We’ve long been familiar with the concept of customer experience, the idea that digital interactions between customers and brands can be enhanced. However, the outcomes thus far have been somewhat inconsistent.
Sierra, the brainchild of Bret Taylor and Clay Bavor, proposes that AI agents could represent the next frontier in technology, akin to the significance of websites or mobile apps that preceded them. They envision AI agents as essential digital assets for every company, capable of fulfilling the potential of digital customer experience.
According to Taylor, the co-founder, and CEO, and as told to TechCrunch, they view AI agents as a distinct technology category that offers a fresh approach to customer interactions, promising to elevate overall customer experience.
“Our thesis is really simple. We think that conversational AI will become the dominant form factor that people use to interact with brands, not just for the sort of current trends like customer service, but really for all aspects of the customer experience,” Taylor expressed.
In practical terms, customers would input free-form questions and requests into a search-style box, expecting the AI agent to comprehend the inquiry and execute the necessary actions by interfacing with relevant transactional systems. This could entail tasks such as retrieving an order from an order management system or rescheduling a delivery in a scheduling system.
Taylor and Bavor, Sierra’s co-founders, concede that integrating with these systems isn’t always straightforward, particularly with older systems. Nevertheless, they’ve found that most Chief Information Officers (CIOs) have developed APIs that facilitate communication with these legacy systems, streamlining Sierra’s ability to interact with them.
