Intentional CX And Leveraging AI: How Duolingo Uses Language To Create Impactful Learning Experiences

Intentional CX: What It Is And Why It Matters

The strongest and most valuable relationships between companies and customers are built upon the idea of “intentional” customer service. Brands that know who they are, what their mission is, what their customers need, and how to facilitate those needs in a manner that puts customers at the center of all operations are the ones that develop the strongest relationships and have the best reputations when it comes to CX. 

Customers want to be understood and valued as people, have their customer service pain points and concerns recognized as valid, feel like they have ownership of their journey, know their needs are being not just addressed but anticipated, and find agency in their participation with brands. When aiming to provide that exceptional customer service to consumers, the stakes are high for organizations aiming to turn potential users into loyal brand advocates. Customer expectations, similarly, are increasing and expanding, and any organization that has competitors in the market is at risk for losing clients to a better and more curated customer experience. 

Accuracy, speed, simplicity, personalization, customization, and accessibility are all important elements of today’s CX. Knowing this, companies are gravitating more towards technology as an agent support tool and experience elevation opportunity, in hopes that through automating some aspects of their internal processes, they can externally present their customers with the qualities they so desire. 

As CX Expectations Rise, AI Is Helping CS Teams Meet High Standards 

As a tool for aggregating, organizing, sourcing and even creating new data, AI is transforming the customer experience on all fronts. When companies can better manage the information received via customer service calls, emails, social posts and in-person inquiries, they can leverage this insight to streamline processes and enhance experiences

They can then explore new ways to leverage company knowledge of its consumer base and cater more personally–and directly–to customer needs. When well-developed and used in the right instances, AI can enhance the customer experience by offering more robust self-service for consumers, freeing agents to build more organic and sincere connections with customers.

Too often do we read news reports and overhear watercooler conversation about customer interactions gone awry due to a disconnect between what the customer wants and what the organization can offer. However, when CS teams are able to properly deploy and execute AI tools that suit the needs of their customers, they find that the value of their brand increases X fold in the perception of their customers.

With AI, Omnichannel Expands Its Reach

Designing an omnichannel customer experience with purpose and intention, especially when it comes to the usage of AI. Some tools like chatbots allow for the facilitation of more clear and organic communication between companies and customers. With conversational AI, chatbots can mirror human responses in a way that reflects a brand’s tone and language, while also sharing accurate product information with customers. 

Tools like ChatGPT can do this and more, inferring new data based on past interactions or purchases and creating new opportunities for brand/customer eengagement Regardless of the level of intricacy, AI-led tech can become helpful tools for agents fielding consumer inquiries and delivering instant support.  

AI At Work: A Case Study On Digital Tools And Intentional CX

One brand that has risen to Internet virility due to its unique CX approach is Duolingo, a language learning platform that encourages habit-building through automated prompts, personalized in-app engagement and AI-assist. The brand, known for its cheeky mascot and collaborative marketing, is currently utilizing AI to streamline and condense its internal writing and translating tasks. In years prior, AI-powered features were only accessible to those who paid for premium service on the app. But now the Washington Post reports that the organization is more widely using AI to write its copy and manage translation work that was once handled by human employees. 

“Here at Duolingo, we've been using AI for years, and we’ve recently brought the power of AI to our learners through Duolingo Max—but we’re also using AI behind the scenes to build courses faster and better than ever,” the brand shared in a blog post in June of last year. “The type of AI we use is called a Large Language Model (LLM), and it’s very good at predicting the most likely way to complete a string of text, like a sentence. This is what’s at work on your phone when it suggests next words to type in text messages!”

According to Duolingo, course writing and development takes months and minimizes users’ opportunities to gain access to new content. “If we can produce quality content faster, we can delve deeper to teach more advanced concepts, allocate resources to more features like Stories, DuoRadio, and expand our focus to smaller courses that aren’t often in the spotlight but which still have a dedicated band of Duolingo learners,” the organization explains of its choice to pivot to AI.

In this particular instance, while the move to replace employees with a broader tech stack can be met with resistance, it is clear that the intent behind this change is to be able to address more customer needs, personalize their experience and expand the level of accessibility and exposure users have to the brand. Now, even customers who do not pay for special features will be able to have an elevated learning experience and engage more with AI. 

Intention Vs. On Trend: Using AI To Its Fullest Potential

Over the past year, organizations across industries have garnered negative attention for jumping on the AI bandwagon without having a clear understanding of the technology’s use cases or how it relates to their customers’ needs.

While wanting to stay relevant and ahead of the competition is understandable, risks exist when new tools are put in place with little knowledge of how it will directly impact employees or customers. In order to avoid this, brands can follow Duolingo’s lead in integrating AI by making it available to a select number of people and later depending on reception and value add to both CX and EX, expand its access to the greater community with a full understanding of advanced technology’s place in shaping intentional experiences. That way, it becomes a learning moment for humans on both sides of the AI interaction.  

On the part of Duolingo, intentional AI use is leading to not just a more robust customer experience, but a more valuable one. Instead, the organization is creating AI-powered experiences that feel tailored to their needs. By leveraging AI with intention, customers will receive support that directly addresses their needs and adds value to the experience.

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