Session Name: How AI Can Help Brands Transform the Customer Experience Hosted by DMS

In a panel discussion at the 2020 STEP Conference with Digital Media Solutions (DMS), one of the largest single entry points for marketers seeking scalable, digital performance marketing solutions, discussed the continued evolution of artificial intelligence (AI), and intelligent assistants, is bringing new dimensions to how businesses operate and how users can interact with these businesses. The speakers included T.J. Nammour, Strategic Publishing lead at DMS, Husni Khuffash, Chief Business Officer at mawdoo3.com, a comprehensive online Arabic content publisher, based in Jordan, that provides premium quality Arabic content, Nagham Akileh, Senior Director of E-commerce Strategy at Omnicom Media Group – UAE, a marketing and advertising agency, and David AbiDaoud, Director of Digital Marketing and Social Media at Expo 2020 Dubai, the first World Expo to be held in the MEASA region. They discussed embracing these emerging technologies and learning how to take full advantage of them. 

“Microsoft predicted that by 2025, as many as 95 percent of all customer interactions will be through channels supported by artificial intelligence.”

T.J. Nammour, Strategic Publishing Lead, DMS

Nammour started off the discussion by saying, “Microsoft predicted that by 2025, as many as 95 percent of all customer interactions will be through channels supported by artificial intelligence.” When Nammour asked the panelists about how they, on a regional level, think AI is operating and growing in the MENA region, Khuffash started off by saying, “We started to see that there is a need for offering the Arabic language in the AI perspective…we believe that AI is becoming a part of everyone’s daily activities.”

To add to this, AbiDaoud, said, “[AI] helps customers around the world to interact with us, and learn about the [Expo 2020 Dubai]. We’ve introduced [AI] on our website, and it will be part of our mobile app. We’re looking forward to seeing it grow, as we make it grow.”

and a lot of marketing technology now has AI or machine learning capabilities […] using intelligent dashboards, or custom data platforms to derive insights quickly and in real time to make informed decisions to help the customer experience.”

Nagham Akileh, Senior Director of E-commerce Strategy, Omnicom Media Group – UAE

Akileh further stated that, “A lot of what we do at OMD to help our clients, is dependent on technology…and a lot of marketing technology now has AI or machine learning capabilities…so the areas that we focus on when helping our clients is insights – for example, using intelligent dashboards, or custom data platforms to derive insights quickly and in real time to make informed decisions to help the customer experience.” 

Nammour briefly stated that the successful application of AI in customer experience requires three fundamental capabilities, which are data unification, real-time insights delivery, and business context. As a final question to the panelists, Nammour asked, “Is there such a thing as AI saturation?”, and the panelists unanimously answered “yes”.