Technology, whether AI or otherwise, is only as good as the experience it supports. The organizations that win in the next chapter will be those who step back and ask: what experience are we actually creating for our customers?
From Transactions to Trust
BEYOND AI:
THE REAL NEXT FRONTIER IN CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS Where is the future headed?
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By Mia Papanicolaou & Elizabeth Stephen
I has dominated headlines for the past few years in the regulated communications space, and in many ways, deservedly so. It can automate processes, personalize at scale and accelerate the production of content in ways we once only imagined. But let’s be clear: AI is not the frontier, it’s a tool that should serve a bigger ambition. The real frontier in customer communications isn’t about the technology itself. It’s about creating experience-led, customer-centric and integration-focused communications that eliminate fractures in the journey and build lasting trust. As we improve our tools, processes and frameworks, the focus of all our communications has to shift to the customer. 12
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When Technology Outpaces Experience We’ve both seen it play out with clients across industries: companies eager to deploy AI for efficiency but overlooking the cracks in the foundation. If your bill is confusing, making it AI-generated doesn’t solve the problem, it just creates confusing content faster. If your portal login is clunky, layering in a chatbot won’t remove the friction, it only redirects it. We’ve seen this with Agentic AI too, which highlights fractures in workflows. If we struggle to complete a task because the process is clunky, AI agents will run into the same walls, only faster. Poorly designed processes won’t just frustrate customers anymore, they’ll break the very AI tools meant to enhance the journey.
In the world of CCM, customer communications have historically been viewed as transactions, which include statements, bills, confirmations, notices. They’re sent because they have to be. But the truth is that these are the very communications that customers read, act on, and remember. The shift ahead is from transactions to trust. That means designing communications to: Reduce effort. Anticipate questions and answer them before customers need to ask. Add clarity. Use plain language, clear visuals, and straightforward next steps. Build confidence. Reinforce that the customer is understood, supported and in control. Save time vs Spend time. Design communications so that customers can save time when they need to and spend time easily if they have to (rather than wading through pages trying to figure out the next step). Every bill, claim notice, or fraud alert is a chance to either cause stress or inspire confidence. Trust is built in these moments that matter for the customer.
Eliminating the Fractures The next frontier is also about integration. Too often, communications come from disconnected systems and business units. Marketing here, servicing there, compliance somewhere else. The result is a fractured journey where customers feel the burden of stitching it all together. We’ve all been there… receiving a promotional email that contradicts a statement, or a fraud alert with no context, or a ‘secure’ message that forces multiple logins and dead ends. These