In this month’s Industry insight, Jeroen van Glabbeek, CEO of CM.com takes some time out to discuss how artificial intelligence can be utilised in many positive ways, but that companies must first understand how to use it and get the best out of it for their purposes.
Make no mistake – artificial intelligence is taking the world by storm, promising to revolutionise retail and customer experience (CX). But transformational change doesn’t happen overnight and technology alone isn’t a catch all fix for customer engagement issues. Too many retailers are rushing into AI for CX without first getting the basics right. The result: AI tools layered on top of broken processes and impersonal services. It’s time to step back and take a more thoughtful approach, where AI serves as a powerful tool paired with strong CX fundamentals. Not a replacement.
So, what can retail leaders do to get it right? There are three steps. First, recognise AI to be a tool and not a saviour for poor CX. Second, meet customers on the channels they trust. And third, prioritise agentic AI tailored to your brand’s needs. Only then will retailers start to get the most out of this transformational technology.
AI is a Tool, not a CX Saviour
There’s no denying AI’s huge potential to improve customer experiences – especially with today’s advanced AI agents. But it’s not a silver bullet for every CX challenge. If your underlying customer experience is broken, throwing AI at the problem will only amplify the cracks.
This is because AI doesn’t fix bad service; it simply makes the same mistakes faster if the fundamentals aren’t in place. The lesson for retail leaders is that AI should augment, not replace, a solid CX foundation. Before investing in AI, ensure you have thoughtful customer engagement strategies, clear processes and quality data. Poor AI strategy leads to ineffective CX. It magnifies broken processes and disconnects customers from real value.
The lesson here is to get the foundations right – understand your customers’ needs, map out the journey and fix pain points. Only then should you bring in the machines to optimise and scale.
Meet Customers where they are
A clear example of not getting the fundamentals right is failing to meet customers where they are. It is a must for the modern retailer to have presence on the channels that shoppers know and trust – from social media to messaging platforms. CM.com’s latest audit of retailers in a major European market reveals how powerful this alignment can be. Retailers offering WhatsApp support outperformed their peers by 58 per cent when it came to speed and effectiveness of customer support. And live chat use has also surged as brands recognise the value of real-time, contextual support.
This isn’t about adding more technology for technology’s sake. It’s about using it in the places where customers are engaging – and making those interactions more impactful. Only then can AI integrations start to help with CX.
What’s striking, however, is that even with more channels open than ever – an average of seven per retailer – eight per cent of the most common customer queries still go unanswered. Worse still, nearly half of those ignored queries came through Instagram, a platform many retailers publicly list as a customer service touchpoint. These gaps show that European retailers have work to do – AI can help with these issues, but only when part of a wider strategy to enhance CX.
The Power of Agentic AI
Brands must also recognise that not all AI serves the same purpose. There’s a difference between deploying a generative AI tool and harnessing agentic AI tailored to your brand’s own data and customer journeys. Generative AI models might be great for producing content or answering general questions, but they often lack context specific to a business. By contrast, agentic AI acts more like a smart virtual agent within your business. It’s powered by your internal data, understands processes and can take actions to serve your customers.
An agentic AI system might proactively resolve an issue – for example, checking a customer’s order status, initiating a return, or offering a personalised product recommendation based on purchase histories. These AI agents function almost like digital employees capable of handling specific tasks on your behalf. The value of this approach is immense for retail. At CM.com, we’ve seen consistently that when AI is informed by a retailer’s product catalogue, inventory levels and past customer interactions, it can deliver far more personalised experiences than others chatbots.
AI Transformation that’s Built to Last
AI is here to stay but success lies in how you wield it. The leaders in digital transformation will be those who blend technology with human-centric strategy. That means treating AI as an augmentation to human insight, not a replacement. It means doubling down on customer-centric basics. And it means choosing AI solutions that genuinely fit your business. Customers reward companies that respect their time, needs and interact with authenticity – whether through a human representative or an AI agent. Retailers that invest in thoughtful, tailored AI systems can provide the convenience and personalisation of cutting-edge tech without losing the human touch.
