5 AI in customer experience courses to enhance your skill set
There’s no question artificial intelligence (AI) is going to change how customer experience (CX) leaders work. That means there will be a lot to learn, and not necessarily on their own.
While vendors can offer solution-specific training, several online learning providers are already incorporating AI into their existing curriculum or creating entirely new courses to help drive greater awareness and best practices.
This list is in no particular order, and all of them largely seem focused on the basics of AI implementation using standard tools. They also tend to look at generative AI, rather than at how agentic AI will allow for greater autonomy in CX management. Expect to see additional courses in the latter area as advancements in AI and greater adoption unfolds.
1. CX Academy’s Microcourse: AI for CX
About the school: Founded in 2017 and based in Ireland, CX Academy is an e-learning provider whose offerings include an eight-lesson video program for Customer Experience 101. It says all its courses are supplemented by additional resources such as quizzes, templates and eBooks. One-on-one coaching is available.
About the course: CX Academy’s Microcourse AI for CX includes seven modules that span topics such as key definitions, the role of CX practitioners in leading AI strategy, how AI impacts organizations and teams, balancing AI and the human touch, ethical considerations, case studies and implementation best practices. It is aimed at executives of all levels.
Format, time commitment, pricing: The AI for CX microcourse runs three hours is delivered in a self-paced online format and costs €395, or approximately $470.
2. COPC’s Foundations in AI for CX
About the school: Founded in 1996 and based in Winter Park, Fla., the organization formerly known as Customer Operations and Performance Center offers management consulting and benchmarking services in addition to training. It is best known for having developed the COPC Standards, a collection of performance management systems to enhance call center operations, customer experience management, vendor management and procurement.
About the course: COPC’s Foundations for AI in CX is a certification program developed by an organization dubbed Execs In The Know. The six modules span digital CX strategy and fundamentals, conversational AI quality and management, ethical AI and governance, how to prepare and manage knowledge bases for traditional and generative AI, measuring and improving AI performance and CX technology sourcing and vendor management. It is aimed at executives, including those at the director level and above.
Format, time commitment and pricing: Foundations in AI for CX offers more than 14 hours of instruction and is available both in person and virtually, and can be offered to individuals or teams in a customized format. Pricing is not listed.
3. Coursera’s AI for Customer Experience with Chatbots and Analytics
About the school: Coursera was founded in 2012 and is based in California. It describes itself as a not-for-profit university but is essentially a B Corp. online learning provider that partners with hundreds of other universities and industry partners such as Google and IBM to offer courses across a wide range of subjects.
About the course: Coursera’s AI for Customer Experience with Chatbots and Analytics consists of a single module focused on teaching students how to craft tailored campaigns to boost loyalty using hypersonalization, deploy smart chatbots to drive greater customer engagement and use predictive analytics to anticipate customer behavior patterns. Coursera describes it as a crash course for those who want to understand the practical AI tools that are reshaping CX. Those who complete the course will earn a certificate they can share on LinkedIn.
Time commitment, format and pricing: AI for Customer Experience with Chatbots and Analytics takes three hours to complete and is part of a larger specialization called AI and Customer Success. It is offered virtually and at press time was free to enroll.
4. Udemy’s Customer Experience with Generative AI: Advanced CX with AI
About the school: San Francisco-based Udemy was founded in 2010 and is best known for its coding skills programs. A massive online open course provider (MOOC), Udemy allows students to learn asynchronously on their own schedule and boasts more than 250,000 courses and 81 million learners around the world.
About the course: Udemy’s Customer Experience with Generative AI: Advanced CX with AI is comprised of five sections that go over using ChatGPT for enhanced customer service, a practical guide to creating a chatbot with real-life examples, and building custom GPTs such as a personalized AI taskmaster. It is aimed at business owners, sales representatives, customer service professionals and others. Students will earn a certificate of completion.
Time commitment, format and pricing: Customer Experience with Generative AI: Advanced CX is delivered virtually and takes an estimated six hours to complete. Cost is approximately $18.
5. CX University’s AI and CX Leadership Course
About the school: CX University is an online learning provider that was founded in 2015 by Dr. Mohamed Latib. It describes itself as the only training provider recognized by industry association the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) for offering fully online training in customer experience (CX). It also offers specializations for those industries such as health care who are focusing on the nuances of patient experiences.
About the course: CX University’s AI and CX Leadership course promises to help students design, launch and grow AI across the entire customer journey. Its five modules will cover areas such as the five foundational AI functions in customer engagement, how to optimize performance and reduce costs through AI, implementing AI for real-time personalization and mapping an organization’s maturity in using AI for CX. It is open to CX professionals, executives and other business professionals and will offer both frameworks and simple playbooks.
Time commitment, format and pricing: The AI and CX Leadership course runs over a four-month period live via Zoom based on specific calendar dates. Cost is $995.
