Is incorporating AI-powered automation into your operations on the agenda for your business this year? If you answered in the affirmative, you’re in good company. Forgetting about your customers while you focus on process driven efficiency is a mistake that can cost Australian businesses dear.
Four in 10 small and medium sized enterprises were adopting AI in Q1, 2025, according to the National AI Centre, which is monitoring how SMEs use and view this game changing technology. That figure represented a five per cent increase on the previous quarter. The percentage of SMEs not intending to implement AI in the next 12 months fell to 38 per cent over the same period – a decrease of four per cent[1].
Whether it comes in the form of generative AI assistants, data entry and processing, fraud detection, marketing automation or customer support chatbots, ‘most businesses agree that AI can offer a competitive edge and compelling use cases that can transform their operations’, the Centre’s latest AI Adoption Tracker report noted.
Paying the price of a cost cutting focus
Unfortunately, though, many SMEs are currently looking at AI and its transformational potential through too narrow a lens. Understandably, given the challenging economic conditions in which they’re required to operate, they see its introduction primarily as an opportunity to cut costs, rather than a chance to elevate their customer experience.
Replacing human labour and manual and semi-manual processes with a fully automated equivalent can certainly deliver a bottom-line boost. But it’s not without its risks, that alienates, rather than assists, customers.
One of the country’s largest retailers learnt this the hard way two years ago when it replaced a large swathe of its customer contact centre workforce with chatbots.
Cheaper than human employees though they may have been, these 24-7 AI-powered agents failed to find favour with customers, many of whom were averse to ‘self-serving’. They made their feelings known in the most potent possible way – by spending their money elsewhere.
Some eminently sensible backtracking ensued, once the issue was identified. Twelve months on, the chatbots have been confined to the business’s online ordering and delivery function; executives quite rightly reasoning that the digitally savvy shoppers availing themselves of this service would be those most likely to view automation in a positive light.
Using human centered design to improve your customer experience
Taking a human centred design approach can help your organisation avoid making the same mistake as this top end of town player – and potentially losing ground to your competitors as a result.
That means looking at everything you do from a customer perspective – from the service offering you provide to the back end processes you use to run your business – and looking for potential use cases for automation which will enhance, rather than detract from, the customer experience you deliver.
Directly involving customers in any process redesign is a smart move and a cost effective one too. Taking their feedback on board can help you identify the customer journeys that are ripe for renovation, and those that are safest left alone for now.
Engaging the experts
Sometimes, it’s possible to be so close to the action that you lose sight of what should matter most – delivering an experience which fosters the trust and loyalty that result in enhanced customer lifetime value.
That’s why it can pay to work with external experts; customer experience consultants who can bring objectivity to the redesign process, along with invaluable insight into what’s working for businesses like yours – and what hasn’t worked for others.
Having them on board should result in better business outcomes because the right partner can help you achieve maximum return from your investment through a robust implementation process ultimately resulting in an increase in customer retention and loyalty.
Automating your way to better business outcomes this year
Incorporating AI-powered automation into their operations can enable small and medium sized organisations to keep up with their larger counterparts. Those that fail to do so may all too soon find themselves left behind.
Taking a human centered design approach to adoption will allow you to reap the dual benefits of enhanced efficiency and a customer experience that stands out from the crowd. It’s the smart way to ensure your business gets the maximum benefit from this transformational technology in the coming months and years.
[1] https://www.industry.gov.au/news/ai-adoption-australian-businesses-2024-q4#:~:text=The%20data%20reveals%20a%20positive,(July%20%E2%80%93%20Sept%202024)