AI NOW Live Panel Discussion: Human Centric AI: Why the Human Element Still Matters in CX & Contact Centres

As AI and automation increasingly reshape the world of customer experience (CX) and contact-centre operations, senior executives face a pivotal question: how to integrate cutting-edge technology without losing the human touch that underpins trust, empathy and long-term relationships. On the one hand, AI offers significant promise faster responses, 24/7 availability, consistent service, and data-driven personalisation. On the other hand, recent developments such as the BBC’s investigation into voice-cloning scams (where a cloned voice successfully bypassed a bank’s voice authentication system) and research showing AI-generated voices can now sound indistinguishable from humans demonstrate that over-reliance on automation can erode trust, increase risk, and diminish the relational dimension of CX.

This panel will bring together CX and contact-centre senior executives to explore how to strike the right balance, leveraging AI’s strengths while preserving and elevating the uniquely human parts of service: empathy, judgement, authenticity. We’ll examine both the positive potential and the pitfalls of AI in CX, and uncover strategies for ensuring the human element remains front and centre.

Panelists:

Monika Kashyap, Head of Decisioning – Omni Channel Commercial Banking, HSBC
Yana Kirilova, Head of Customer Service, BNP Paribas Personal Finance
Chloe Squires, Director of CX, Parkdean Resorts
Wei Kuan Lim, Chief Transformation Officer, Ten Lifestyle Group