By Michael Pan Sin
Senior Vice President
TDCX Digital Innovation Lab

Customers are demanding faster, smarter support. More than 70% of customers now expect personalized experiences from the very first interaction, where agents already know their purchase history, behaviors, and previous issues. Yet, four in five agents report feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of queries they face.

In every interaction, the ability to truly listen and respond effectively can define the customer experience (CX). But how can CX agents navigate the endless flow of queries, emotions, and expectations without burning out? The answer lies in data.

When used strategically, data becomes the backbone of empowering CX agents to respond not just faster, but smarter. Augmented by AI-powered tools, agents can decode customer sentiment, surface accurate information immediately, and craft tailored responses. The result? Confident, upskilled agents delivering personalized service while preserving the human connection customers value most.

How data can help improve CX performance

For CX agents, the ability to seamlessly interpret and act on data turns routine exchanges into meaningful conversations. Consider how these different types of data can help:

Historical interactions: Nearly 60% of customers report having to repeat the same information to different representatives. Even half of surveyed high-performing agents admit lacking context about a customer’s situation because they can’t access relevant information. With tools that provide access to past conversations, resolution outcomes, and summaries of interactions, agents can skip the guesswork, resolve issues faster, and deliver responses that feel both informed and personal.

Customer sentiments: Advanced AI tools can now more accurately interpret not just words of a conversation but the emotions behind them. For example, when a spike in negative sentiment is detected, whether through specific phrases or shifts in tone, they can recommend tension-diffusing language or escalate the case to the appropriate team. With 95% of purchase decisions driven by emotions, responding effectively to sentiment becomes essential for building trust and loyalty.

Dynamic changes in products or services: A delayed flight, for instance, can easily derail a customer’s experience, but having near-real-time data at the agents’ fingertips can help them weather the CX storm. With immediate updates from operational systems, agents can provide rebooking options, personalized compensation, or real-time flight details. Airlines across Southeast Asia, the US, and Europe are already using advanced analytics and AI-powered tools to save thousands of work hours, reduce delays, and keep passengers informed, turning disruptions into opportunities for exceptional service.

The real power of data lies in making it accessible and actionable. Consolidating multiple data points gives agents a fuller view of the customer and minimizes platform hopping. It also cuts through the chaos when multiple agents interact with the same customer. With nearly 90% of customers growing frustrated repeating their issues to different representatives — exacerbating abandonment rates — a single source of truth helps agents pick up right where the last one left off.

AI-powered agent assist tools in action

Agent assist tools serve as a digital, conversational copilot for human agents. They can provide data-driven insights and automate routine tasks. When powered by generative AI (GenAI), they go further — suggesting solutions, drafting original responses, summarizing past interactions, and adapting to customer sentiments with greater nuance, to name a few. Their potential is already turning heads: A McKinsey case study, for instance, found that a GenAI-powered agent assist tool has improved a company’s customer service score by 10% and slashed costs by more than 5%. 

Here are some examples of how these tools put data to work:

Draft email responses in less time. Writing accurate, context-rich responses can be time-consuming, especially for queries requiring multiple solutions. An agent assist tool pulls key details from past interactions, customer profiles, and knowledge bases (KBs) to draft a response, giving agents a ready-to-review framework they can refine immediately.

Find answers in KBs faster. Manually combing through a KB for relevant articles wastes valuable time. Agent assist tools use AI to deliver instant, context-aware recommendations during chats, calls, or emails, surfacing the most relevant articles based on the customer’s query. Agents can spend less time searching and more time solving.

Interpret and adapt to customer sentiments quickly. Understanding the emotional tone of a conversation is critical to tailoring responses. Agent assist tools analyze language patterns to detect whether a customer is frustrated, neutral, or satisfied. Based on these insights, the tool suggests tone-appropriate phrasing, allowing agents to respond with empathy, positivity, or reassurance as needed.

Augmenting human agents with more efficiency and consistency 

The best AI tools don’t replace CX agents, but amplify their strengths. By automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks, these tools free agents to focus on the human side of interactions. Standardized processes, like response formatting and tone suggestions, allow agents to tailor interactions using customer-specific data. Empowered agents are also more productive. Data- and AI-powered tools enable faster, more informed decisions, translating to quicker resolutions. 

TED, TDCX’s agent assist tool, provides a compelling example. During a pilot with one of the world’s leading travel and mobility companies, CX agents faced the daunting task of handling emotionally charged emails on a daily basis. Locating relevant information to respond accurately was a slow, frustrating process that led to delays, inconsistent answers, and reduced productivity.

The agent assist tool redefined efficiency for the company’s CX frontliners, transforming critical tasks into seamless, one-click actions. They used TED to draft emails, summarize interactions, translate content, convert text to speech, and access a conversational KB, all without disrupting workflows. Unlike other tools that simply highlight related KB articles during a search, TED immediately delivers contextually relevant answers to agents, equipping them with the exact insights they need to resolve issues faster.

In just one month, the tool boosted productivity by 39%, increased daily case closures by 33%, and helped agents exceed weekly resolution targets by 17.5%. Beyond the numbers, it also improved agent morale by simplifying workflows and enabling agents to focus on meaningful customer interactions.

As our case study demonstrates, this synergy allows agents to uncover unspoken frustrations, identify patterns across interactions, and craft responses that address not only immediate issues but the broader customer journey. By continuing to invest in technologies that foster this collaboration, businesses can unlock new opportunities to create customer experiences that inspire loyalty and fuel growth.