Agentic AI is taking Customer Experience to a new level by unlocking real, allowing brands to deliver human-like support at scale, measurable ROI across the board. By automating complex tasks and orchestrating seamless workflows, brands can see operational costs drop by 20–30% through faster resolutions and reduced handling time, says Roman Rafiq, Chief Information Officer, Startek. In an interaction with Digital CIO, he discusses how customer experience has now become a strategic business imperative.
Q. 1: What are the key trends in the customer experience industry?
Roman Rafiq: The customer experience industry is experiencing a profound shift, as consumers expect more personalized, seamless, and proactive interactions. Hyper-personalization, driven by AI and real-time analytics, is at the core of this evolution, making customer touchpoints feel more relevant and tailored. Omnichannel orchestration has emerged as a standard expectation, with customers wanting effortless transitions between voice, chat, social media, and digital platforms. Automation and AI-powered self-service are reducing friction while improving resolution speed and accuracy. Voice and sentiment analytics offer deeper behavioral insights, enabling brands to engage in more empathetic ways. Cloud-native platforms also play a pivotal role, allowing organizations to scale quickly and serve global audiences. At Startek, these trends resonate deeply across every industry we serve—from retail and ecommerce to telecom and BFSI—each sector charting its own transformation journey to meet rising customer expectations.
Q. 2: How is the nature of customer service evolving in the backdrop of rapid technological advancements and changing consumer expectations?
Roman Rafiq: Customer service has evolved from simply resolving issues to anticipating them before they arise. Modern customers, especially digital natives, crave instant gratification, authenticity, and empathy in every interaction. To meet these expectations, technology is becoming an enabler, not a replacement. AI-powered agent tools are equipping teams with real-time insights to resolve issues swiftly, while predictive analytics uncovers what customers need even before they ask. Intelligent routing ensures every interaction is balanced for speed and empathy, creating a more human-centered experience. We see this evolution play out every day at Startek as we combine automation with human expertise, creating customer journeys that are both seamless and emotionally resonant.
Q. 3: Agentic AI is revolutionizing communication between consumers and brands. What is the ROI on Agentic AI for CX?
Roman Rafiq: Agentic AI is taking CX to a new level by not just responding to customer needs but actively shaping the conversation. This proactive intelligence unlocks real, measurable ROI across the board. By automating complex tasks and orchestrating seamless workflows, brands can see operational costs drop by 20–30% through faster resolutions and reduced handling time. Revenue grows as well, as personalized recommendations and proactive outreach open doors to upselling and cross-selling opportunities. Meanwhile, customer satisfaction soars as interactions become faster, more relevant, and deeply engaging. For employees, it means they can focus on those nuanced, high-empathy conversations that only people can deliver. At Startek, we’re harnessing these possibilities in sectors like ecommerce and retail, where the quick, context-driven actions of Agentic AI are transforming how brands engage with their customers.
Q. 4: How will AI’s Multimodal Interfaces Revolutionize Customer Experience (CX)?
Roman Rafiq: AI’s multimodal interfaces—blending text, voice, images, and video—are turning static interactions into dynamic conversations that mirror human communication. Customers can now engage with brands in ways that feel more natural and intuitive, from speaking to a virtual assistant that understands tone and sentiment to troubleshooting issues with real-time visuals. Emotion-aware AI takes this further by adjusting tone and response to align with the customer’s mood, making every exchange more authentic and empathetic. In healthcare, for instance, voice and visual AI are transforming patient support, while in ecommerce, visual search is elevating product discovery. At Startek, we see how these multimodal experiences are making customer interactions richer and more memorable, bridging the gap between digital convenience and human warmth.
Q. 5: How is Startek helping its customers harness the power of Gen AI to enhance the customer experience?
Roman Rafiq: Generative AI is rewriting the rules of customer engagement, and at Startek, we’re integrating this technology into how we build better, more human-centered experiences. Our virtual agents and assistants, powered by large language models, are creating conversations that feel natural and responsive across all channels. We’re using Gen AI to make sense of vast amounts of data, transforming static knowledge bases into dynamic FAQs and guided workflows that evolve with customer needs. Our agent coaching tools are taking real-time performance evaluation to a new level, helping agents hone their empathy and effectiveness on every call. And by leveraging AI to accelerate campaign creation and A/B testing, we’re helping clients craft messages that truly connect. Across the board, Gen AI is enabling us to scale the human touch in ways that feel personal and authentic.
Q. 6: How does customer feedback help you accelerate innovation and customer value?
Roman Rafiq: Customer feedback is more than just data—it’s the heartbeat of innovation at Startek. It tells us where we’re delighting customers and where we can do better. We’ve built systems that capture and analyze this feedback in real time, turning it into insights that inform how we refine our services and processes. Voice of Customer analytics helps us understand trends and uncover hidden pain points, while direct feedback sessions with our clients spark ideas for what’s next. This approach isn’t just about fixing issues—it’s about co-creating the future of CX. In our work with ecommerce and retail clients, this feedback loop has driven innovations like adaptive IVRs and proactive care models that anticipate customer needs. For us, feedback isn’t a checkbox—it’s an invitation to make every interaction better, together.
