Customer Contact Week offers an excellent opportunity to learn from industry peers pushing the boundaries of CX innovation.
The customer support team at JetBlue is an excellent example, augmenting Amelia - its virtual agent – with generative AI (GenAI) and achieving positive results.
After three months, it secured a 12 percent containment boost, with a more modest – albeit positive – uplift in customer satisfaction (CSAT) and first contact resolution (FCR).
However, perhaps most critically, JetBlue’s human agents – or "crew members" - are onboard. That’s largely thanks to a careful strategy of empowerment and prepping agents for the future of AI, which started long before the introduction of Amelia.
"Empowerment isn’t just a buzzword; you have to show agents what empowerment looks like in practice," said Shelly Griessel, VP of Customer Support at JetBlue.
We believe the role of a customer support person is evolving, and we need to ensure they’re equipped for it.
In this vein, Griessel shares several best practices for supporting agents in handling more complex tasks before offering advice for augmenting a high-performing team with AI.
Prepare Human Agents for Their Future Jobs
First, JetBlue ensures that crew members are set up to thrive in their jobs. There are several ways in which the company does so.
For instance, it caps occupancy rates at 85 percent and targets part-timers in recruitment, working a maximum of 30 hours a week to avoid burnout.
Additionally, every team leader sets aside two hours a week for crew members to engage with them about anything.
According to Griessel, these two-hour periods are always busy, giving agents an opportunity to discuss development opportunities, share concerns, and suggest ways to improve experiences.
There are also monthly "Direct Meetings" to review the good and the bad from across the company and promote that culture of open communication.
Griessel shared how this has helped facilitate an optimal team climate that drives a positive culture. She noted:
We focus heavily on culture, keeping close communication with crew members and making sure they understand the "why" behind everything, from AI to outsourcing.
Yet, when it comes to Amelia, JetBlue has gone far beyond communicating with crew members to ensure success; it’s also collaborating with them.
Cautiously & Collaboratively Introduce AI Agents
When JetBlue introduced the concept of AI Agents, crew members voiced their job security anxieties.
Griessel shared a strong message to overcome these: "We owe it to you to keep you relevant as the industry evolves."
She then shared a vision for focusing on meaningful interactions rather than routine calls and of how AI will complement their current roles.
While the message of: "Amelia 2.0 will work the shifts no one else wants," also helped, that vision of complementary AI struck a chord.
