AI Teammates

In the age of digital transformation, technology is nearly impossible to keep up with. While bringing new technology solutions into every facet of your business can be enticing, budgets and resources rarely allow for it. In addition to this, customer support is considered to be a cost function instead of a growth function. After the pandemic, companies are now recognizing that customer support experience and customer support employee experience are imperative to the success of the organization. While this awareness is just starting up, leaders are bound by many different kinds of technologies. How can you be sure that you are investing in the right technology and investing your budget in ways that make a difference? Oracle Research shares the best use of technology as surveyed by several companies. Source: Oracle research Are you ready to improve service processes? It is always a prudent exercise to consider the time and resources it takes for your organization to deliver a new product or service, manage everyday tasks, or issue reports. It is not always obvious to the team that too much time is being spent in one particular area, especially when they’ve been managing that task for some time. If you can easily identify areas within your service business that serve as a ‘black hole’ of time or resources, now is the perfect time to consider where investment in new technology can deliver valuable improvement. Here are some areas to look at: Time to Resolution Metrics The time of Resolution metric is essential for customer service that helps to measure your team's ability, to solve customer problems. In the world of customer services, it is important to be able to solve customer problems instantly. When customer service tickets and issues are resolved quickly, you increase customer experience and retention. When the customer gets a quick resolution, they feel you really value their time and trust, and with this customer loyalty is more likely to increase. On the other hand, a long resolution time can hinder your customer support system, whatever the reason may be. But to retain a customer, the business needs to focus on the Time of Resolution metrics. With Artificial Intelligence when you give the different support channel options to your customer, it enhances customer experience a level up while managing interactions across all channels with high quality and consistency. Self-service approach The self-service approach is a magic bullet for a customer service system. There are many benefits to adopting the self-service approach in customer support as it increases self-sufficiency and helps to avoid common human errors made by the team. This approach also helps non-technical users with an easy understanding of the products or services. With innovative tools, a support team can serve the best solutions to their customers. Challenges are always there in different processes, whether it is about support or development or anything else but when you choose a self-service approach, the quality and consistency of results go up. It is imperative that self-service focuses on resolution rather than deflection. With deflection, the issue is just pushed aside. With AI power you can always be available for your customers to self-serve without any human assistance. By focusing on resolution, even if an agent needs to be involved the transition is seamless. Knowledge Base in Customer Support Implementation of a Knowledge base in customer support gives a drastic change in the way your customers get customer service. When you harness information from day-to-day conversations that agents have internally and also from previous resolutions into a Knowledge base, you develop quality. Ascendo AI even goes a level up to a state of which pieces of knowledge you need to improve . You can easily connect to multiple CRMs and other data sources using the knowledge base and observe the solutions ranked all together, in one place. When a customer service team adopts a knowledge base, they become more strengthened to find accurate updates about the customers and provide responsive and high-quality customer service. Do you need a competitive advantage? Every organization wants to be a step ahead of the competition, but there can come a point in time where it becomes critical to invest in new technology in order to outpace those around you. As the old adage goes, “you need to spend money to make money,”. But with AI tools like Ascendo, ROI is built into the tool and 10X returns are a norm. This is never more true than when working to deliver a solution or service above and beyond what anyone else in the market is doing. Take an honest account of how you are doing against other players in your space, and talk internally with your team to determine what tools and resources are available that can help you compete more effectively. If you identify gaps in areas that could help you excel within a critical niche, now may be the perfect time to make that investment. Focus on poor customer service statistics that need improvement. Do you need to improve communication? Has your company grown while processes have stayed the same? Do you find that teams are siloed from each other to the point that innovation and creativity are stymied? One of the most critical issues we see when companies come to us to help optimize their strategic planning and activity is holes in their communications process. This is where technology can play an important role in improving the status quo. Tools like Ascendo AI provides standardization along with improving quality across agents. By knowing the expert on a particular type of problem , sentiment analysis , and escalation prediction , teams know who can be their help without letting a ticket go to escalation. This level of transparency helps improve communication across teams, as well as communication above and below the leadership levels. Do you need better insights into data? With more and more devices, more and more processes, and more avenues to support customers – collecting and delivering data to your organization, have you found a way to effectively analyze all that information and create actionable insights? If the answer is no – and don’t worry, you’re not alone – this is the ideal time to invest in technology that can help give your data meaning and purpose. At Ascendo, we’ve found that our clients are able to increase ROI across the organization in numerous ways simply by making their data work for them. This is one of the most compelling reasons for an organization to find a budget for new technology. Driving home the value of the investment Once you know it’s time to make improvements, and you’ve found the right tools to address your needs, how do you convince management it’s worth the cost? The last few years have proven turbulent for all businesses, and most companies started the pandemic by taking a conservative mindset toward new investment. Now, however, the focus is on agility, accelerating the digital footprint, and enabling teams to do more with greater efficiency. To convince your leadership team that a new investment is warranted, draw a clear line to the value it offers. Three areas that are key for businesses in the coming year include: Improving customer experience: Make a direct correlation to how new technology, even back-end, internal solutions, can ultimately improve the customer experience. Once the value to the end-user is clear, the investment becomes much more worthwhile. Increase speed and effectiveness: Make a demonstrable case for improved ROI by clearly delineating the benefits of the technology and what current company expenses might be reduced or even eliminated. Consider how much you can save, or how long you can use the technology before it might need to be replaced or renewed. Be clear in the expectations and share data that proves your point to the team. Attract and retain top talent: Any advantage that entices new or current talent is time and money well spent. It’s hard to attract the smartest people in the field if your competition is giving them more to work with than you are. Consider what areas of the organization are holding you back from finding the best talent for your company and work to improve those, making it a recruitment selling point. Do make sure the tool can with employee experience as well as Customer Service Experience. Continuous feedback loop from customers: Are you able to harness feedback and sentiment from every customer interaction? In general, companies focus on feedback from: Large customers Disgruntled customers Customers who are in touch Customers who fill in the survey With AI sentiment analysis , you can now focus not only on a section of customers but on all customers and all interactions. The business case for Customer Service technology Spending a precious budget on new technology solutions can feel like a gamble, especially if you’ve rolled the dice before and lost with a solution that didn’t deliver on its promises or was too complex to be of value. Carefully considering what your company needs, and drawing a clear line for how new technology can address challenges while paving the way for opportunities, are the most effective ways to make sure the budget is well spent. Resources: Customer Think Oracle

As we reflect on Bernard Marr’s insightful overview  of 2024’s AI advancements, it’s impossible not to be inspired by the transformative leaps made across industries. From generative AI’s evolving sophistication to regulatory milestones, this year’s innovations have set the stage for a future where artificial intelligence reshapes the way we approach Technical Support—and beyond.  2024: A Breakthrough Year for AI in Technical Support At Ascendo AI, we believe the heart of these developments lies in the integration of AI Agents and AI Teammates  into the Technical Support ecosystem. These breakthroughs aren’t just about making technology smarter; they’re about empowering human teams, enhancing customer experiences, and driving operational efficiency. Let’s explore how the 2024 trends Marr highlighted can inform your support strategies and why adopting AI-driven solutions is no longer optional.    The Evolution of Generative AI: A Game Changer for Support Teams   Marr’s observations on the continued evolution of generative AI chatbots perfectly align with what we’re seeing in the Technical Support landscape. Tools with memory and multimodal capabilities are no longer confined to answering FAQs. Today’s AI Agents leverage these advancements to contextualize customer queries, offer personalized resolutions, and even predict follow-up needs—all while reducing response times.  At Ascendo AI, our Agentic AI platform builds on these innovations. By integrating intelligent assistants into your support workflows, you’re not just adding a tool—you’re onboarding a teammate. These AI Agents handle repetitive inquiries, escalate complex issues to human agents seamlessly, and ensure your customers feel seen and valued.    Accessibility and Innovation: Apple Intelligence Leads the Way   Apple’s foray into generative AI —as Marr pointed out—underscores the importance of making cutting-edge technology accessible. By embedding generative AI into its ecosystem, Apple didn’t just add functionality; it created a bridge for millions of users to embrace AI in their daily lives.  In Technical Support, this mirrors the shift toward intuitive AI interfaces that empower agents and customers alike. Ascendo AI’s AI Teammates are designed with usability in mind, ensuring your teams can harness the full power of automation without a steep learning curve. When AI becomes as easy to use as sending a text, your team’s efficiency soars.    Regulation and Trust: Building Ethical AI Systems   The EU AI Act, as Marr highlighted, is a crucial step toward ensuring AI is used responsibly. For Technical Support leaders, this regulatory framework offers both a challenge and an opportunity. It’s a reminder that trust is foundational in any AI deployment.  At Ascendo AI, we prioritize transparency and reliability. Our platform’s AI Teammates are designed to operate within ethical guidelines, ensuring your customers know their data is safe while still benefiting from tailored, intelligent support experiences. Trust isn’t just a regulatory checkbox; it’s a cornerstone of great customer relationships.    Robotics and the Future of Physical Support   While Marr’s account of Tesla’s Optimus  humanoid robot might seem far removed from Technical Support, it’s a glimpse into the future of AI’s role in physical environments. Imagine AI-enabled systems not just solving digital queries but assisting with in-store troubleshooting or even product assembly.  Though we may be years away from this becoming mainstream, the lesson here is clear: investing in AI now prepares your organization for a future where digital and physical support converge. Ascendo AI’s platform is built to scale with you, ensuring you’re ready to embrace these advancements when they arrive.    AI Art and Customer Engagement   Finally, Marr’s mention of the AI-created painting  that sold for over $1 million is a testament to AI’s creative potential. While Technical Support might not call for million-dollar artworks, it does demand creativity in engagement. AI can craft personalized outreach messages; design tailored knowledge bases and even predict customer sentiment to improve interactions.  At Ascendo AI, we view AI as more than a tool for efficiency; it’s a means to elevate every customer touchpoint. By combining intelligence with creativity, your brand can deliver experiences that not only solve problems but also delight your customers.    Looking Ahead to 2025   As Marr aptly concluded, 2024’s advancements are just the beginning. The coming year holds even more potential for AI to redefine Technical Support. At Ascendo AI, we’re excited to lead this charge, helping businesses harness the power of AI Agents and Teammates to create support systems that are intelligent, collaborative, and customer-first.  Are you ready to transform your support strategy? Let’s explore how AI can make your team more efficient, your customers happier, and your business future-ready.  Learn More: Redefining Technical Support: How AI Agents and Teammates are Reshaping Efficiency AI Agents, AI Teammates, and Transformation: Insights for 2025 and Beyond

Great customer service is no longer a perk—it’s the deciding factor between loyalty and losing customers to competitors. As Mike Sandy eloquently highlights in his article, How to Enhance Customer Service in Online Platforms , customer experience (CX) is critical. From personalization to automation, modern support strategies must evolve to meet rising expectations.  AI Agents: Redefining Customer Support in the Digital Era At Ascendo AI, we couldn’t agree more. Our AI-driven platform is built around the idea that efficiency and empathy are not mutually exclusive. By introducing AI agents as collaborative teammates, we’re transforming technical support into a faster, smarter, and more proactive experience. Here’s how we’re turning trends into tangible results.  Rethinking CX: Seamless from Start to Finish   Sandy points out that CX begins the moment a customer visits your platform. Whether it’s a quick search for a product or troubleshooting a technical issue, a smooth, intuitive journey defines the overall experience.   Our AI agents elevate this process by actively identifying friction points and offering real-time solutions. For instance, they can suggest next steps, answer FAQs instantly, or guide users through complex processes—all without waiting for a human agent. This not only reduces delays but also builds trust, ensuring every interaction feels effortless.   AI Teammates: Empowering Personalized Support   Today’s customers expect personalized interactions. Sandy’s mention of chat support tailored to individual preferences highlights the growing demand for relevance and recognition in customer service.   This is where our AI teammates shine. By analyzing customer history and preferences, they offer context-aware responses, whether resolving technical issues or suggesting tailored solutions. For more intricate cases, they collaborate seamlessly with human agents, ensuring support remains both efficient and empathetic. It’s a partnership that boosts productivity and deepens customer connections.   Self-Service, Smarter Than Ever   Customers increasingly prefer to solve problems independently. As Sandy notes, self-service tools like FAQs and tutorials are essential for empowering users while lightening the load on support teams.   At Ascendo AI, we take this further with AI-powered self-service. Our platform continuously monitors customer queries, identifying trends and proactively updating resources to address emerging needs. By ensuring knowledge bases remain dynamic and relevant, we help businesses provide users with the autonomy they crave.   Data-Driven Excellence   Metrics like response times and CSAT scores are critical for improving support performance. As Sandy mentions, top companies leverage these insights to stay ahead.   Our AI platform not only tracks these metrics but turns them into actionable insights. For example, if response times lag during peak hours, our system might recommend redistributing workloads or automating repetitive tasks. These insights empower businesses to make informed, strategic decisions that enhance both efficiency and customer satisfaction.   The Ascendo AI Difference: Agentic AI in Action   Sandy’s insights on AI’s role in customer support highlight the potential for automation to streamline workflows and reduce friction. But at Ascendo AI, we see AI as more than just a tool—it’s a teammate.   Our AI agents don’t just automate; they learn, adapt, and collaborate. They handle routine inquiries, analyze patterns, and provide human agents with actionable recommendations. This synergy enables support teams to focus on complex, high-value tasks, creating a customer experience that’s both efficient and deeply personal.   Looking Ahead: The Future of Support   As Sandy aptly states, online platforms have a unique opportunity to make customer support a defining feature. With AI agents leading the charge, businesses can deliver faster resolutions, more personalized interactions, and proactive solutions—all while staying ahead of industry demands.   At Ascendo AI, we’re excited to be part of this transformation. By empowering businesses with intelligent, reliable AI teammates, we’re not just meeting customer expectations—we’re exceeding them. Ready to see what AI-driven support can do for your business? Let’s start building the future of customer service together.   Learn More: Redefining Customer Experience: How AI Agents Can Become Your Superpower Beyond the Hype: How AI Can Become Your Reliable Teammate in Technical Support

In the realm of AI-based technology  solutions, terms like AI Assistant, AI Agent, and AI Copilot are frequently used by organizations, each carrying its own unique implications. Understanding these differences requires examining them through specific perspectives such as Focus and Interaction.   Focus   pertains to the method these systems employ to deliver answers. It questions whether they operate as basic query-response mechanisms, can parse through multiple documents to generate a response, or go beyond by proactively identifying potential inquiries and directing users' attention accordingly.    Interaction   examines the depth of engagement between the system and the user. This can range from Reactive, where the system only responds upon direct prompting, to Collaborative, which involves considering various factors in its responses, and Proactive, where the system anticipates needs and acts as an on-demand expert. These distinctions are crucial for understanding the functionalities and potential applications of AI-driven  systems in professional settings.  Ascendo AI CRM Copilot    Let us now look at various AI Solutions:  AI Assistant:    Focus:  Task automation and execution.   Interaction:  Reactive — Responds to specific user requests or commands.   Typically used in the following scenarios:  Scope:  Narrow — Excels in specific tasks within a defined domain.   Purpose:  “Execute this task for me.”   In Customer Service, using a Conversational AI bot  to get answers to a question, is an AI assistant. It will execute the task and understand it but does not have the overall importance of a  interaction.  It provides value to that question and answer but does not offer to improve the customer experience for the customer or provide insights to improve the customer experience to a leader or a support engineer.    AI Agent:    Focus:   Autonomous  task completion, often remotely from the user.   Interaction:  Typically, proactive in specific contexts or workflows. Proactive behavior is context-specific and revolves around predefined actions or triggers, rather than general proactive assistance like AI Copilots.    Typically used in the following scenarios:  Scope:  Narrow — Specializes in executing predefined tasks within a defined domain. While narrow like AI Assistants, AI Agents  stand out for their autonomy and ability to complete tasks independently once initiated and remember the history in making the suggestions.  Purpose:  “Perform this task autonomously as instructed.”   AI Copilot:    Focus:  Augmenting human intelligence and decision-making.   Interaction: Proactive-Anticipates needs, provides suggestions, and collaborates on solutions . Typically used in the following scenarios:  Scope:  Broader — Offers insights and recommendations across multiple aspects of a workflow within a defined domain or role.  Think of this as multiple AI agents working with each other to create a co-pilot-like experience for the customer journey. Purpose:  “Let’s work together to solve this.  Let us use an example to show the differences.    To illustrate the varying levels of technological assistance , consider the following scenario:   Consider a high-tech company trying to determine the settings for a specific part of its system. A simple AI assistant  could merely retrieve information from a manual. But what if the company sought to understand how the system would behave if they modified something?   A more advanced AI agent  could recall past interactions and offer a more customized response.  Now, envision an AI copilot . It doesn't just provide information; it assists the company in determining the optimal solution. It suggests steps, furnishes specific instructions, and even aids the company in making changes. That's what Ascendo AI does. It can act like an AI copilot, engage in conversations like a human, and actively guide the company through the process.   Ascendo behaves like a copilot  as it can help end users in multiple types of roles like IT, support, and engineering, along with managers and leaders.  Learn More: Unleashing the Potential of Generative CRM: Redefining Customer Engagement The Future of Customer Service: Generative AI CRM Copilots

In the ever-evolving landscape of enterprise services, the challenge of meeting service level agreements (SLAs) and maintaining efficient support operations is a constant battle. As service leaders invest in critical areas like stocking essential parts, training field personnel, and collaborating with external partners, the unpredictable nature of service demand poses unique challenges. However, there is a transformative solution on the horizon: Ascendo.AI's machine learning and big data capabilities. The Challenge: Navigating Unpredictable Service Demand Enterprises investing in service operations often face the dilemma of balancing part inventory levels. On average, after-sales service represents 24% of revenue and generates 45% of profit, yet challenges persist. A staggering 23% of parts become obsolete annually, and the demand for service is notoriously random. This unpredictability forces service teams into expensive, emergency fixes, multiple site visits, and excessive stocking at various points in the supply chain, causing disruptions and resource inefficiencies. (HBR Studies) The Complexity of Aftermarket and Service Supply Chains Enterprises not only have to support current product lines but also products sold over two decades ago. Managing a multitude of SKUs multiple times becomes a daunting task. Traditional supply chain planning solutions struggle to address the "long tail" problem of small quantities and infrequent orders, making it challenging to maintain high service levels across diverse channels . The status quo has prevailed for decades, hindering organizations in their pursuit of efficiency. Ascendo PredictGPT tackles this complexity head-on, providing a solution to the "long tail" problem and empowering organizations to maintain high service levels across diverse channels. IoT and the Need for Modern Solutions Ascendo PredictGPT integrates modern digital technologies , combining cloud-based connected planning with AI and Machine Learning. This synergy optimizes inventory levels and provides a promising solution to the challenges of forecasting service demand in the era of the Internet of Things. Ascendo PredictGPT Unleashed Ascendo Cognitive Parts Planning: A Solution to Age-Old Problems Enter Ascendo PredictGPT, offering a proactive approach to managing parts, tools, and locations. Through insightful analysis of enterprise data, Ascendo PredictGPT enables accurate predictions of demand, minimizing the need for costly emergency shipments and transforming service logistics. Advantages of Ascendo PredictGPT: A Comprehensive Solution Ascendo PredictGPT provides a fully integrated application with built-in machine learning models, data connectors, insights, and supply chain planning refreshes. This comprehensive solution empowers enterprises to act on predictive results immediately, enhancing efficiency in service operations. Infinera's Success Story: A Testament to Ascendo's Impact The success story of Infinera, a global networking solutions provider, highlights the transformative power of Ascendo's Cognitive Parts Intelligence. Facing challenges in demand forecasting and supply chain management, Infinera adopted Ascendo's solution and experienced a paradigm shift. From hours of manual demand forecasting to minutes of effective spare planning, Infinera optimized its service operations, resulting in improved customer experiences and increased customer satisfaction. Elevate Logistics Support Operations with Ascendo PredictGPT In the face of unpredictable service demand and the complexity of after-sales service logistics, Ascendo PredictGPT emerges as a comprehensive solution. The combination of machine learning, big data, and cognitive intelligence provides actionable predictions, minimizes costly inefficiencies, and optimizes inventory carrying costs. Infinera's success is a testament to the transformative impact of Ascendo, showcasing its ability to elevate logistics support operations and drive efficiency in service management. As the future of support for service leaders and customers unfolds, Ascendo PredictGPT stands as a beacon of innovation and a solution to age-old challenges in service parts management. Learn More Overcoming the Challenge of Rule-Based Chatbots: Unveiling Gen AI Capabilities What sets Ascendo Apart?