Emotional intelligence in CX with AI

As technology evolves, it's empathy through emotional intelligence (EI), that guides how AI can support more meaningful customer experiences. The human connection, grounded in empathy, trust, and emotional awareness, sets exceptional customer experience apart.

In the new Think Tank panel moderated by former CNBC anchor Nancy Hungerford, the conversation centered on how organizations can use AI to support emotional intelligence in their teams.

Alan Winters, Chief Privacy and Data Ethics Officer at TP Group, was joined by Professor Eitan Grinspun of the University of Toronto and Joshua Freedman, CEO of Six Seconds, to discuss the opportunities and challenges at the intersection of technology and human empathy. Professor Grinspun explained how AI can support experts by making customer interactions more effective and personal. 

“Different people have different communication styles, and AI can match up customers with agents who are well-versed or naturally adapt to a certain communication style,” he noted. The discussion made one thing clear: emotional intelligence must lead, shaping how AI enables better human connections.

Trust is an emotion as Freedman pointed out, and it is at the core of every customer interaction. Whether someone wants to be heard, helped, or reassured, it takes human intuition and empathy to understand and respond in the right way. Used the right way, AI can help reinforce emotional intelligence across different parts of the customer journey.

How does AI support EI in practice

Preparing teams for real-world emotional scenarios is critical. AI-powered simulations can support this by exposing CX experts to diverse, emotionally complex situations before taking a live call. This helps build emotional awareness and confidence, especially when navigating sensitive conversations. The goal is not to rely on AI for empathy, but to use it as a training tool that helps people lead with empathy.

AI can also assist by offering context, such as past interactions or preferred communication styles. It can help people reflect and grow by highlighting moments when a voice sounds tense or when a phrase is repeated too often. But EI is what turns that context into meaningful engagement. To do this well, businesses must prioritize the ethical use of data, respect for cultural differences, and fairness in how AI-supported insights are applied. 

Winters stated that EI should also be embedded across the entire organization, not just in customer-facing roles. When managers lead with empathy and model emotionally intelligent behaviors, they build teams that feel supported and motivated. That internal experience shapes every external interaction. Customer experience begins with employee experience. And emotional intelligence is the thread that connects the two.

Empathy leads, AI supports

Customer experience is human. EI delivers that connection. AI plays a supporting role by helping people prepare, personalize, and improve. When empathy leads and technology supports, businesses deliver faster, more personal service that feels human.

Watch now to hear the full conversation on how emotional intelligence is shaping the future of customer experience.