AI and CX in Brazil: the era of customer service that understands before responding --- This translation maintains the original tone and context, ensuring that the technical and specialized terminology is accurately conveyed. The phrase "IA e CX" refers to "AI and CX" (Artificial Intelligence and Customer Experience), and "entende antes de responder" translates to "understands before responding," capturing the essence of the original text.

In the last eighteen months, artificial intelligence has ceased to be a promise to consolidate itself as a driver of the transformation of the customer experience. The impact is not only on operational efficiency, but on raising the standard of what the consumer considers acceptable: today he expects to be able to express himself in natural language, to be understood right away in the first interaction and to receive the correct solution & not just a response & not just a response & on the channel in which he prefers to communicate. 

The change in behavior is the result of the popularization of tools such as language models, which accustomed the client to interact intuitively, without following rigid scripts or navigating through long menus. The Brazilian consumer, in particular, no longer accepts the logic of “pressione 1, press 2”; he wants to ask for what he wants and receive back a concrete, personalized and contextual action.

In this context, Brazil occupies a prominent position.The market maturity in conversational channels, especially in WhatsApp, puts us ahead of other countries in terms of practice and scale. While in several regions this technology is still emerging, here we have accumulated years of learning about what works, where the points of friction are and how to measure the business impact. This experience allows us not only to operate more advanced solutions, but also serve as a global reference on how to design more effective journeys.

The great differential of artificial intelligence applied to the customer experience is its ability to reduce friction in a practical way. By accessing data and business rules in real time, AI can diagnose situations accurately, avoiding common human service errors. 

Often, for example, the customer requests a cancellation not because he wants to give up the purchase, but because he believes that the order has been misplaced. In this case, the real need is not to cancel, but to get confirmation that the product is already on the way. AI, by identifying this context, delivers the right information and generates trust. In addition, its linguistic flexibility eliminates communication barriers: if a response has not been clear, technology can reformulate it in other terms or even deliver it in voice format, something essential in a country as diverse as Brazil.

Efficiency also does not have to mean dehumanization. On the contrary, when bots take care of the so-called “trivial difficult”, they free up human attendants for more complex, sensitive and emotional cases. This reduces the cognitive load of teams, decreases stress and increases the quality of human care. At the same time, the client perceives a healthy balance between technology that resolves quickly and people that offer hospitality.

Another important point is trust. A few years ago, users tested the limits of bots almost as if it were a game, always suspicious. Today, when they realize that AI solutions are more human and, above all, effective, they began to use them naturally. This cultural evolution, added to success cases already consolidated in the country, such as logistics, direct retail and even financial collection, helps consolidate the use of artificial intelligence as a preferred tool in certain situations. When the bot resolves faster than the human, it becomes the first choice.

Still, there are common pitfalls.Many AI projects follow the logic of traditional software development, with long and closed cycles, when in reality they should be iterative: quickly put on the air, learn from the real data and adjust. Another recurring error is to believe that a FAQ chatbot is enough. Just providing information solves a small fraction of the problems. True transformation happens when AI is able to perform actions that actually solve customer pain.In addition, the difficulty of exposing ready-made APIs is a frequent obstacle. New standards such as MCP servers (Model Context Protocol) tend to reduce this barrier, allowing more resolutive bots in less time.

Looking ahead to the next few years, the trend is for conversations to get smarter from the first contact. Platforms like Meta and Google are already working to share journey signals, making interactions more accurate and relevant. At the same time, the evolution of generative orchestration will accelerate the pace of development: instead of months to launch a new feature, it will be possible to activate several in a matter of weeks or days. This will make bots more powerful, faster and useful for customers and businesses.

In the end, the message is clear: artificial intelligence applied to the customer experience does not mean replacing people, but eliminating friction, speaking the way the consumer understands and acting quickly where he needs it most. Brazil, for its maturity in conversational channels and cultural openness to new technologies, has the chance to lead this transformation globally. Who knows how to take advantage of this moment, combining technology, governance and courage to iterate, will set the new standard of excellence in service for the next years.

By Fabio Costa, senior director of Artificial Intelligence at Sinch