in this issue
AI Can’t Fix Bad Knowledge: How Governance Shapes Customer Service
Knowledge governance is essential for AI to deliver consistent, accurate, and compliant CX.
by Sarah Jeanneault, VP Marketing at ProcedureFlow
| Artificial intelligence is redefining the contact center, promising better service, lower costs, and more productive employees. One obstacle consistently undermines these benefits: the quality of the knowledge AI relies on. Without knowledge governance, AI amplifies errors, spreads inconsistency, and increases compliance risks. For AI investments to succeed, organizations need to establish foundational elements like a knowledge governance strategy1 to ensure information is accurate, up-to-date, and scalable. |
The AI Hype Meets the Knowledge Gap
Generative AI has captured the attention of customer experience leaders worldwide. Chatbots, intelligent assistants, and real-time coaching tools are being deployed at unprecedented speed. But beneath the excitement lies a harsh reality: AI is only as effective as the foundation it’s built on.
When knowledge is outdated, fragmented, or siloed, AI does not solve problems; it magnifies them. Agents and customers receive conflicting answers, compliance lapses occur, and trust erodes. The gap between expectations and reality is already visible by CMS Wire:2 while “extensive” use of AI in CX nearly tripled in the past year (from 11% to 32%), 16% of leaders now report AI has little to no impact on customer experience, up sharply from four percent a year ago. This makes it clear that poor inputs inevitably produce poor outputs, regardless of technological sophistication.
A Veritas report3 underscores this point, revealing that 45% of leaders say poor data management prevents them from leveraging emerging technologies like generative AI. Organizations that underestimate this risk often find that AI projects fall short of expectations, delivering operational headaches rather than transformative improvements.
The Foundation of Governance
Knowledge governance provides the structure AI requires.4 It is a deliberate framework that ensures information is accurate, compliant, and aligned with organizational objectives. At its core, governance means that there is established responsibility for content creation and maintenance, review processes are defined, and standards are set for accuracy, accessibility, and accountability.
This structure matters because organizations consistently rank siloed systems (28%), fragmented data (26%, and governance gaps (26% among their top CX challenges. Without governance, critical knowledge quickly becomes outdated, such as:
• Policy updates (e.g., healthcare or financial regulations).
• Product and service details (pricing changes, new eligibility rules, technical specifications).
• Customer-facing processes (escalation paths, onboarding steps, troubleshooting guides).
Governance builds confidence among agents who rely on accurate knowledge in real-time, supports leaders in mitigating compliance risks, and assures customers that they receive consistent, trustworthy information. It also reduces hidden costs associated with rework, escalations, and turnover. No surprise, then, that 25% of organizations now list “digital governance and content quality” as a top investment priority.
The Risks of Poor Knowledge
The absence of governance carries tangible consequences. Knowledge becomes scattered across multiple systems, expert insights go uncaptured, and outdated processes persist unchecked. This issue is only set to intensify as by 2030, 61 million baby boomers will exit the workforce, risking a massive loss of expertise and widening skill gaps.
The financial stakes are significant. Gartner5 estimates that poor data quality costs organizations an average of $12.9 million annually. Compounding the problem, MIT reports that 95% of organizations are seeing zero return on their $40 billion investments in generative AI, and Veritas finds that nearly 77% of corporate knowledge is redundant, obsolete, or trivial—precisely the type of unreliable information that causes AI systems to generate errors.
CX leaders also recognize the risks: 49% cite data privacy, 42% cybersecurity, and 31% IP protection as their top concerns when deploying generative AI. The result is more than just wasted spend; it decreases agent confidence and erodes customer trust. Agents struggle to navigate conflicting information, which fuels burnout and, ultimately, poor customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Knowledge and the Human Factor
The human element of knowledge is critical to both employee experience and customer outcomes. Ninety percent of CX leaders agree that employee digital experience directly impacts customer experience. When agents lack governed, reliable information, they face the leading causes of frustration: outdated policies, unclear processes, or conflicting answers across systems.
CX leaders know exactly what employees need:
• Collaboration tools (39%)
• Easy access to customer data (36%)
• Easy access to product/service info (34%)
AI can handle routine inquiries, but the nuances of empathy, judgment, and complex problem-solving remain uniquely human. Governed knowledge ensures employees are equipped with reliable information so they can focus on higher-value interactions.
With confidence in their tools, employees deliver more accurate, empathetic service, reducing turnover and increasing customer satisfaction—turning AI into a true complement6 rather than a competitor.
A Framework for Governance
Effective knowledge governance is not a one-time initiative but an ongoing discipline that requires careful planning, continuous monitoring, and adaptation. Organizations that succeed in implementing a framework follow a deliberate path that ensures both human agents and AI have access to accurate, timely, and actionable knowledge.
1. Assess the current state of knowledge. Conduct a knowledge audit to pinpoint gaps, redundancies, and outdated information across systems and repositories.
- Outdated content examples: expired promotions, obsolete troubleshooting steps, discontinued product manuals, or escalation paths tied to retired roles.
- Critical knowledge at risk: compliance rules, billing procedures, claims handling, onboarding checklists, or scripts used during customer interactions.
2. Develop a content strategy aligned with organizational goals. Define which types of knowledge are critical, how content should be structured, and who maintains it.
- Customer-facing knowledge: Product features, pricing structures, and self-service articles.
- Operational knowledge: Call handling protocols, escalation procedures, process flows for onboarding or billing.
- Regulatory knowledge: Healthcare policies, financial reporting requirements, or security and data-handling procedures.
3. Establish clear roles and responsibilities. Assign ownership for content creation, updates, and approvals. For instance, product teams should maintain feature documentation, compliance teams oversee policy updates, and operations leaders ensure processes are accurate. Without ownership, outdated or conflicting knowledge lingers and erodes trust.
4. Set objectives and performance metrics. Translate governance into measurable outcomes. Common goals include:
- Reducing escalations caused by inaccurate information
- Improving first-contact resolution rates
- Increasing employee confidence in knowledge systems
- Ensuring regular review cycles (e.g., every 90 days for regulated content)
5. Commit to continuous improvement. Knowledge must evolve alongside the business. As products, services, or policies change, updates must flow quickly into customer-facing and internal knowledge. For example, retail teams must refresh seasonal return policies, insurers must reflect new eligibility criteria, and utilities must update outage protocols.
By following this structured approach, organizations ensure that both AI and human agents always have access to the most reliable version of critical knowledge.
Preparing for the Future of CX
The question for contact centers is no longer whether to adopt AI, but whether they are ready foundationally and strategically to ensure it is successful. AI cannot create accuracy where none exists; it only amplifies the quality of the information it consumes.
Knowledge governance provides the foundation for AI to deliver on its promise. It ensures accuracy, reduces risk, and gives employees the confidence to perform at their best. By prioritizing governance today, organizations move beyond hype and build a sustainable, AI-enabled future for customer experience.
Technology alone will not guarantee success. Organizations that treat knowledge as an afterthought risk undermining the very tools they hope will deliver value. Those that put governance at the center achieve lasting improvements: faster onboarding, higher customer satisfaction, stronger compliance, and better agent performance.
By embedding governance into their AI strategy, organizations can scale technology responsibly. As AI capabilities advance, both people and systems stay aligned, delivering consistent, high-quality customer service at every interaction.
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Article Links
2. https://www2.cmswire.com/cp-smg-dcx-report-cx.html
5. https://www.gartner.com/en/data-analytics/topics/data-quality
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Building Empathetic Voice AI: Architecting Real-Time Conversations at Scale What makes a voice AI experience feel genuinely human? It’s not just about getting the words right. It’s about understanding tone, intent, and emotion in the moment, and responding in a way that builds trust. Behind every seamless voice experience is a complex orchestration of intent recognition, sentiment analysis, and real-time decisioning. This workshop takes you inside the engine of a truly AI-native voice platform where you’ll explore how LLMs, NLU, and proprietary tuning come together to create voice agents that actually feel human. Through a live product demo, you’ll see what’s possible when empathy meets engineering. This workshop will explore:
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Pilot with Precision: Aligning Generative Agent Pilots to Risk Tolerance and ROI Launching a generative AI pilot is easy. Launching the right one—one that aligns with your risk tolerance, delivers measurable outcomes, and sets you up to scale—is far more difficult. Presented by ASAPP and PTP, this session will help CX leaders to choose, test, and take generative agent pilots to the next level, with confidence. You’ll explore:
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TripAdvisor’s Playbook for AI That Gets 5-Star Reviews: How to Avoid the Implementation Mistakes That Break Customer Experience You’ve seen the pattern: AI projects that start strong, then somehow make everything more complicated. What looked like a quick win turns into months of integration headaches, frustrated teams, and executives asking uncomfortable questions about ROI. TripAdvisor made this exact mistake. Then Tim Barker and his team developed a holistic approach that transformed their entire customer support operation—dramatically improving resolution times while reducing costs and boosting agent satisfaction. In this hands-on session, Tim and Laivly’s Matt Bruno will walk you through the same methodology that delivered these results. What You’ll Experience Real-World Case Study Strategic Framework Deep-Dive Interactive Workshop Walk out with your personalized AI workflow map and phased implementation plan.
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RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE: RNG) is a leading provider of AI-driven cloud business communications, contact center, video and hybrid event solutions. RingCentral empowers businesses with conversation intelligence, and unlocks rich customer and employee interactions to provide insights and improved business outcomes. For more information, visit: ringcentral.com . |
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Powered by purpose, TELUS Digital leverages technology, human ingenuity and compassion to fuel remarkable outcomes and create inclusive, thriving communities in the regions where we operate around the world. Guided by our Humanity-in-the-loop principles, we take a responsible approach to the transformational technologies we develop and deploy by proactively considering and addressing the broader impacts of our work. Learn more at: telusdigital.com |
TELUS Digital ibex delivers innovative BPO, smart digital marketing, online acquisition technology, and end-to-end customer engagement solutions to help companies acquire, engage and retain customers. ibex leverages its diverse global team and industry-leading technology, including its AI-powered ibex Wave iX solutions suite, to drive superior CX for top brands across retail, e-commerce, healthcare, fintech, utilities and logistics.For more information, visit: www.ibex.co |
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Flip It Live: How Belk Launched Voice AI in Record Time Why talk about launching AI when you can watch it be deployed in minutes? In this interactive session, you’ll see a real retailer, Belk, set up Flip’s Voice AI from scratch to fully operational in minutes, proving what most vendors call “impossible.” Belk’s Senior Director of Customer Experience, Jessica Patel, joins Flip’s Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer, Sam Krut, and Vice President of Demand & Partnerships, Shawn Li, to share how the 137-year-old retailer replaced its IVR with a modern Voice AI experience and went from first conversation to launch in only 74 days. They’ll reveal early results from successfully putting customer-facing AI on phones without a long, custom, expensive build, and the early results Belk is seeing in its most important channel. Join this session for laughs, learnings, and a guide for how your brand can launch Voice AI, too. You’ll see and hear:
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Unlocking Call Center Revenue: How Princess Cruises is Driving Growth Most call center agents spend more time figuring out who to call or what to say than actually talking to guests. Princess Cruises is flipping that model — using AI and real-time data to put the right leads, the right insights, and the right timing directly into agents’ hands, making their jobs easier and more rewarding. Join Alvin Stokes, VP of Global Reservation and Guest Services at Princess Cruises, and Scott Sahadi, CEO of harpin AI, as they reveal how new tools are helping agents close more bookings with less guesswork. You’ll learn how Princess Cruises is:
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Thanks to Our Partner
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Sierra is the platform that helps businesses build better, more human customer experiences with AI. Founded by industry veterans Bret Taylor and Clay Bavor, Sierra enables companies to deploy autonomous AI agents that provide fast, personalized, always-on support across channels. Trusted by brands like SiriusXM, Sonos, and ADT, Sierra’s flexible model meets customers where they are—offering everything from enterprise-ready, fully supported deployments to build-your-own no-code journeys. Both CX and Engineering teams can move fast, choosing the right approach to fit their evolving needs. For more information, visit: sierra.ai |
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The Human Advantage: Why People Still Power Great CX in the Age of AI In an era dominated by AI and automation, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s most critical in delivering standout customer experiences: the people making them happen. Amid the tech-driven transformation of CX, one truth remains—companies that thrive are those where agents, and the teams supporting them, are engaged, empowered, and equipped to deliver at a high level. In this dynamic session, Terri DeMent, Director, Consumer Engagement at Nestlé Purina—and Amy Bouthilet, VP of Global Talent at Alta Resources, a leading end-to-end CX BPO, discuss what it truly takes to build and sustain an employee-first culture. Drawing from real-world examples, they’ll share the challenges and breakthroughs of scaling engagement across complex enterprises, and how placing people at the core of CX operations leads to measurable impact—from improved customer satisfaction scores to stronger revenue performance. With a 9-year partnership with Gallup, Alta’s proven approach to employee engagement and leadership development has redefined how to embed culture into the everyday fabric of CX delivery. Attendees will gain actionable strategies to overcome barriers, develop engaged teams, and elevate both employee and customer outcomes in a world increasingly shaped by technology. Key Takeaways:
Join us to discover why, amid rapid technological change, people still drive CX success.
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A Masterclass in CX Technology Sourcing Choosing the right customer experience (CX) technology partners isn’t just a procurement decision—it’s a strategic one. From discovery to delivery, the way you source, evaluate, and manage technology solution providers can make or break your ability to deliver seamless, high-impact customer experiences. In this expert-led panel, seasoned CX leaders will guide you on techniques to find and evaluate the best providers to deliver on your business requirements. You’ll hear real-world examples and gain practical tools for maximizing value from your technology partnerships while staying agile in a fast-evolving digital landscape.
Whether you’re looking to optimize current vendors or source new technology, this panel will offer a blueprint for smarter, more strategic CX technology decisions.
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Trista Miller
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Reality Check: Are AI & Automation Living Up to Their Promise in CX AI and automation are no longer emerging tools; they’re embedded in the DNA of today’s CX strategies. From transforming contact centers to driving operational efficiency and delivering more seamless customer interactions, they’ve promised smarter, more seamless customer experiences. But are they delivering? This panel takes a clear-eyed look at what’s really happening after implementation. What gains have proven sustainable? Where are expectations falling short? And how are CX leaders rethinking their approach as they face the hard truths of integration, training, measurement, and impact? You’ll hear from leading brands on navigating the evolving balance between humans and machines, including how they’re redefining agent roles, capturing the right metrics, and translating the voice of the customer into iterative, AI-fueled improvements. Whether you’re scaling automation or just beginning to integrate AI pilots, this session offers grounded insights, honest lessons, and forward-looking guidance for building the intelligent contact center of tomorrow. Thanks to Our Partner
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CX Livewire: Polling, Predictions, and Instant Feedback This fast-paced session brings together a panel of CX leaders who are deeply immersed in the challenges and opportunities facing the industry today. Drawing on their diverse backgrounds and day-to-day leadership, panelists will explore what’s driving progress, what’s standing in the way, and how leading organizations are turning insight into impact. Attendees will walk away with a clearer view of the CX landscape, real-time benchmarking from peer responses, and fresh strategies they can apply within their own teams. By pairing live polling with Execs In The Know’s latest research report’s core findings, we’ll use the session to test predictions, validate (or challenge) existing data points, and capture what’s changed in real-time. This approach gives attendees a rare opportunity to see how their organization stacks up, where their peers are headed, and what strategies are gaining traction across industries right now.
Thanks to Our Partner |
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The Talent Shift: Hiring, Training, and Compensation in an AI World Customer expectations aren’t the only thing evolving, so are the people behind every interaction. As AI and automation continue to reshape the contact center, they’re not just enhancing tools and workflows; they’re fundamentally transforming the agent role itself. In this new era, agents are expected to do more than follow a script. They’re problem solvers, brand ambassadors, and emotional first responders—navigating increasingly complex issues that require both high-tech fluency and high-EQ finesse. These changes are pushing organizations to rethink everything: how we recruit and train, how we compensate and support, what skills matter most in the modern CX workforce, and how entirely new roles may emerge. This panel brings together CX leaders to unpack how AI is reshaping the future of work: redefining the skills we hire for, influencing compensation models, and transforming how training, reskilling, and upskilling are delivered and absorbed. As the role of the agent evolves—shifting from repetitive tasks to higher-value, empathy-driven work—companies must balance automation with human augmentation and adopt strategies for building and supporting a workforce prepared to meet the demands of a more complex, tech-integrated customer experience. The future is faster, smarter, and more connected but success depends on leading with intention, investing in emotional intelligence, and designing roles that elevate both technology and humanity.
Thanks to Our Partner |
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Board Panel: The Signals We’re Missing In a world flooded with dashboards and metrics, the loudest signals often steal the spotlight—while the most powerful insights go unheard. This panel explores what it means to truly listen to the silent majority of customers: those whose feedback isn’t captured in traditional surveys, whose experiences are filtered through cultural bias, or whose voices are lost in outdated listening systems. Join the EITK Advisory Board as they challenge the current state of customer listening by asking hard questions:
We’ll also explore how AI-powered sentiment detection can help uncover unspoken truths and emerging emotions—if applied with intention and ethics. From tuning into passive signals to reshaping how and where we listen, this conversation will open new possibilities for creating a listening culture that is inclusive, intelligent, and alive. If we want to meet customers where they are, we must hear even what they don’t say. The future of customer experience depends not just on collecting more data—but on listening differently.
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