[UX-Conf 2023] AI for customer experience, myth or reality?

This article retraces the conference of Cédric Valle, UX manager and Jacques-Olivier Guichard, responsible for digital transformation at Groupama, during the first edition of UX-Conf – Human First. This conference focuses on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of user experience.

Artificial intelligence has made remarkable advances in recent years, transforming different aspects of our lives, including the way businesses interact with their customers.

One of the promises of AI would be its ability to radically improve the user experience. In this ever-evolving digital age, does AI really serve the customer experience or is it still a myth?

What is AI?

Artificial intelligence seeks to imitate complex human behaviors by learning from data, without the need for explicit instructions.

This implies that the training of these models is done by providing them with datasets and guidance within the framework of machine learning.

To explain how AI works, Cédric Valle used the “Chinese room enigma”. This puzzle features someone manipulating Chinese characters without understanding the language, just like AI being able to perform tasks without real understanding.

“To better understand this concept, imagine that you have to guess the exact answer to a customer journey based on other scenarios offered as symbols. It is an exercise that reflects the idea of ​​the Chinese room. You’re looking for the most likely answer without necessarily having a semantic understanding, which is how an AI behaves.” Cedric Valle

Generative AI

Jacques-Olivier Guichard dives deeper into the topic by showcasing generative AI that focuses on creating content, images, text, or other assets autonomously. 

For example, the basic objective of a generative text model is to identify the most probable next word from the texts in its learning base.

Indeed, generative models offer the possibility of exploring a wide range of applications and a great diversity of uses, in particular: 

  • Write texts or reformulate them
  • Converse
  • Synthesize data
  • Coder
  • Restore information
  • Explain concepts
  • find ideas

Process AI to optimize the customer experience

The speakers then present the potential of AI to revolutionize the customer experience. To explain this concept, they take the concrete example of a simulation of a home insurance quote.

The steps to generate a quote using AI are as follows:

  • Voice recognition (Speech to text): Transform the customer's message into text with the Speech to text tool.
  • Data Analysis by Artificial Intelligence: The resulting text is then submitted to artificial intelligence which analyzes the data. This AI can extract relevant elements, such as home insurance application information and specific details provided by the customer.
  • Cross-reference with other tools, such as Image Recognition: Cross-reference this information with other tools, such as image recognition to retrieve other information not retrieved from the customer.
  • Quote Brick for Pricing: Aggregate all of this information, pass it into the quote block to obtain pricing.

The prompt, a new element in creating the user experience

The prompt, a new element of user experience creation, can be defined as a sequence of words used to instruct an artificial intelligence model to generate the desired result.  The AI ​​cuts the sentences into “tokens” and compares them to its knowledge (learning).

It is important to note that the use of prompts raises ethical questions regarding data privacy and transparency in the handling of users' personal information. Designers must be aware of these issues and approach them responsibly.

How can AI be used by UX designers?

Cedric Valle highlights the role of AI in the field of design and the possible contributions it can make to designers.

AI at the service of user research

Artificial intelligence plays a vital role in improving user research by enabling deeper data analysis and personalization of experiences.

Artificial intelligence can be used to optimize user research through various tasks such as analyzing user interview data, transcribing videos, evaluating expressed sentiments, structuring data, as well as reformulation of this information.

Examples of powerful artificial intelligence tools:

  • Marvin, developed for the analysis of complex data.
  • OpenAI GPT, which excels in generating advanced textual content.
  • Azure Cognitive Services from Microsoft, which offers a range of features for natural language processing and computer vision.

AI at the service of UX writing

Artificial intelligence can play a vital role in UX writing by generating content tailored to target audiences, creating SEO-compliant titles, and enabling in-depth personalization of content based on users (using psychological targeting techniques and marketing) and commercial objectives.

Among the examples of AI at the service of UX writing, the speakers cited: 

  • Cohere, which facilitates the analysis and generation of content focused on user experience.
  • OpenAI GPT, which excels in creating quality texts and personalization.
  • reword, which offers rewriting features to improve the clarity and impact of content.

AI at the service of UI

Artificial intelligence can help optimize the user interface (UI) by generating inspiration, icons, and illustrations in an automated and creative way.

Examples of artificial intelligence tools serving the UI: 

  • uizard : tool that converts sketches and wireframes into interactive user interfaces, thus speeding up the process of designing applications and websites.
  • Genius : knowledge management and collaboration platform that facilitates the creation, sharing and searching of documents, thus contributing to efficiency within teams.
  • GalileoAI : tool that provides advanced analytics and data-driven insights to help businesses make informed decisions and optimize their operations using AI.
  • midjourney : digital design specialist who creates exceptional user experiences through innovative interfaces and applications.
  • Dream studio : video editing and audiovisual production software with a suite of tools for editing and creating high-quality multimedia content.

Will AI take the place of designers in the future?

“Has the chainsaw replaced the lumberjack?” Just as the chainsaw does not replace the lumberjack but improves his efficiency, artificial intelligence does not replace the designer, but rather complements and improves his work, the speakers emphasize.

Designers remain the creators and decision-makers in the design process, but AI can give them powerful tools to automate repetitive tasks, analyze complex data, and generate creative suggestions. 

Artificial intelligence will undoubtedly create new professions in the digital field, opening up exciting perspectives for designers.

Tomorrow, a designer who does not take advantage of artificial intelligence risks being overtaken by competitors, as AI becomes increasingly essential to optimize design processes, deliver cutting-edge user experiences, and respond to market expectations.

As a designer, it is essential to think ahead and ask how artificial intelligence can be exploited, exploring the possibilities of automation, personalization and innovation to create exceptional user experiences.

Conclusion: myth or reality?

In conclusion, the Artificial Intelligence for Customer Experience conference highlights how AI is revolutionizing the way businesses interact with their customers.

AI is not a myth, but a reality that transforms the user experience through diverse applications, from content generation to user interface optimization.

However, while embracing these advances, it is crucial to maintain ethical thinking about the use of AI and consider how this technology can collaborate with professionals, such as designers, to create innovative, people-centered solutions. user.

Narjess Abdellatif, UX-UI Designer at UX-Republic