When I wrote Listen or Die back in 2017, I ended the book with a simple but powerful idea:
Play offense with systemic change.
That hasn’t changed. In fact, it’s truer today than ever.
But what has changed — what I never could have fully predicted in 2017 — is how AI has supercharged the entire VoC landscape.
→ AI is no longer just about text analytics.
→ AI is not just helping you listen better — it’s helping you act better.
→ AI is now your assistant, your analyst, your pattern finder, your insight generator.
And that brings us right back to systemic change — the most valuable thing you can do as a CX leader.
Because yes, closing the loop with individual customers is still important. It’s table stakes.
But the real ROI of VoC still comes from fixing what’s broken for everyone. From solving the root cause. From changing systems, processes, and experiences that make life better for all of your customers.
AI just makes finding those opportunities faster, easier, and clearer.
Here’s the Future of Playing Offense with VoC (and AI)
- AI will surface the patterns in your alerts and root cause tags automatically.
- AI will tell your operators exactly what to do next to improve CX — personalized recommendations at scale.
- AI will enrich your open-ended feedback in ways static surveys never could.
- AI will create real-time, dynamic surveys that feel more like conversations than questionnaires.
- AI will separate signal from noise — giving you fewer dashboards to stare at, and more clarity on where to act.
But your job as a CX leader?
Still the same as it’s always been.
→ Listen deeply.
→ Find the patterns.
→ Solve for the root cause.
→ Drive systemic change.
→ Create a company your customers (and employees) love.
That’s how you play offense.
That’s how you create real ROI from VoC.
And now, with AI, you’ve got a co-pilot that can help you get there faster than ever!
