Day One
12:00 PM Human in the Middle: The case for giving AI to your staff before your customers
Many AI roadmaps start by moving customers away from people. The Vitamin Shoppe is starting with its people. The retailer sells supplements, where a wrong answer carries more risk than it would for a T-shirt, and its brand rests on expert advice across more than 640 stores in the US. So its AI goes behind the counter and behind the agent's screen first. The tool helps a newer associate turn a customer's goal, such as building muscle or sleeping better, into a specific recommendation.
In this session, COO Andy Laudato explains where the company is happy to automate outright, where it keeps a human in the middle, and where there isn't a strong use case for AI at all.
Attendees will learn:
- Where The Vitamin Shoppe draws the line between full automation and AI-assisted human conversations, and why
- How the cost of a wrong answer, rather than the cost of a contact, can set your automation boundary
- How an associate-facing assistant narrows the knowledge gap between new hires and experienced staff
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