AI & Human Collaboration in Customer Experience

The IVR "customer entrapment" era is ending. Richard Steeves, SVP of Global Partnerships at LivePerson, breaks down how conversational AI and agentic platforms are turning reactive contact centers into proactive, revenue-generating engines — without eliminating the humans who make it work.

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Key takeaways

Legacy IVR 'decision tree' experiences are being replaced by conversational AI that meets customers in their channel of choice and carries full context across every interaction.
LivePerson's platform unifies disparate data sources — CRM, WFM, digital assets — into a single agent workspace with co-pilot, translation, PII redaction, and next-best-action capabilities.
Proactive, outbound AI engagement (e.g., flight disruption notifications) dramatically outperforms reactive support by resolving issues before customers experience frustration.
The optimal model is AI handling routine intents and then handing off to a human 'super agent' with a fully qualified, context-rich lead — not eliminating humans from the loop.
LivePerson works with over a third of Forbes' most valuable brands, more than half of global telcos, and more than 40% of airlines, with 30%+ reported improvement in sales and after-hours transactions for connected-experience deployments.
The next frontier is moving from AI reasoning engines to true intelligence that factors in external influences and predicts customer needs across the full brand lifecycle.
Competitive advantage will belong to organizations that harness unified data and AI tools strategically — not those that merely adopt AI as a point solution or become over-dependent on it.

From Decision Trees to Agentic Intelligence

LivePerson has spent roughly 30 years moving through every major wave of customer communication — chat, messaging, machine learning, and now generative AI and agentics. Richard Steeves traces that arc and explains why the last 18–24 months, accelerated by the mainstream arrival of large language models, mark a genuine inflection point rather than an incremental upgrade.

The core shift: companies are moving from solving individual, isolated intents (“press 2 for billing”) to orchestrating seamless, context-aware journeys that follow a customer across every channel and touchpoint they’ve ever used with a brand.

Why “Customer Entrapment” Is a Losing Strategy

Steeves and hosts Carson Poppenger and Jacob Thorpe dissect the old IVR model, which one CMO they know candidly called “customer entrapment” — deliberate friction designed to prevent expensive agent escalations. The consensus: that approach destroys brand loyalty and kills revenue opportunities at the same moment.

The alternative LivePerson enables is an open platform that meets customers in their channel of choice (WhatsApp, Apple Business Messaging, SMS, web), consolidates history into a unified agent workspace, and routes intelligently — handing off to a human agent with full conversational context already loaded.

Real-World Impact: Airlines, Retail, and Cart Abandonment

Proactive flight disruption: Steeves recounts receiving a proactive text when Nashville airport shut down due to snow, being routed to an agent who already had his loyalty history, and getting rebooked — without re-entering a single data point.
Luxury retail personalization: Brands like Burberry or Tiffany’s can unify online purchase history, in-store visits, and CRM data to surface a timely, tailored gift recommendation before a customer even asks.
Cart abandonment recovery: LivePerson cites over 30% improvement in sales and after-hours transactions for brands that deploy the connected-experience platform.

The “Super Agent” Model: AI Amplifies, Not Replaces

The most forward-thinking brands Steeves works with aren’t downsizing their contact centers — they’re transitioning agents into higher-value roles. With AI handling translation, PII redaction, next-best-action recommendations, and routine intent resolution, human agents are freed to handle nuanced, high-NPS interactions that move the revenue needle.

Squeeze’s own deployment illustrates the model: LivePerson handles everything up to an escalation threshold; at that point a human agent receives a fully qualified, context-rich handoff and converts it into a sales opportunity.

The Road Ahead: From Reasoning to True Intelligence

Asked where CX technology lands in three years, Steeves points to the progression from reasoning engines — which already identify intent and coach agents in real time — toward a broader intelligence layer that factors in external signals and anticipates consumer needs across an entire brand relationship, not just a single session. He’s candid that the pace of change makes any precise prediction difficult, but the trajectory toward unified, predictive, multi-system orchestration is clear.

Both sides of the conversation close with a caution: AI works best as an augment, not a replacement for human judgment. Over-reliance risks atrophying the critical thinking and creative problem-solving that differentiate great teams and great brands.

Whatever we build has to be the best outcome for the business and for the customer — otherwise none of it matters.

— Jacob Thorpe

Richard's the escalation name if you need to use it halfway through the conversation.

— Richard Steeves

The most innovative brands are looking to take agents and not transition them out. They're looking to transition them to be super agents.

— Richard Steeves

There will always be a need for a human at some point.

— Carson Poppenger

Episode chapters

Frequently asked questions

What does LivePerson's platform actually do for customer experience?

LivePerson provides a conversational AI platform that routes customers across digital, voice, and messaging channels using a unified agent workspace. It incorporates features like agent co-pilot, real-time translation, PII redaction, and next-best-action analytics, and hands off to human agents with full conversational context intact.

How is AI in customer service different from old IVR systems?

IVR systems forced customers through rigid decision trees and often deliberately blocked access to human agents to cut costs. Modern conversational AI understands natural language, carries context across channels, and proactively surfaces solutions — rather than making customers repeat themselves at every step.

Will AI replace human customer service agents?

According to Richard Steeves, the most innovative brands are not replacing agents but transitioning them into 'super agents' who handle higher-value, more nuanced interactions. AI handles routine intents and frees humans to focus on complex, revenue-generating conversations.

What industries does LivePerson serve?

LivePerson is heavily focused on banking and financial services, consumer retail, CPG, telecommunications, and airlines. Steeves notes they work with over a third of Forbes' most valuable brands and more than half of global telcos.

What is agentic AI in the context of customer experience?

Agentic AI refers to AI systems that can reason, plan, and execute multi-step tasks autonomously — going beyond answering single questions to orchestrating entire customer journeys across channels, systems, and data sources.

What is the risk of relying too heavily on AI tools?

Poppenger raises the concern that over-dependence on AI can erode critical thinking and decision-making skills. Steeves agrees, framing AI as something that should augment human capability rather than supplant the judgment and creativity that differentiate great teams.