Will DeepSeek turbocharge the adoption of AI for CX?

This is where DeepSeek could reshape the opportunity for companies to embrace AI, even smaller companies. The ability of DeepSeek to run locally on nothing more than a regular PC also creates interesting opportunities, such as being able to apply the DeepSeek model to your FAQ or internal customer support information. Larger companies may have expected to budget for expensive cloud computing power and high energy costs. Could this be diverted directly into AI projects and other business priorities? An entirely new opportunity is being created for small companies and larger companies may soon find that their AI plans could be far less expensive than planned.

Most of the commentary about AI in CX focuses on automation and the use of chatbots, but there are many different ways in which AI can contribute positively to the broader experience a customer has with a brand. Some ideas include:

• Hyper-personalization at scale: The reduced cost to use AI means that companies can integrate AI-powered personalization tools more affordably. Even mid-sized and smaller businesses will be able to deliver the same level of tailored experiences that were once exclusive to large businesses with enormous tech budgets.
• AI-powered real-time CX insights: Creating insight into customer behavior and preferences is already possible, but the cost is often seen as prohibitive. Lower costs could allow businesses to analyze customer interactions much more efficiently. This creates opportunities to optimize customer support, predict churn in real-time, and enhance satisfaction.
• CX automation without the trade-offs: How many customer service chatbots have you used where you enjoyed a satisfying conversation? It is still rare, but we can talk to AI-bots on our phone and have long and detailed conversations. Making AI more cost-effective could quickly and dramatically improve the quality of customer service automation using chatbots and allow for sentiment analysis, and context-aware automation, leading to smoother and more human-like customer interactions.
• Redefining AI-assisted self-service: The dramatic drop in the cost of using AI will allow many more businesses to explore self-service options - where it would have been entirely prohibitive in the recent past. This should lead to a significant reduction in resolution times and operational costs for smaller businesses.
• Leveling the competitive playing field: Enterprise-grade AI is no longer limited to those with deep pockets. Smaller companies can compete with the majors based on their products and experience and will be less penalized for their previously limited customer support and lack of additional insight, such as proactive engagement, and personalized recommendations. All this is now available for them.

DeepSeek, and similar models, may turbocharge interest in AI for customer experience designers. Executives that have been disappointed by the cost or time required to launch their AI initiatives may now find that they have a new path to follow and this can create opportunities for smaller businesses that never even considered the use of their own LLM as feasible.

This could create an important race as brands fight to introduce improvements to their CX that were previously too expensive or difficult to achieve. The gloves are off. Which CX initiative will you plan to implement first?