

VUX World
Kane Simms
Interviews with the best brains in AI, sharing how to improve customer experience and business operations using emerging AI technologies such as voice AI, conversational AI, NLP, Large Language Models (LLMs), generative AI and more.We educate business leaders and teams on why and how AI technologies are revolutionising the way consumers engage with businesses and the internet, why that matters and how to implement it properly.“One of the most consistently insightful and deeply respected podcasts in the industry”Bradley Metrock, Score Publishing Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

7 snips
May 1, 2025 • 57min
AI beyond the hype: what actually works for enterprise with Andrei Papancea, NLX
In this episode, we chat with Andrei Papancea, CEO and Co-Founder of NLX, to cut through the noise and get real about where AI in the enterprise is delivering value, and where it's not.Andrei brings a refreshing dose of grounded perspective as the buzz around ‘agentic AI’ and generative everything reaches fever pitch. Instead of chasing trends or slapping AI onto every process, NLX is laser-focused on practical outcomes: real problems, solved efficiently, and with the right tech. We explore the challenges enterprise leaders face when navigating a market bloated with hype: internal pressures to ‘do AI,’ tech stacks that aren’t ready, and misunderstandings about what LLMs can and can’t do. Andrei shares where generative AI genuinely shines and where it is still too risky, especially for heavily regulated industries.This episode is brought to you by NLX.NLX is a conversational AI platform enabling brands to build and manage chat, voice and multimodal applications. NLX’s patented Voice+ technology synchronizes voice with digital channels, making it possible to automate complex use cases typically handled by a human agent. When a customer calls, the voice AI guides them to resolve their inquiry through self-service using the brand’s digital asset, resulting in automation and CSAT scores well above industry average. Just ask United Airlines.Subscribe to VUX World.Subscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 17, 2025 • 48min
AI on the rails: Arriva's journey into intelligent travel assistance
In this VUX World podcast episode with Kerry Phillipson, she reveals how Arriva Group transforms customer experience using cutting-edge AI technology. Learn how they're creating a virtual assistant that's not just another chatbot, but a smart, personable travel companion that understands your journey needs.Kerry shares with us how Arriva is driving AI innovation within the transportation sector. She explains how artificial intelligence is used to tackle real customer pain points, making travel smoother and more intuitive. The conversation also dives into what it takes to design an AI with a genuine personality one that feels more like a helpful guide than a machine. Looking ahead, they explore the future of travel support and how AI is reshaping the way customers interact with transportation services. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 11, 2025 • 52min
Responsible AI, Real Results with Citizens Advice
In this episode on the VUX World podcast, we chat all about the innovative AI journey of Citizens Advice with Stuart Pearson.We discover how a nonprofit organisation is revolutionising customer support through Caddy, an intelligent AI assistant that reduces average handle time by 50% while maintaining a rigorous ethical approach.Stuart shares the meticulous process of developing an internal AI tool that supports contact centre agents, highlighting the importance of responsible AI implementation. From initial challenges with chatbots to creating a sophisticated AI solution, this podcast reveals how organisations can leverage artificial intelligence to enhance productivity, improve service delivery, and ultimately help more people.Subscribe to VUX World.Subscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 28, 2025 • 1h
NatWest on Gen AI with Mark Worden
In this episode, we dive deep into how NatWest uses generative AI to reshape customer service at scale, with Mark Worden, Strategy & Innovation Lead for Cora at NatWest.We explore how one of the UK’s biggest banks is building AI-driven customer journeys that are smarter, faster, and more efficient. From traditional NLU-based bots to cutting-edge Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines, Mark shares how Cora Plus achieves up to 99% accuracy and drastically reduces handoffs to human agents.Mark takes us inside NatWest’s pilot process - from narrowing 500 web pages down to a curated 120-item knowledge base to running internal tests, red-teaming for hallucinations, and prioritising customer consent and governance at every step. We also discover how NatWest’s summarisation tool transforms the agent experience by reducing transcript review time and saving over 50,000 minutes weekly in both agent and customer wait time. With 1.2 million conversations a month and counting, this is a masterclass in scaling AI responsibly within a highly regulated industry.Subscribe to VUX World.Subscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 21, 2025 • 59min
Inside Autodesk’s AI-powered sales & CX transformation with Chafik Abdellaoui
AI is changing how businesses talk to customers, but how do you move beyond the hype and make AI work for your business? In this episode, we chat with Chafik Abdellaoui, Workforce and Quality Manager at Autodesk, about how AI is used in sales and customer experience and the real results.Autodesk is leveraging AI to analyse calls, generate follow-up emails and improve CRM data. AI is being used to make sales teams more efficient and effective. Chafik explains how AI is automating low-value tasks so sales reps can focus on what really matters: building relationships and closing deals. From extracting insights from conversations to drafting personalised emails and proposals, Autodesk’s approach is about enhancing and not replacing human expertise.But AI adoption isn’t always easy. We discuss the challenges of implementing AI in sales teams, including agent adoption, structured processes and data quality. We also ask the following question: As more companies deploy AI, do we end up with homogenous customer experiences, or is there still room for differentiation?Connect with Chafik Abdellaoui on LinkedIn.Subscribe to VUX World.Subscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 13, 2025 • 58min
Is AI enough? How businesses can stand out
In this episode, Panos Karagiannis, CEO of Moveo.AI, joins us to explore how AI has been reshaping business automation. Panos shares invaluable insights into what it takes to build production-ready AI agents, from scaling AI solutions across industries to navigating the complexities of enterprise adoption.We also dive deep into the real-world applications of Gen AI, the buy vs. build debate for enterprises, and the challenges of differentiation in a world where many businesses use the same foundational AI models. Plus, we discuss why quality assurance is the unsung hero of AI implementation and how companies can future-proof their AI strategies.Check out Moveo.AI Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

49 snips
Feb 27, 2025 • 1h 7min
Revolutionising AI usability with Jakob Nielsen
Jakob Nielsen, founder of UX Tigers and a trailblazer in usability with 41 years of experience, shares his insights on AI usability challenges. He discusses the current shortcomings in AI user interfaces and the need for better design that prioritizes user experience. Nielsen highlights the importance of usability heuristics in building trust and adoption in AI products. He also reflects on the evolution of UX design, emphasizing the necessity for practical experience in adapting to AI advancements and creating tools that genuinely engage users.

11 snips
Feb 20, 2025 • 1h 2min
AI agents: hype vs reality with Ronald Ashri, OpenDialog
This is an interview with Ronald Ashri, Co-Founder of OpenDialog. We discuss the evolving landscape of conversational AI. Ron shares how OpenDialog has progressed since our last conversation in 2021, highlighting the transformative impact of large language models and generative AI on the enterprise automation space.We dive into the nuances of defining "AI agents", calling out the hype and misuse of the term and putting a few of the well-known tech companies on the chopping block! We chat about how OpenDialog leverages AI agent-based abstractions and goal-driven architectures to build more reliable and effective conversational systems, striking a balance between the flexibility of language models and the constraints of business processes.The conversation also explores the future of conversational interfaces, touching on the potential to blend language AI, dynamic user interfaces, and orchestrated experiences to create seamless, multi-modal interactions. It’s a thought-provoking perspective on the current state of the industry and the practical steps organisations can take to harness the power of generative AI in business.Check out OpenDialog: https://opendialog.ai/ Subscribe to VUX World: https://vux/world/subscribe Read ‘What is agentic AI? A deeply researched definition’ on The AI Ultimatum Substack: https://kanesimms.substack.com/p/what-agentic-ai-actually-is-a-deeply?r=g9nf Read ‘AI Agents are not a technology. They are a strategy’ on agentsdecoded Substack: https://www.agentsdecoded.com/p/ai-agents-are-not-a-technology-they Our 15 AI Trends in CX Insights Report is out now! Learn how to find success with AI: https://vux.world/customer-experience-trends-2025/?utm_source=vux&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_campaign=Trends2025 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 4, 2025 • 55min
Salzburg AG revolutionises customer service with generative AI, Sarah Haider
In this podcast with Sarah Haider, Digital Manager for Conversational AI at Salzburg AG, we explore the journey of revolutionising customer interactions with AI. From the early days of NLU-based chatbots to embracing generative AI and retrieval-augmented generation technology, Sarah outlines the challenges and breakthroughs in enhancing Salzburg AG’s digital assistant capabilities.Chapters:00:00: Introduction to Sarah Haider and Salzburg AG05:23: Why is AI appealing for the energy industry?08:32: The history of AI at Salzburg AG12:00: Measuring success pre-generative AI16:25: Goals of exploring generative AI19:50: Starting with Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)24:10: Full RAG implementation process39:45: Lessons in prompt design44:45: Quality assurance tactics48:25: Impact of generative AI 51:20: Other use cases for generative AIThe conversation highlights the strategic shift to generative AI, tackling complex use cases like public transport queries while maintaining customer satisfaction and reliability. Sarah dives into the importance of data preparation, prompt design, testing, and quality assurance, shedding light on what it takes to make AI solutions scalable and effective in real-world scenarios.This episode is perfect for anyone looking to modernise their chatbot or explore the potential of AI in customer experience. From reducing call centre volume to delivering human-like interactions, Sarah's approach demonstrates how innovation can elevate both business impact and customer satisfaction.Subscribe to VUX World: https://vux/world/subscribe Subscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/kanesimms Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 29, 2025 • 53min
You won't believe how Rasa is revolutionising Conversational AI
Alan Nichol, the CTO of Rasa and a seasoned expert in conversational AI, shares transformative insights about the industry. He discusses Rasa's innovative CALM approach, which balances structured workflows with flexible AI, moving away from traditional intent classification. Alan critiques the hype around agentic AI emerging after ChatGPT and explores how large language models enhance understanding while maintaining business logic. This conversation is rich with actionable insights, shaping the future of conversational design in enterprise workflows.


