We live in the age of automation. Artificial Intelligence is here and it’s revolutionizing how we do business. It’s the next frontier. Either get with it or be left behind. You’ve no doubt heard this a million times already.

Don’t worry, this isn’t yet another article about the wonders and/or horrors of A.I. and how it will transform our world for better and/or doom us all to a future of unimaginable horror. No, this article is here to serve to remind us that, whatever you might think of using artificial intelligence in business, and whatever happens to the future of business because of it, it’s really not what matters most, and it’s probably not where you should be putting your focus. What you should probably be focusing on more than anything else in this age of automation is the good old fashioned customer experience.

It’s the customer experience, more than anything else, that will make you and your organization stand out in a crowded marketplace. And nobody has the potential to understand and create an excellent customer experience more than human beings themselves.

Yes, by all means, use the latest technology. Absolutely, adopt automation. Find efficiencies. Streamline processes. Eliminate waste. Create shortcuts. Speed up your operation. Use A.I. to do all of the things that A.I. can do. But in doing so, don’t lose sight of the thing that matters most, and that’s the customer experience; specifically, the human customer experience.

When it comes to the customer experience, it’s probable that you can get a lot done with technology, even in this very human realm. Automated voice recognition and the power of A.I. can certainly help guide customers through their journey and lead them to a satisfactory outcome. And it’s probably very efficient and effective at doing so; in some cases maybe even more so than a team of human beings. But all the automation in the world can’t do what people can do, which is foster relationships, think creatively, draw from personal experience, and most importantly, empathize.

At the end of the day, what really matters most, is the team of people you have standing behind your brand and your product or services. It’s this human interaction that people remember. It’s what truly differentiates a successful and superior customer experience from an average one. And that’s a particularly important point in this age of automation.

Really, truly, fundamentally, when you think about it, that automated experience is pretty much the same from one place to the next. Yes, actually, think about it. Think about the last few times you used automated customer service. That is to say, the last few times you interacted with a chatbot or A.I. as a customer. It’s a safe bet that it was probably pretty much the same experience you had the time before that. And the one before that. And it will probably be basically the same experience the next time, too. And that’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with consistency in the customer experience. It may have even been very effective and helpful. But it’s not memorable. In trying to think about your most recent automated experience, you might have had to put some real thought and effort into remembering it. That’s because it’s average and same and at this point pretty much expected.

Once again, there’s nothing wrong with average and consistent. It’s generally a good idea to use the tools and technologies that are expected in the current marketplace by the current consumer. Having A.I. in place to assist a customer with basic tasks and guide them through an average experience is useful and productive. It’s unlikely any considerate professional today would suggest not using automation to improve an operation. It just makes fundamental sese. But so does continuing to invest in people to deliver the real, human customer experience. That’s where the real make-or-break difference is made.

Think now about your most recent customer interaction with a human being. It will probably be a lot easier to recall. And that’s because we are all, as people, hard wired to remember our interactions with other people. We almost never remember the technology we used in a customer experience. Rarely will someone notice the interface. The odds of getting a customer survey that says something like, ‘wow, that color and font were really on-brand and the technology was amazing’ are slim to none.

Customers just don’t remember things like that. They might notice them, sure, and they might enhance the experience, but they don’t really create the experience. And yet, that’s where we often put so much of our time and effort in curating the customer experience. We worry about which of the many (incredibly similar) technologies to use. We worry about how it will look and feel, but we never consider how it will make the customer feel. And that’s what matters most!

It’s almost a guarantee that a customer will not remember how the technology worked. They will not remember the colors and fonts used. They will not remember the quality of the interface. They will remember how it made them feel. They will remember their connection with another person. Those are the kinds of things usually mentioned in customer surveys. That’s what generates praise and positive feedback. And that’s the key to an outstanding customer experience in the age of automation.

So how do you get there? How do you create a memorable customer experience in this futuristic era of artificial intelligence? That’s easy. You do it by relying on good old fashioned human intelligence. More specifically, human emotional intelligence. Because as advanced as we get with computer technology, and as much as we train our artificial intelligence to understand human interaction, it will just never be able to replicate the human ability to be creative and to create connections. And that’s where you should be putting your time and effort if you want to stand out in this marketplace.

It’s really just as simple as hiring the right people and training them in the right skills. Anyone can learn the technical skills, whether those are in direct support of  your operation, or in supporting automation in your operation. In all likelihood, the next generation of talent will show up already having many of these skills in place. But what about their soft skills?

Technical skills on a resume are great. They certainly matter, and they absolutely give someone an advantage in the marketplace. But they’re not what you should be looking for in hiring if the goal is creating a memorable customer experience. Instead, you should be focusing on soft skills. How good is this person at building relationships and creating experiences? What kind of a colleague will they be? How will they contribute to building a culture of customer experience, whether that’s internal or external?

It’s these qualities that you should consider when preparing for an interview. Don’t just focus on the list of skills and accomplishments. Don’t just prepare questions relating to the day-to-day of the position. Think beyond that. Consider how they work with other people. Take into account their ability to build connections. Find out what they do to foster relationships. Gauge how well they empathize. Know what they can do that computers just can’t do. It’s having this team of people-oriented people in place that will really make a company stand out in the marketplace. In other words: hire for attitude, train for aptitude.

When it comes to training, yes, aptitude will matter a lot. You simply can’t skip technical training in most jobs. Whoever you have on your team will have to have the ability to function at your company. They’ll have to have the basic skills to work with your systems and processes, so that type of training will definitely matter. So will compliance training. That’s another area that simply can’t be overlooked. But neither of these areas are what will really matter in the age of automation. And yet, they’re exactly where most organizations devote the vast majority of their limited training resources. To truly stand out in the A.I. era, though, you need to build a team of high-functioning humans. It’s soft skills training that will get you there, and it would be a mistake to overlook this important area of development.

Put a focus on empathy and emotional intelligence. Hold a workshop on effective communication. Do some training to improve active listening skills. Help your team know how to anticipate your customer’s needs and provide proactive service. Run the team through some problem solving scenarios and introduce best practices. Show them how to demonstrate ownership and accountability. Get them to work on building rapport and trust, with each other and with customers. Help them improve planning, time management, and organization skills. This isn’t always the focus for organizations when it comes to training and development, and it’s not where training dollars typically go, but in today’s automated world, it should be. These are in fact the skills most lacking in the current workforce, and they just so happen to be the skills that make the most difference to the customer experience.

Invest in developing your people by investing in developing their people skills. Help them learn to do what computers can’t do, and to do it better than your competition. You can have the latest artificial intelligence assisting your customers. You can have the greatest processes in place to guide them through an automated interaction. A lot of the time, given the capability of these technologies, your customers will end up having a perfectly pleasant and satisfactory, if not altogether memorable, experience.

But sooner or later one of them is going to pick up the phone. Sooner or later they’re going to want to speak with a person who can understand their frustration. They’re going to want to connect with someone who can reassure them. They’re going to ask for a creative or personalized solution. They’re going to want a sounding board, a critical thinker, a consultant, a partner, a guide, an advocate, maybe even a friend. They’re going to want to connect with someone who can understand their emotional needs and respond to them appropriately.

And this is where A.I. can’t  help. This is where that human customer experience will matter. This is where that make-or-break moment comes into play. This is the difference maker. How your team responds to this customer need is what will create that superior, memorable customer experience. This is what creates your reputation in the marketplace. It’s not the technology you use, or the processes you adopt, or the branding you apply. It’s how you respond to your customers when they need you most. It’s how you make them feel that makes you matter to them, and what they will remember when it comes time to making their consumer choice.

The customer experience is what will set your organization apart when everything in the marketplace is fundamentally the same. Using the latest and greatest technology is helpful, finding efficiencies and opportunities for automation are important, and hiring people with strong technical skills matters. But ultimately, it’s your people, how well they work with each other, and most importantly, how well they connect with your customers, that’s going to matter the most. It’s the customer experience that matters in the age of automation.

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