Artificial intelligence is only as good as the context we give it.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly permeating all areas of interaction between businesses and their customers. Virtual assistants, service agents, recommendations, process automation, and models capable of anticipating behavior are changing the way services are delivered.

But incorporating artificial intelligence doesn't necessarily mean improving the experience.

AI can respond faster and still generate frustration. It can efficiently handle thousands of simple requests and fail precisely in those interactions where a customer needs empathy, sound judgment, or an exceptional solution. It can reduce costs in one channel while simultaneously damaging the customer relationship.

The difference lies in the context.

To make a good decision, it's not enough for artificial intelligence to know an organization's products, procedures, and rules. It needs to understand the people it's serving: how they behave, what they expect, what channels they use, how comfortable they are with technology, and in what circumstances they prefer a digital, in-person, or human interaction.

The digital frontier provides this context.

At the Centro Nacional de Consultoría, we call the digital frontier the space that the internet occupies in people's lives: what activities they perform exclusively digitally, which they continue to do in a traditional way, and, especially, which they develop by combining both worlds.

This last dimension is particularly important for thinking about artificial intelligence.

Our studies show, for example, that while the percentage of activities performed exclusively online is very similar in Colombia and Chile—38% and 39%, respectively—there is a considerable difference in the combination of channels: 27% of activities in Colombia are carried out by combining traditional and digital methods, compared to 33% in Chile.

This difference reveals something important: digital advancement doesn't necessarily mean abandoning previous channels, but rather learning to integrate them better.

And that same logic should guide the incorporation of artificial intelligence.

Before automating, we must understand.

The question for an organization shouldn't just be, "Where can we use artificial intelligence?"

It should also be, "Where do our customers want us to use it?"

There are transactions where people value speed, autonomy, and constant availability. Automation can generate enormous value in these situations.

But there are other situations—a complaint, an unexpected problem, a complex decision, or an emotionally sensitive moment—where the customer may value the possibility of speaking with a person much more.

Even within the same experience, the customer can start digitally, interact with artificial intelligence, and end up needing human assistance.

Omnichannel then takes on a new dimension. It's no longer just about integrating the office, the phone, the website, and the app. Now we must also integrate human intelligence and artificial intelligence within the same experience.

The challenge lies in knowing when each one should act and ensuring that the context accompanies the client when moving from one to another.

“The competitive advantage will not necessarily lie in having more artificial intelligence, but in having an artificial intelligence that better understands when to intervene, when to recommend, when to automate, when to listen, and when to hand the conversation over to a person.”

From Automating Interactions to Understanding People

This is where information on Digital Adoption, Digital Frontier, CX, UX, and Loyalty takes on new value.

It's not just about measuring the experience. It's about building the context that allows you to decide what to automate, for whom, when, through which channel, and with what recovery mechanisms if something goes wrong.

Understanding customers' digital frontier allows you to segment these decisions. CX helps identify the moments that truly determine the experience and loyalty. UX allows you to understand where digital interaction facilitates or hinders the journey. And failure analysis allows you to recognize when automation needs to escalate to a human interaction before a difficulty becomes a relationship breakdown.

Artificial intelligence can also amplify this knowledge. Analyzing interactions allows you to identify emotions, recognize patterns, and estimate the likelihood of subsequent behaviors: complaining, staying, recommending, leaving, or sharing a bad experience.

This creates a virtuous cycle:

That's where the real competitive advantage may lie.

Soon, having artificial intelligence will no longer be a differentiator. Many organizations will have access to similar models, agents, and technological tools.

The difference will lie in what each organization knows about its customers and how well it translates that knowledge into context for its artificial intelligence systems.

Two companies can use similar technologies and produce completely different experiences.

The competitive advantage won't necessarily be in having more artificial intelligence, but in having an artificial intelligence that better understands when to intervene, when to recommend, when to automate, when to listen, and when to hand the conversation off to a person.

That's why finding an organization's digital frontier isn't just an exercise in digital transformation. It's also a way to build the necessary context for incorporating artificial intelligence to serve an experience and business strategy.

Because digital transformation doesn't begin with technology. It begins with understanding people. And artificial intelligence only creates value when it learns from them.

Learn how to turn data into strategic decisions