Payments and credit card service organizations have always been measured by their ability to reduce friction. Contact center average handle time, dispute resolution speed, and fraud detection accuracy are all metrics that shape strategies and incentives. <\/p>\n
The rise of generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) promises a massive improvement across each of these key performance indicators (KPIs). But while speed and efficiency have long dictated the terms of competition in payments, trust and humanity have always sat at its center. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs new technologies emerge, whether it\u2019s ML, AI or gen AI, we\u2019ve always approached them thoughtfully,\u201d Gary Kensey<\/a>, EVP and CIO of Global Services & Corporate Technology at American Express<\/a>, told PYMNTS. \u201cWe enhance our customer and colleague experience while staying true to our brand promise.\u201d<\/p>\n That promise, Kensey added, is rooted in trust, security and service. <\/p>\n And as gen AI races into every corner of business, Amex is intent on adding speed and personalization without knocking those pillars out from under its brand. <\/p>\n Because when someone picks up the phone or opens a customer service chat, it\u2019s usually not because things are going well. It\u2019s because something went wrong: an unauthorized charge, a declined payment at a critical moment, or confusion over billing. <\/p>\n Advertisement: Scroll to Continue<\/p>\n In those moments, reassurance matters more than raw speed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe North Star is simple: AI should work in service of people, not instead of them,\u201d Kensey said. \u201cWe\u2019re not really interested in just the traditional low-hanging fruit of AI to enhance efficiencies. We want to strengthen what we feel is a world-class customer service that defines our company.\u201d<\/p>\n Moving AI Beyond Efficiency<\/p>\n If AI is deployed simply to remove people from the equation, companies may risk eroding trust at the very moment it\u2019s most fragile. That\u2019s why forward-thinking firms are adopting a different playbook, one where technology works behind the scenes to make human service faster, smarter and more empathetic.<\/p>\n Amex\u2019s own view is informed by fresh consumer research the company has been studying. The takeaways are unambiguous: Customers welcome speed and convenience, but they also want to feel understood, and getting to a real person when it matters is crucial.<\/p>\n According to Amex\u2019s research, 70% of surveyed U.S. adults have interacted with some sort of gen AI-powered service tool. Nearly three-quarters say their experience was positive. However, more than half remain concerned about potential lack of human empathy and understanding in a gen AI-powered customer service world.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n That tension runs through nearly every brand\u2019s AI strategy right now. On one side sits personalization that feels tailored and timely; on the other, the risk of interactions that feel robotic. <\/p>\n \u201cWe want the speed, the efficiency, the automation, but we really need to balance that with trust, empathy and care, the core expectation of our customer base,\u201d Kensey explained. \u201cAdopting gen AI won\u2019t come at the cost of that human connection.\u201d<\/p>\n In practice, that means using AI behind the scenes while keeping skilled people firmly in the loop. Amex is streamlining back-end workflows by using AI to summarize voice interactions, identify the right knowledge article, or propose the next best actions, and reserving humans for the more complex tasks.<\/p>\n \u201cAI can anticipate needs, surface insights, and streamline workflows and processes so our Customer Care Professionals can focus on things like empathy and that human connection,\u201d Kensey said. \u201cIf we get it right, the long term is about building deeper, more trusted relationships at scale.\u201d<\/p>\n The cultural shift may be the hard part.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the future is to be as successful as we want it to be, the culture has to evolve too,\u201d Kensey said. \u201cYou have to build AI confidence in your company\u2019s culture \u2026 empowering both the technical teams and the rest of the company to embrace emerging technologies.<\/p>\n \u201cFocus on your own personal digital dexterity and understanding of how to use these tools to make what you do easier and more effective,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n Relationship-Powered, Tech-Enabled<\/p>\n Amex\u2019s company mantra, \u201crelationship-powered, tech-enabled,\u201d isn\u2019t so much a slogan as an operating model that guides investment.<\/p>\n \u201cCustomers want digital convenience for simple tasks, but they also want the reassurance of human connection for complex scenarios,\u201d Kensey said, stressing that user choice remains a design principle. <\/p>\n \u201cWhether through chat or phone or digital self-service, we want to make it extremely simple to get to an agent or escalate to a human. That shouldn\u2019t be a burden upon our customer.\u201d<\/p>\n