Optimizing CX with AI routing

When we talk about AI in customer experience, the conversation often veers toward automation—bots, chat interfaces, and self-service solutions. But what if AI could go beyond automation and actually optimize business outcomes?

In the latest episode of The Experience Edge, Ain Chishty, EVP of Engineering and Technology at Affinity, takes us inside the AI-driven transformation of contact centers. With a career that began in AI as early as 2006, Ain has witnessed—and shaped—the evolution of AI-powered routing, predictive models, and customer experience optimization.

Why You Should Tune In

This episode goes deep into how AI is reshaping customer service—not just by automating interactions, but by optimizing every touchpoint in a way that generates measurable business impact. Here’s a sneak peek of what’s covered:

The Three Types of AI in CX (2:00)

Ain breaks down AI into three categories: automation, augmentation, and optimization. While most AI solutions focus on the first two, Affinity’s strength lies in AI-driven pairing—matching customers to the right agent (or bot) to maximize business outcomes.

The secret to perfect pairing (07:53)

It’s not about profiling. Ain explains why Affinity doesn’t use personal traits like age or demographics to route customers but instead relies on historical success patterns to make the most effective customer-agent match.

AI’s role in customer journeys (13:08)

It’s not just about the moment of interaction—Affinity’s AI analyzes the customer’s entire lifetime journey to anticipate needs, identify intent, and drive value over time.

From skepticism to billion-dollar impact (39:49)

AI in contact centers wasn’t always an easy sell. Ain shares how Affinity proved its worth by directly quantifying revenue impact, helping companies generate billions through AI-driven customer interactions.

The future of AI in contact centers (47:47)

As AI advances, what happens when customers use AI assistants to talk to AI agents? And are contact centers really dying? Ain shares his predictions and why virtual agents will soon outperform human representatives.

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