Why AI Customer Experiences Still Fall Short
José Eduardo Ferreira explains how corporate silos and disconnected data keep companies from achieving true omnichannel engagement.
Although most businesses claim to deliver quality customer service through artificial intelligence, consumers frequently encounter frustration. Speaking on Marketing - The Podcast, José Eduardo Ferreira explores the challenges of uniting data, dismantling legacy silos, and designing effective omnichannel journeys.
Despite recent advances in artificial intelligence for customer service, there is a clear divide between business perception and consumer reality. Speaking with Bruno Gimenes on Marketing - The Podcast, José Eduardo Ferreira, Twilio's Regional VP of Sales for Latin America, addressed the reasons behind this gap based on data gathered by the company: globally, 92% of brands believe they deliver a good experience, but only 61% of customers agree. In Brazil, the figures stand at 96% and 66%, respectively, even though 56% of consumers have their issues resolved directly through automation.
In the video above, Ferreira details the operational dynamics required to turn point tools into genuine communication solutions. He argues that while Latin American audiences show high receptivity to AI, companies' internal architectures often hinder the quality of customer-facing interactions.
The legacy of silos and decentralized IT
According to Ferreira, the root cause of inconsistent customer experiences lies in the operational structures built up over time. Large corporations, such as century-old banks, and fast-growing startups that executed dozens of mergers and acquisitions have ended up with fragmented environments. This divide widened as business units began procuring technology independently.
"When we delegated IT to the business units—which was great when we started doing it 10 or 12 years ago—it was fantastic because the business could solve problems quickly without depending exclusively on IT. However, it ended up creating other challenges if you lack proper IT governance or an architecture team driving standardization," Ferreira explains.
As a result, most organizations suffer from poor system integration. For Ferreira, technology initiatives should focus on solving real business problems without requiring a complete overhaul of existing infrastructure, unlocking the full potential of what companies already have in place.
Moving from multichannel to contextual integration
Another central theme discussed in the episode was the difference between offering multiple channels and operating a truly omnichannel experience. Many operations still function strictly in a multichannel model, where WhatsApp, voice, SMS, and digital systems operate in silos, without conversation history or user profiles carrying over from one touchpoint to another.
Ferreira highlights that current use cases are maturing to connect entire customer journeys, including seamless handoffs to human agents with rich context: "If you're on WhatsApp and it's not working, you want to switch to voice. Or sometimes you're on voice and need to send a document, so you send it through a context-rich system." The goal is to equip agents with immediate access to case history and accurate recommendations.
Consultative selling and industry enablement
To tailor these solutions effectively to each segment, Ferreira emphasizes the importance of verticalizing sales and support. Rather than focusing solely on technical product specifications, teams must understand the economic dynamics and specific pain points of sectors like financial services, retail, logistics, healthcare, and education.
"Beyond just knowing the product—which is the bare minimum—I need my team to understand business operations, whether it's a marketing agency, a manufacturing plant, or a distribution company," Ferreira points out while detailing Twilio's industry-specific training programs.