Empowering internal experiences with generative AI

While the potential of Generative AI is undeniable, many organisations remain hesitant to integrate it into customer-facing systems. Concerns about maturity, general understanding, and potential risks are understandable. However, there’s a growing interest in leveraging its power internally to improve employee experience (EX) and boost productivity. In this controlled environment, organisations have more control over verifying AI-generated outputs and reaping quicker benefits.

While applications for customer-facing scenarios are still evolving, there’s a hidden gem for organisations hesitant to jump in with internal use cases. By leveraging Generative AI within their walls, companies can significantly impact employee experience (EX). Recognising this, Medallia recently unveiled four AI solutions designed to empower internal experiences: Ask Athena, Intelligent Summaries, Smart Response, and Themes. These tools, offered within the Medallia Experience Cloud, aim to:

• Democratise insights: Ask Athena and Intelligent Summaries make data readily accessible by offering intuitive answers and summaries, supporting employees across levels to make informed decisions.
• Activate employees: Smart Response provides employees with suggested responses to inquiries, saving time and ensuring consistency in communication. This in turn frees employees for more strategic and creative work that elevates customer experience.
• Individualise experiences: Themes help identify recurring patterns and trends, enabling organisations to tailor internal experiences to specific employee needs and preferences.

Realising the vision of Responsible AI

“These solutions mark a fundamental shift,” says Medallia CEO Joe Tyrrell, highlighting the move from data analysis to real-time, personalised action. He emphasises the company’s commitment to “responsible AI” that continuously adapts, learns from new data, and ultimately empowers humans to focus on critical tasks.

“We are delivering against our vision of a future driven by responsible AI, built to continually adapt real-time to new information at every point across the customer and employee journey, dynamically training itself with each new signal to personalise every experience and to empower humans to be more effective on the critical tasks they take on.” 

Key benefits of internal Generative AI include:

• Improved employee productivity: Freeing employees from repetitive tasks and providing them with data-driven insights. (Source: McKinsey Global Institute, “The future of work after COVID-19,” January 2021)
• Enhanced EX: Personalised experiences and proactive issue resolution lead to happier and more engaged employees. (Source: Gallup, “State of the Global Workplace Report,” 2023)
• Cost-effective: Automating tasks and simplifying data analysis reduce operational costs. (Source: Forrester Research, “The Total Economic Impact of Medallia Experience Cloud,” November 2023)
• Scalable: Grows with your organisation’s data volume and adapts to changing needs.
• Responsible AI: Designed with control and verification measures for ethical and secure implementation. (Source: World Economic Forum, “Responsible AI Principles,” February 2020)

While Generative AI might not be ready for prime time in customer-facing scenarios just yet, its potential for improving internal experiences is significant. By adopting solutions like those offered by Medallia, organisations can empower employees, boost productivity, and lay the groundwork for a future powered by responsible and transformative AI.

Medallia has created an AI Moderation Council to promote innovation while maintaining ethical, responsible, safe, and inclusive use of AI for its experience products. “The AI Moderation Council reflects the importance we place on our customers’ data privacy, security, and responsible use of their data,” said Simonetta Turek, Chief Product Officer at Medallia. “To further these efforts, we are also launching an AI Advisory Board that will include participation from our customer and partner communities, creating a space where the exchange of learnings, challenges, and best practices can be shared, as well as a focus on the responsible and ethical use of AI.”