VUX World

In this episode, we explore the concept of the "headless enterprise," where AI agents interact with the external world without traditional user interfaces. This discussion delves into the future of ai and its implications for enterprise automation.We consider how such ai technology could drive significant business growth, focusing on scenarios where AI agents handle interactions seamlessly without a traditional user interface, similar to a headless cms.00:00 What is the headless AI enterprise?01:41 How to prepare03:40 Lipstick on a pig04:58 AI tinkering vs embedding07:19 Where to focus your attentionSubscribe to VUX AI: https://vux.world/subscribeListen to the VUX Podcast: https://vux.world/podcast

Enterprise AI tools can spin up a prototype in an hour. Getting that prototype to production with the accuracy, security, and scale a real business needs still takes months for most companies. Inbenta says its new Encore platform closes that gap in days or even hours.Merlin Bise, CTO at Inbenta, returns to VUX World to walk through how Encore builds production-grade AI agents on the fly when a customer deploys a use case. The platform ingests content from websites, documents, recordings and connected systems like SharePoint, then combines large language models with Inbenta's proprietary NLP, customer-specific lexicons and real-time intent generation to deliver near-zero hallucination rates.The hallucination numbers from raw models remain striking. We discuss a report that shows hallucination rates across different LLMs, including those from companies such as OpenAI, Google, and xAI. Inbenta's approach constrains the model to verified content and context, then layers intent-based NLP on top. In one customer test of 200 questions, they found a single hallucination, caused by a query that fell outside the content boundaries. We also discuss the broader trajectory of enterprise AI. Most deployments today focus on replacing existing activities or functions. The bigger opportunity lies in using AI to imagine entirely new kinds of value. Merlin predicts that hyper-automation, which combines agentic intelligence with robotic process automation, will be the defining shift in the next 12 months.Show notesFind out more about The European Chatbot & Conversational AI Summit: https://europe.customercontactweekdigital.com/events-ccw-uk/agenda-mc/?utm_source=VUX%20World&utm_medium=Media%20Partner&utm_campaign=47758.003_VUX_Social_Post_Agenda&utm_term=&utm_content=&disc=&extTreatId=7634824Find out more about Inbenta: https://www.inbenta.comFollow Merlin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merlin-bise-8277696bFollow Kane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanesimmsTake our updated AI Maturity Assessment: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/a26bf9Rr?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audioSubscribe to VUX World: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/Qlo5aaeWSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/kanesimms

Most teams are still asking where to use AI. The better question is where not to.In this episode, Adrian Matei, Product Manager from Jaja Finance, breaks down what actually happens when generative AI meets real users and real constraints. The result is far less hype, far more discipline, and a clear view of what it takes to ship AI that works.We talk about Jaja’s chatbot, Airi, which is a RAG-based agentic system with six agents in production, serving customers who often face sensitive financial situations, such as debt.Adrian explains the design philosophy behind Airi’s tone, which was developed in collaboration with Jaja's commercial and communications teams to ensure it matches the brand across every customer touchpoint.A significant part of the conversation focuses on the practical realities of building production-grade generative AI systems. Adrian shares his thinking on when to use generative AI and when deterministic, rule-based approaches are simply the better choice.We also touch on broader themes, including the future of AI at the edge and the emerging role of personal AI assistants. Show notesDiscover more about the CCW UK Summit: https://europe.customercontactweekdigital.com/events-ccw-uk/agenda-mc/?utm_source=VUX%20World&utm_medium=Media%20Partner&utm_campaign=47758.003_VUX_Social_Post_Agenda&utm_term=&utm_content=&disc=&extTreatId=7634824Follow Adrian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriangmateiFollow Kane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanesimmsTake our updated AI Maturity Assessment: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/a26bf9Rr?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audioSubscribe to VUX World: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/Qlo5aaeWSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/kanesimms

We hit the floor at the European Chatbot and Conversational AI Summit in Edinburgh with a mic and a simple rule: answer a question, then leave one for the next person. What unfolds is a chain of questions and answers from practitioners at Lebara, Lloyds Banking Group, Uber, ElevenLabs, Carrefour, Virgin Money, Tesco, Jaja Finance and more. The result is an organic, unscripted snapshot of what the conversational AI community is actually thinking about right now.Topics spiral from enterprise AI adoption and the talent crunch, through agentic banking and agent metrics, to some surprisingly personal territory, including AI for mental health support, cardiac research and simplifying the mundane parts of everyday life.Chapters00:00 Intro02:24 Chris Miles, Group Product Lead - Chatbots & AI at Lebara03:12 Kellin Sjoerds, AI Engineer at Essent & Willeke van de Wetering, AI Engineer at Essent04:39 Andrew Lavis, Chatbot Analyst at Virgin Money05:08 Mathias Fanschek, Head Retail Strategy & Digital Transformation at Raiffeisen Bank International AG06:12 Andrei Spiridon, Head Retail Strategy & Business Transformation at Raiffeisen Conversational AI Lab08:20 Alan Nichol, CTO at RASA09:44 Adrian Matei, AI Product Manager at Jaja Finance11:00 Nikoletta Ventoura, Senior AI Conversation Designer at Tesco11:37 Maria Guermonprez, CX and Product Manager at Spix Industry12:19 Damien Bird, Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft13:12 Gabriele Iuculano, Senior Test Platform Engineer, Schindler Group & Salvatore Raieli, Senior Data Scientist at Oncodesign14:53 Jared Browne, Group Head of AI Governance & Privacy at Fexco15:32 Laura Brady, GTM at ElevenLabs16:20 Laura Ball, Global AI CX GTM and Sales Lead at Zoom16:50 Sabrina Brunner, Technical Lead at Allianz Direct18:10 Lorraine Burrell, Conversation Design Lead at Lloyds Banking Group19:00 Jana Richter, Executive VP AI and Innovation at NFON AG19:44 Daniel Orenes Ferrandez, Senior Manager - Customer Experience at Uber21:06 Guillaume Blaquiere, Group Data Architect at Carrefour21:42 Laura Macleod, Business Applications, Centre of Excellence Lead at Virgin Money21:57 Kane’s closing thoughtsShow notesFind out more about The European Chatbot & Conversational AI Summit: https://theeuropeanchatbot.comFollow Kane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanesimmsTake our updated AI Maturity Assessment: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/a26bf9Rr?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audioSubscribe to VUX World: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/Qlo5aaeWSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/kanesimms

Most companies sit on a goldmine of customer insight and do almost nothing with it. Every conversation holds signals about frustration, churn risk, and broken experiences, yet extracting that value can be a slow and manual effort.In this episode, Shane Lynn, CEO and Co-Founder of EdgeTier, unpacks how conversational intelligence is evolving in the age of large language models and what it means for contact centres.Shane explains how EdgeTier can now model metrics such as resolution rate and customer satisfaction across every interaction, rather than relying on the 10–15% survey response rate most contact centres achieve.We also get into the organisational challenge that underpins all of this: contact centres often hold the richest customer insights in the business, but lack the tools or organisational standing to act on them. Shane argues that data-driven contact centres can shift from being reactive cost centres to genuine strategic assets, influencing product, policy and process decisions across the wider business.Finally, we touch on the growing challenge of monitoring AI agent conversations and why automated analysis of those transcripts may actually matter more than it does for human-handled interactions.Show notesDiscover more about EdgeTier: http://edgetier.com/Follow Shane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanealynnFollow Kane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanesimmsTake our updated AI Maturity Assessment: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/a26bf9Rr?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audioSubscribe to VUX World: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/Qlo5aaeWSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/kanesimms

Generative AI is changing how customer support chatbots are built, deployed and measured.In this episode, we sit down with Alia Azim, Product Lead for Chatbots at Citation Group, to discuss the company’s shift from traditional NLU chatbots to generative AI conversational agents.Alia brings a wealth of experience in conversational AI, including time spent at Lloyds Banking Group, and she gives us an honest account of what it actually looks like to move from NLU-based chatbots to generative AI in a real business environment. Citation Group provides HR, compliance and business services for thousands of small and medium businesses. Supporting those customers means handling everything from platform troubleshooting to account access issues. Alia explains how their team rebuilt the chatbot strategy around generative AI, focusing on specific use cases, improved knowledge management, and outcomes that actually resolve customer problems.We explore the limitations of traditional intent-based bots, why generative AI dramatically changes how conversational systems are designed and why success metrics like containment are being replaced by resolution rate.We also get into the debate around whether conversation design is dead. Designers and engineers still play a critical role, but the work now focuses less on building rigid flows and more on shaping AI behaviour through guidance, knowledge design and customer journey thinking.Show notesFollow Alia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliaazim/Follow Kane Simms on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanesimmsDownload our exclusive report on how AI agents keep CX stable when volume explodes: https://vux.la/scaleTake our updated AI Maturity Assessment: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/a26bf9Rr?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=vuxconsulting25Subscribe to VUX World: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/Qlo5aaeWSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/kanesimms

What happens when AI stops being treated like a tool and starts being hired like an employee?In this episode, we sit down with Gabe Larsen, Chief Revenue Officer at Atonom (formerly known as Signals), to explore a bold reframing of AI agents as “cloud employees” hired on salary to perform specific job roles.Rather than selling software seats or charging per conversation, Atonom packages AI as role-based digital workers. You hire an AI SDR, a customer service rep, or a recruiter. You coach them and you measure their output. And if they do not perform, you let them go.Gabe explains why the traditional SaaS model failed to deliver outcomes, how AI agents are shifting from tools to teammates, and why pricing AI like a human employee simplifies adoption. We dive into multi-channel AI employees, autonomous multi-agent systems, role-based templates and the realities of scaling AI across sales, customer service and recruiting.Gabe also shares his views on the broader AI market, where Signals sits relative to other AI players and why he believes multi-channel autonomy is a key differentiator.Show notesFind out more about Atonom: https://atonom.ai/Follow Gabe Larsen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabelarsenFollow Kane Simms on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanesimmsDownload our exclusive report on how AI agents keep CX stable when volume explodes: https://vux.la/scaleTake our updated AI Maturity Assessment: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/a26bf9Rr?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=vuxconsulting25Subscribe to VUX World: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/Qlo5aaeWSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/kanesimms

Generative AI has changed how conversations are built and experienced. Georgios Tserdanelis, VP of Conversation Design at JPMorganChase, draws on 15 years of designing voice and chat systems to explain what still holds up, what breaks and why conversation design matters more than ever.Georgios brings years of hands-on experience designing voice and chat experiences across startups and global enterprises, including JPMorganChase, Cigna and Walgreens. With a background in linguistics, he offers a grounded perspective on how human conversation actually works and why those fundamentals still matter in a world of generative AI.We explore how conversational AI has evolved from scripted IVR and NLU systems to large language models and agentic experiences. Georgios explains why many current generative AI deployments struggle with basic conversational principles such as turn-taking, acknowledgement, and context management. Georgios shares practical insights on designing effective voice and chat experiences at a massive scale in highly regulated industries, where small error rates translate into real-world risk.One of the key themes that emerges during our discussion is the changing role of the conversation designer, the balance between deterministic flows and generative systems, voice versus chat design constraints, and why silence, timing and modality choice matter as much as language itself.We also cover fraud, voice cloning, brand identity in AI assistants and how customer expectations are shifting as people get used to talking to increasingly capable machines.Show notesFollow Georgios on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tserdanelis/Follow Kane Simms on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanesimmsDownload our exclusive report on how AI agents keep CX stable when volume explodes: https://vux.world/how-ai-agents-keep-cx-stable-when-volume-explodes/?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=SurgeHappensTake our updated AI Maturity Assessment: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/a26bf9Rr?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=vuxconsulting25Subscribe to VUX World: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/Qlo5aaeWSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/kanesimms