Michael Kors applies AI to improve KPIs

Today, the luxury brand Michael Kors applies artificial intelligence (AI) to its contact center. But in the not-so-distant past, the company's customer experience (CX) was largely for consumers of a brick-and-mortar business.

Recently, at CX Network's All Access: Future Contact Centers 2025 webinar series, Ebrahim Hyder, vice president, customer care at Michael Kors, explained how the company applies AI and creates the in-store experience inside the call center to motivate human agents and create a uniform culture. 

Starting from scratch at the contact center

When Hyder joined Michael Kors, the company was mainly targeted at customers in its physical stores, and it did not have a contact center. In fact, the company launched its e-commerce website, distribution center and call center on the same day.

"My vision was to replicate the high-energy, fast-paced and vibrant experience of our flagship stores, especially those in Manhattan, within the call center environment," said Hyder. "Our north star has always been to serve as a seamless extension of the retail store experience. This vision has shaped our operations, making our call center a sought-after account at our BPO partner, attracting top talent and maintaining a low attrition rate.

Watch the full session with Hyder. 

Creating the in-store experience in the call center

Partnering with the retail store and design teams, Hyder used the same custom carpets, wall paint and fabrics, with zebra and giraffe designs, for seating. The team built a showroom, which features products that are refreshed every season.

Serpentine-shaped desks and portrait-type television sets inhabit the space. The TVs play Michael Kors runway shows on a loop. Through embedded speakers, human agents hear the same music playlist as customers in the stores. Hyder went to so far as to audition voice talent for the interactive voice response (IVR) system to ensure the brand voice was consistent. The team hired a retail store manager to serve as a brand ambassador within the call center. She trains agents, teaches brand language and participates in calibration calls to maintain a standard and consistent voice. 

"Having a brand amabassador who knows the brand inside and out has made onboarding and training much smoother," said Hyder. "She participates in hiring, leads all product and brand training and ensures agents understand not just the technical aspects of their job but also the brand's history, product attributes and vernacular. New hires watch videos about Michael Kors and learn about the brand's evolution, products and materials. This approach has been unconvenitional, but it has been very effective in fostering a sense of purpose and connection among agents." 

Michael Kors applies AI in CX

With this backdrop for creating a culture that supports brand uniformity and transparency around expectations, Hyder set out to adopt agent-facing AI tools. An early supporter of the advanced technology, Hyder saw three main use cases as viable for Michael Kors: 

• Reducing average handle time (AHT) with case note summaries
• Detecting and managing lost order fraud
• Automating email responses with brand-consistent templates

Already, AI has helped Michael Kors quickly reship lost items rather than issue refunds, so it saves money and keeps customers happy, said Hyder. 

Customers interact with the human agents, while the agents themselves apply the AI tools. 

"AI tools have helped us keep headcount down even as volume increases," said Hyder. "We monitor metrics daily, but we prioritize brand experience over strict handle time enforcement. We call our approach 'clientelling' rather than 'selling,' focusing on building relationships rather than rushing transactions." 

Unlike many other brands, Michael Kors does not apply AI for outreach campaigns on platforms like WhatsApp. The contact center is inbound only. 

"When developing AI, we provided our brand guidelines and templates to the technology company, ensuring AI understood our brand's language and vernacular. We iterated to train the AI on our unique terminology, so live call transcriptions and email responses reflect our brand voice accurately." 

Outsourcing strategy

Choosing a business partner outsourcing (BPO) vendor is an important part of this new customer experience strategy at Michael Kors. Carefully choosing a partner was an important step, said Hyder. 

"It starts with choosing a BPO partner who wants to understand our brand DNA, not just call center operations," he said. "We immerse them in our retail culture, train them on our brand values and treat them as strategic partners, not just vendors. We involve them in daily reviews, promotions and technology rollouts. Our style consultants at the BPO act as user acceptatnce testers for new tech and help develop training programs. This approach ensures our brand voice is amplified, not diluted, and that the BPO team feels ownership and pride in their work." 

In addition, Hyder warned the audience about not letting the BPO do the job for which it was hired. Overengineering processes, micromanaging and setting unrealistic expectations create friction and can stifle innovation, he said. 

The attention to detail and uniform brand messaging has resulted in creating a high-energy, brand-aligned contact center that is leveraging AI. The attrition rate at the BPO is just 3 percent, compared to an average of 13 percent for other accounts with the same BPO, said Hyder. 

Leading the team in transformation

"Creating an energetic, brand-aligned environment and fostering trust has helped us keep retention high," said Hyder. 

As for Ebrahim, he has led the transformation, but he is unafraid of rolling up his sleeves. Afer all, he explained that he started his career as a call center agent, so "being on the floor with a headset on feels natural" to him. 

"When I visit the call center, I take calls and create friendly competitions, like rewarding the first person to place a $200 order," said Hyder. "This camaraderie boosts morale and performance. It also gives me firsthand insight into customer challenges and allows me to demonstrate how to weave the brand story into conversations, which I hope inspires the team to do the same."