184: Conquering Your Fear of AI and Jumpstarting Innovation in Your Business With John Kim

Customer Service Academy

Great customer service should be helpful, proactive, and built to solve problems, not create new ones. In this episode, I sit down with John Kim, Co-Founder and CEO of Sendbird, the customer communications platform powering more than 4,000 of the world’s most popular digital applications and connecting over 320 million people every month.

John shares his perspective as both a successful entrepreneur and Korea’s former number one pro gamer to unpack how AI, testing, and consistency are changing the techn-enabled service game.

We dive into:

• Why great customer service is proactive, problem-solving, and built around the customer’s needs

• How omnichannel experiences create consistency across platforms with seamless handoffs

• Why customers now default to AI, expecting instant responses, quick solutions, and personalized follow-ups

• The mindset shift businesses need to overcome fear of AI and start small with simple solutions like FAQs and password resets

• The critical role of testing technology, pushing systems until they break before launch to ensure smooth, reliable customer experiences

• How the future of AI agents will feel as personal as your local business, remembering preferences and following up on purchases

If you want to understand how to balance human empathy with AI efficiency and set your business up for consistent, scalable service, this episode will give you the playbook.

🎧 Tune in and discover how to align your people and process to serve customers with excellence.

Book time with me to learn about our speaking, training, and consulting services: https://calendly.com/thetonyjohnson/strategy

Links & Resources:

📌 Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-johnson-ccxp/

📌 Order my book Together We Serve: https://amzn.to/4pwGvPL

📌 Book hospitality training for your team today: https://www.igniteyourservice.com/summits

📌 Learn more about John and Sendbird: https://sendbird.com/ + [email protected]

Tony Johnson is a Customer Experience + Hospitality Consultant, Keynote Speaker, Trainer, and Author with a wide background including higher education, restaurants, retail, travel, city government, chambers of commerse, and leisure. He regularly speaks and coaches organizations to IGNITE THEIR SERVICE using his common sense approach to Customer engagement and retentions. Tony has spoken to government agencies, airlines, universities, and many Fortune 500 companies to unlock their amazing capacity for excellence.

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