How Much Time Do You Need to Invest in AI CX? (& Why It’s Worth Every Minute)

‍AI can transform customer service operations - but it doesn't do it alone.

Every brand wants faster response times, 24/7 availability, and exceptional customer experiences. And thanks to advances in generative AI technology, that promise feels closer than ever.

But while some businesses still see AI for CX as a “set and forget” solution, the reality is that the best results come with a consistent investment of time and effort.

At Talkative, we’ve seen this first-hand.

Through working with innovative brands, we’ve learned that when AI systems are guided by human expertise, they don’t just automate routine tasks - they elevate the customer journey and drive revenue growth.

So, how much time does it really take to manage and maintain AI CX effectively? And more importantly, what do you gain when you do?

Let’s explore why investing some time in your AI delivers exponential rewards - for your customers, your service teams, and your bottom line.

The myth of ‘set and forget’ AI in customer service

“Implementing AI should save time, not take it - right?”

It’s a fair question. When people hear that someone spends time each week managing and training AI models, it can sound counterintuitive.

After all, the promise of artificial intelligence is to make customer service operations more efficient - not add another layer of work.

But here’s the truth: AI isn’t a “set and forget” solution, and it’s not meant to be.

When conversational AI systems are regularly refined and optimised, they become smarter, more accurate, and more capable of handling customer interactions independently.

By putting time into prompt engineering, knowledge base setup, and reviewing interactions, you enable the AI to resolve more queries and give your contact centre teams back valuable hours.

That's where the real efficiency gains happen - when AI agents can deflect the majority of customer queries and repetitive tasks, while human agents focus on high-value and complex interactions.

At Talkative, we know this from experience. Through working with leading brands, we’ve found that those who invest time in developing and maintaining their AI achieve higher containment rates, increased customer satisfaction, and even a boost in sales.

For example, Healthspan, the UK's largest supplement retailer, has achieved a 90% containment rate for product queries with Talkative AI.

Premium brand Bugaboo, another Talkative customer, has experienced a 35% increase in average order value and higher positive sentiment when customers engage with their AI chatbot.

In short, the more you put in, the more AI solutions give back - in time saved, happier customers, and a stronger bottom line.

The reality: AI agents need refinement & human expertise to deliver results

Like any high-performing team member, AI needs guidance and training to reach its full potential.

AI agents are powerful, but they’re only as effective as the information, structure, and oversight behind them.

When they're supported and refined by human expertise, these systems continually learn, adapt, and improve.

The result? Increasing customer satisfaction, improved contact center performance, and a higher ROI (return on investment).

At Bugaboo, this partnership between people and AI has been key to their success. As Yary Paz, Project Manager for Customer Service Innovation, explains:

“I treat it like my baby. I spend a lot of time reading through what the AI is doing and making sure it’s maintaining the quality we want. Retraining is probably 50% of my time.”

Of course, Yary’s role is unique as she leads customer experience innovation across the brand.

Her time isn’t spent on admin - it’s focused on AI strategy, expansion, testing, and training. And that investment has paid off.

Since working with Talkative, Bugaboo’s containment rate has grown from 45% to 75-80%, enabling their AI tools to handle thousands more queries autonomously.

That means faster resolutions, more efficient contact centre operations, and more time for human agents to focus on the conversations that really enhance customer experience.

In other words, the combination of AI technology and human intelligence is what turns automation into true innovation - and transforms AI customer service into a scalable, revenue-driving engine.

How strategic effort drives AI-powered success

You can achieve strong results with AI straight out of the box - but to reach best-in-class performance, you need to commit.

This commitment means the difference between a 30% containment rate and the 75-90% containment rate that brands like Healthspan and Bugaboo have achieved with Talkative.

That’s the essence of AI CX success. The biggest performance gains don’t come from switching on an AI-powered system and walking away - they come from taking a strategic, hands-on approach.

This means setting clear processes for managing and optimising your AI. Practices that compound in value over time and directly improve containment, accuracy, and customer satisfaction.

Here are some key strategies that have empowered Talkative customers to maintain and enhance AI performance:

• Prompt engineering: AI prompts are the instructions that guide your AI’s behaviour, tone, and how it responds to customer inquiries. It's important to put time into crafting and refining your prompt to ensure the AI meets customer needs and provides relevant, brand-aligned responses. For a deep dive on how to do this, check out our AI prompts for customer service guide.
• Knowledge base setup & optimisation: Building an AI knowledge base that covers your products/services, policies, brand guidelines, etc. is crucial. This database is your AI’s brain - the more comprehensive and accurate the content, the better your AI can deliver consistent, high-quality answers. With Talkative, you can use Knowledge Base Insight Reports to quickly identify missing content in the knowledge base and make targeted updates that continuously improve your AI’s performance.
• Reviewing interactions: Analysing interactions regularly helps you gain valuable insights into where your AI excels and where it falls short, ensuring quality and brand alignment. By spotting recurring issues or drop-off points, you can make data-driven improvements that improve self-service and enhance the AI customer experience.
• Testing AI responses: Testing reveals whether your AI provides accurate, relevant, and human-like replies. This means simulating real customer journeys and experimenting with different queries to guarantee a seamless customer experience. Talkative’s AI Test Runs make this process easy - allowing you to simulate batches of queries and identify weaknesses before they impact live AI interactions.
• Leveraging AI analytics: Analytics enable you to monitor performance and track improvements over time. With Talkative's AI analytics, you can track key metrics like containment rates, CSAT, abandonments, and sentiment analysis. At the same time, our AI Analytics Assistant provides instant access to reports and summaries - making performance monitoring faster and more intuitive than ever.

When you embed these practices into your AI management strategy, every minute spent fine-tuning your AI pays off.

By taking a strategic approach today, you create an optimal AI-powered tool that works harder for you tomorrow.

The payoff: Key benefits you gain from investing time in AI tools

Even a small weekly investment in managing and reviewing your AI can yield significant benefits, including:

• Higher containment rates: The more your AI learns from real interactions, the more queries it can handle automatically. As AI agents become smarter, your contact centre teams spend less time on repetitive or low-value tasks, freeing them to focus on high-impact customer interactions that require human empathy and expertise.
• Boost customer satisfaction: Consistent training ensures your AI stays accurate, brand-aligned, and able to meet customer needs. The result? Faster resolutions and an enhanced AI customer experience that fosters customer loyalty and high CSAT.
• Smarter sales enablement: As we've seen with Bugaboo, well-trained AI doesn’t just support service - it supports sales too. By acting as a sales advisor and providing tailored product recommendations, AI can deliver personalized support that drives conversions.
• Time savings at scale: As we've covered, the more you fine-tune AI, the more customer conversations and tasks it'll be able to handle autonomously. This leads to significant time savings and reduces manual workloads for your customer service and sales teams.
• Long-term ROI: A few hours of AI maintenance each week can deliver exponential results. As your AI continuously evolves, you’ll see measurable gains in operational efficiency, customer experience, and revenue - turning short-term effort into lasting impact.

Achieving these benefits isn’t just about process - it’s about mindset.

The brands seeing the biggest impact from AI are the ones treating their AI management strategy as an ongoing opportunity for growth, not just a one-off project.

The new mindset: Managing AI to elevate customer experience

Moving forward, every company integrating AI needs to take responsibility for managing its performance - not because it’s a burden, but because it’s a competitive advantage.

The most successful brands are building AI-first processes, where continuous optimisation and innovation are part of everyday customer experience operations.

Weekly AI reviews aren’t a cost - they’re a growth driver.

By regularly analysing interactions, refining prompts, and updating their AI knowledge base, businesses can create a system that enhances the entire customer journey.

The results speak for themselves. Bugaboo’s 75% containment and 35% higher average order value didn’t happen by accident - they came from consistent, thoughtful optimisation.

In a world where customer loyalty is built on responsiveness and relevance, AI management isn’t optional - it’s essential.

The brands that embrace this mindset today are the ones redefining what exceptional AI customer experiences look like tomorrow.

The takeaway: Smart AI pays for itself

AI isn’t “set and forget” - it’s launch and elevate.

The most successful brands understand that AI for CX is a journey, not a quick fix.

It requires an initial setup, consistent monitoring, and some ongoing care to achieve lasting results.

But the payoff is undeniable: faster resolutions, happier customers, and scalable, always-on service that drives both efficiency and revenue.

By investing time in your AI systems, you’re not adding work - you’re unlocking a multiplier for your entire customer experience operation.

Each refinement makes your AI smarter, your contact centre more efficient, and your customer service agents more available for the moments that truly matter.

In the end, the math is simple: if you’re willing to invest a few hours a week in your AI, it’ll give you back hundreds - in both time saved and customer loyalty earned.

In addition to the effort you put in, having the right AI partner is essential for success.

That's where Talkative comes in.

With Talkative’s AI customer service solutions and expert guidance, you can scale your AI CX strategy faster, smarter, and with complete confidence.

Want to learn more?

Book a demo with us today, or get in touch for personalized AI advice.