奥纬咨询-对话式人工智能与数字战略的未来 Conversational AI and the future of digital strategy

ConversationalAIandthefutureofdigitalstrategy

©OliverWyman2

Introduction

ConversationalAIisevolvingrapidlyfrompilotprojectsintoastrategiccapabilitythatreshapeshoworganizationsdesigncustomerjourneys,operateserviceteams,andparticipateindigitalecosystems.Bycombininglargelanguageandmultimodalmodelswithretrievalaugmentedarchitectures,

enterprisescandelivercontextrich,personalized,andtransactionalexperiencesacrossapps,websites,contactcenters,andpartnerplatforms.

Thechangeiscomingquickly

900million

weeklyactiveusershavebeenreachedbyChatGPT,markinga350%increaseoverthepast18months(August2024toFebruary2026).1

25%

dropintraditionalsearchenginevolumeisprojectedby2026becauseoftheriseofAIassistantsandvirtualagents.2

58.5%

ofGooglesearchesintheUSnowresultinzeroclicksasaresultofthepresenceofAIoverviews.3

DailyChatGPTusage430million

forfinancialadvice

40million

forhealth-relatedquestions

50million

forshopping-relatedenquiries

3million

customversionsofChatGPThadalreadybeencreatedbyuserswithinjusttwomonthsoftheannouncementofcustomGPTs.5

300

officialthirdpartyappshavebeendirectlyintegratedintotheChatGPTecosystemsincetheirdebutinOctober2025,spanningarangeofindustriesincludingtravelandlifestyle,finance,retail,education,productivity,anddesign.6

ThisthoughtpieceexploresthetransformationaleffectsofconversationalAIondigitalstrategyacrosssectorsandhighlightsthecustomerneedsandpainpointsthatconversationalAIaddressestoprovidearobustsetofconsiderations,coveringgenerativeengineoptimization(GEO),marketplaceintegration,anddigitalchannelredesign,tosupportexecutivedecision-making.

1ScalingAIforeveryone,OpenAI,February27,2026

2GartnerPredictsSearchEngineVolumeWillDrop25%by2026,DuetoAIChatbotsandOtherVirtualAgents,GartnerNewsroom,February19,2024

32024Zero-ClickSearchStudy:Forevery1,000EUGoogleSearches,only374clicksgototheOpenWeb.IntheUS,it’s360,SparkToro,July1,2024

4TheRiseofFin-AI:WhyAmericansAreTrustingGenerativeAIWithTheirWallets,IntuitCreditKarma,September2,2025

5IntroducingtheGPTStore,OpenAI,January10,2024

6ExploreGPTs,OpenAI,April28,2026

©OliverWyman3

HowAIischangingandshapingtoday’sdigitalusers

ThreeconvergingtrendsmakeconversationalAIastrategicimperativetoday:

1.Modelandtoolingmaturity

Largemultimodalmodelsandpracticaltooling(embeddingdatabases,retrieval-augmentedgeneration[RAG]patterns,monitoringplatforms)havereachedacapabilitylevelthatsupportsreliable,context-awareexperiencesatscale.

2.Customerexpectationshift

CustomersincreasinglyareusingconversationalAIappsasapreferredsearchmethod,andnow

expectinteractionswithdigitalchannelstobenatural(conversationalandintuitive),immediate(near-instantresponsesandfrictionlessjourneys),anduseful(context-aware,personalized,andoutcome

focused).Thischangeswhat“goodservice”lookslikeacrossdigitalchannels,raisingthebarforspeed,relevance,andeaseofuse.

3.NewchannelemergencethroughconversationalAImarketplaces

Marketplacesenablingagenticcommerce,suchasOpenAI’sChatGPTStore,createnewdistributionchannelsandmonetizationpathsthatareacceleratingtheneedforcontrolled,strategicengagementthroughnewdigitalchannels.

Givenbettermodels,changingcustomerpreferences,andtheemergenceofconversationalmarketplaces,thisposesthequestion:

Whatwillbetheroleofapps,theweb,andcontactcentersgiventheemergenceofconversationalAIasitsown,andpotentiallyprimary,customerchannel?

WeexpectorganizationsthatproactivelyadoptconversationalAIasanenterpriseplatform,

integratingchannelsaroundthecustomerandtheirjobstobedone,willgaincompetitiveadvantageinacquisition,retention,costtoserve,andnewrevenuegeneration.

©OliverWyman4

Asnapshotofcustomervoices:theneedsandpainpointsthatconversationalAIresolves

Drawingonrecurringthemesfromuserresearchandfrontlinefeedback,we’vedistilledthelived

experienceofcustomersnavigatingmultichannelservices.Thesesoundbitesexposesystematic

frictionsthatdiminishtasksuccessanderodetrust.Understandingthesekeyopportunityareasenables

organizationstofocusontargetedinterventionswhereconversationaldesign,dataintegration,and

governancecanmosteffectivelyreducecustomereffortandimprovecustomeroutcomesacrosschannels.

Underlyingpainpoints

Disjointedjourneysandcontextlossacrosschannelsthatincreasefrictionandcustomere仟ort

“Idon’twanttojumpbetweenapp,

website,andphone.Iwantoneplacethatunderstandsmeandfinishesthejob.”

Repetitiveauthentication

andlackofpersistentcontextacrossinteractions

“EverycallImakeIrepeatmyhistory.It’sexhausting,andkeepsmeonthephoneforages.”

Poorintentrecognitionandbrittlekeywordsearchsystems

“[Web]searchneverfindswhatImean.I havetosearchmultipletimesanddescribewhatI’mlookingfordifferently.”

Lackofproactivedecisionsupportandconversationalguidance

“Ineedsomeonetowalkmethroughmychoices…notjustlinks.”

Lackofautonomousend-to-endsupportforroutinetasks

“Ijustwantitdoneforme.Pickthebest

time,confirmtheappointment,andtellmeit’sdone.”

Lowtrustinautomationdueto

“Iftheautomatedbotfails,Iwantaclear,

poorexperiencearoundescalationdesignandopaqueAIbehavior

fastpathtoahumanrep.”

Thesecustomervoicesmaptoconcretedesignpriorities:preservingcontext,simplifyingauthentication,improvingintentunderstandingusingmultimodalinputs,enablingdecisionsupportworkflows,and

designingtransparentescalationtohumansforcomplexcaseswherenecessary.

©OliverWyman5

HowconversationalAItransformsdigitalstrategy

ConversationalAIisrewritingdigitalcustomerexperiencesandchanneldeliverymethods.Thetablebelowmapscoretransformationthemesobservedfromfront-endinterfacestoback-endoperationsandthestrategicopportunitiesthatfollow.

ConversationalAIthemeDrivingthefollowingchangesStrategicimplications

Creationofaconversationalfrontdoor

Interfacesshifttonatural

Fastertaskcompletion,reduced

languageandmultimodal

friction,higherconversion

promptsratherthanrigidnavigation

andsatisfaction

Continuouscustomercontextandpersonalization

Sessionhistory,CRM,and

Deeppersonalizationat

productdataareusedto

scale,improvedcustomer

sustainandadaptconversationsacrosschannels

engagementandlifetimevalue

Channelconvergence

Apps,web,contactcenters,

andthird-partyplatforms(for

example,conversationalAI

apps)convergearoundaunifiedconversationalexperiencewithchannel-specificrenditions

Simplerarchitecture,

consistentbrandexperience,improvedattribution

Productizationofassistance

Assistantsbecomethe

Newrevenuestreams,

product,onethatis

assistantsasexperience

shippable,monetizable,

differentiatorsand

andabletointegrateintopartnerecosystems

commercializationlevers

Agentictaskcompletion

Assistantsmovefromadvisorytoagenticcapability,executingmultisteptasks(suchas

booking,ordering,scheduling,claimsfiling)onbehalfof

customers,includingapprovalflowsandcross-system

integration(suchasKnowYourCustomer,payments)andorchestration

Highercompletionrateand

customerconvenience,but

demandsstrongertrust,

authorization,auditability,anderrorrecovery

Operationalreinvention

AIhandlesroutinetasksand

Lowercost-to-serve,faster

decisionsupport,humans

servicelevelagreements(SLA),

manageexceptions,governance,andhigh-riskinteractions

newlabormodels

Howcross-sectorleadersare

embeddingconversationalAIintotheirexperiences

Thecasesbelowprovideasnapshotofreal-worldexperiencesorganizationshavelaunchedthatembedconversationalAIintotheircustomer-facingchannels.

Case1:ChatGPT—Health

Aconversationalassistantthatsupportssymptomtriage,surfacesproviderguidance,androuteshigh-riskcasestoclinicians.ItusesRAGwithclinicalsourcesandflagsuncertainissuesforhumanreview.

Strategiclessons:AcombinationofRAG,citations,andhuman-in-loopisessentialinregulatedandsafety-criticaldomainstomaintaincustomertrustandindustrycompliance.Designforconservativeresponsesandtransparentdata/recommendationorigins.

Case2:BankofAmerica—Erica

Ericaprovidesbalanceinformation,payments,budgetinginsights,andproactivenudgesthroughtheBoAapp.IntegrationwithcorebankingsystemsandsecureauthenticationallowedEricatoexecutetransactionsonbehalfofcustomersandreducecallvolumes.

Strategiclessons:Embeddedtransactionalcapabilityandsecureauthenticationmeasurablyincreasecustomervalueandcontact-centerdeflection.Security,audittrails,andconsentareessentialcriteria.

Case3:Canva—In-productgenerativefeatures

GenerativeAIwasembeddedinthedesignworkflowasakeyuserfeature(arguablytheprimary

featurenow)tocreateinitialdesignassets(birthdaycards,banners,etc.)fromuserprompts,enablingfastercreationandexperimentation.Thisisexpectedtodrivegreatercustomersatisfactionand

advocacy,andpotentialtoconvertcustomerstopaidtiers.

Case4:Target—Commerceviaexternalmarketplace(ChatGPTStore)

Targetinvestedinagenticcommerce,exposingshoppinganddiscoveryfeaturesthroughathird-partyconversationalplatform(ChatGPTStore),enablingcustomerpurchasesthroughanexternalmarketplaceandloweringfrictiontodiscovery.

Strategiclessons:ConversationalAImarketplacesexpandreachbutrequireclearcommercial,privacy,andattributionagreements.Furthermore,brandcontrolanddatasafeguardsareessential.Currentlyweobservetech,travel,andconsumerbusinesssectorsactiveonthemarketplace.Whilecustomer

acquisitionandservicingarekeyopportunitiesforfinancialservicesplayers,customerdataandprivacyandregulationcompliancewillbekeyfactorsthatneedtobeaddressedaspartofaconversationalAImarketplacestrategy.

©OliverWyman7

ImplicationsofconversationalAIonchannelredesign

ItisclearconversationalAIisshiftinghowcustomersexpecttointeractwithorganizations,andthe

opportunityistotransformsiloedandnavigationcentricchannelstoawayofoperatingasaunifiedconversationalfabricthatpreservescontextacrossallchannels,supportingmultimodalinputs,

advisingcustomers,andcompletingtasksacrosstouchpoints.Thisevolutionofexistingchannels,andtheneedtodevelopadisciplinedapproachtoconversationalappandmarketplaceexposure,iscriticalsobrand,privacyandregulatoryobligationsremainprotectedasdigitalpresenceexpands.

Websitedesignimplications

Thewebsitemusttransitionfrombeingprimarilyadiscoveryandnavigationchanneltobecoming

aflexible,conversationalfrontdoorthatadaptstointentandusercapability.Thiscouldmean

embeddingnaturallanguageentrypoints,supportingimagesandshortvideouploads,andprovidingsessioncontinuitysoasingleconversationalthreadcancarryacrossvisitsandchannels.

Designmustprioritizeminimizingdecisionfriction,convertmultistepformsintoguidedconversationalflows,reduceroutinedecisionswithintelligentpre-filledoptions,andmaketransactionalendpoints

(e.g.,book,buy,claim)availablein-conversationwithanAIassistant,sousersneverhavetoleavetheconversationtocompleteatask.

Fortrustandcompliance,anyAI-generatedrecommendationmustshowprovenance—forexample,citations,sourcelinks,andconfidenceindicators—souserscanverifyorigins.

FromaGEOperspective,contentteamsmuststructureandtagwebcontentintorecognizableblockssoretrievalsystemsreturnthecorrect,contextuallyappropriatesourceforagivenquery.

Importantly,thewebsiteshouldbedesignedforinclusivity.Conversationallayersshouldaugment

ratherthanreplaceaccessible,wellstructuredpagestoservenovices,assistivetechnologyusers,andcustomerswhopreferatraditionalUI.

Mobileappimplications

©OliverWyman8

Mobileappsshouldbecometheorganization’smostpersonalandproactiveconversationalsurface.Redesignedappscouldusedevicefeatures(suchaslocation,calendar,orcamera),securelocalcontext(suchasondevicepreferences),andserversideretrievaltodeliverhyperrelevantinformationandadvice,andtocompletetransactionaltaskswithminimalfriction.

Theexperienceoftheappwillevolvetoan“assistantfirst”engagementenvironment.Commontasks(suchasmake/rescheduleappointment,re/orderconsumables,orsubmitaclaim)shouldbeexecutablethroughshortconversationalflowswithexplicit,stepwiseconsentandan

auditabletrailthatuserscanreview.

Designersmustplanforconnectivityandlatency,suchaslocalcachinganddeterministicfallbacks,sothatcoreexperiencesdonotbreakwhenupstreammodelcallsareslow.

Notificationstrategymustbepermissionedanduseraware,deliveringtimely,personalizedpromptsthatreflecteachcustomerrelationshipwiththeorganizationanditsproducts.

Specifically,engagementshouldbeproactive,leveragingvalueaddingnudgesandoffers;concise,providingtaskorientedremindersforoccasionalusers;andprivacyrespecting,minimizingthefrequencyofmessagesforprivacysensitivecohorts.

Prioritizecontextualrelevance,clearpurpose,andeasyeditcontrolssoengagementfeels

helpfulratherthanintrusive,anduseadaptivecadenceandcontentpersonalizationtosustainlongtermengagementwhileprotectingtrust.

Finally,anyagenticcapabilityrequiresrobustinappauthentication(suchasbiometrics,stepupflows,anduserconfirmations)andclearUIvisualizations/articulationofroleshowingwhattheassistantwilldo,whyitneedspermission,andhowtoundoactions.

Contactcenterimplications

©OliverWyman9

ConversationalAItransformscontactcentersintocentersofexceptionalhandlingofcomplexcasesandexpertadvisoryratherthanhighvolumetransactionengines.Routine,wellscopedtasksandinquiriescanbehandledautonomouslybyAIwithclearauditlogs,whileambiguous,highrisk,oremotionallysensitivecasesareescalatedtohumanswiththefullconversationcontext,confidenceannotations,andsuggestednextsteps.

Customerservicerepresentativesbecomedecisioninterpretersandrelationshipstewards,armed

withAIsummaries,recommendedactions,andeditableresponses,andacontinuousfeedbackloopshouldemergeforteamsinchargeofpromptengineering,AIoversight,andescalationdesign.Forthosefrontlinestaffimpacted,thisrequiresareimaginedskillsandstaffingmodelwithinvestmentintrainingforcomplexproblemsolvingand(potentially)regulatoryknowledge,ratherthanrepetitivescriptadherence.

OperationalKPIsmustalsochangetomeasurecompletionandfirstcontactresolutionforAIflows,

appealratesforescalations,andtomonitorhallucination,accuracy,bias,andrecoverymetricsaspartofqualityassurance.

Segmentingcustomersremainscriticalandenablesroutingofselfserviceorienteduserstowardautonomousflows,reservingnamedservicerepcontinuityandpremiumSLAsforhighvalue

customers,anddesigningslower,empathetichumanhandoffsforneworvulnerablepopulations.

EnterpriseconversationalAIandGEOandmarketplaceintegration

ArobustenterprisestrategymustintegrateGEO,aresilientintegrationarchitecture,andaselectivemarketplaceposition.GEOworkinvolvesbuildingandmaintainingrecognizedsourceinventories,developingsegmentledprompttemplates,andtuningretrievalalgorithmssothegenerativelayerreliablyoutputsaccurate,onbrandresponses(especiallyimportantinregulatedcontexts).

Theintegrationstackshouldincludecoretechnologybuildingblocks,embeddingspecializedknowledgebases,anorchestrationlayer,identityandconsentcontrols,transactionAPIs,modelguardrails,and

monitoringtoolsthatdetectmodelrisks,reportonkeymetrics,andcaptureuserfeedback.

Marketplaceintegration(suchasthroughthirdpartyconversationalapps)shouldbestrategic

andalignedtoorganizationalstrategy,forexampleprioritizingcustomeracquisition,servicing,

orre/purchase.Exposeorganization/productdiscoveryandlowriskagenticexperiencestoopen

marketplacestocaptureacquisitionofnewcustomers,butkeepregulated,privacysensitive,andhightrustassistantswithincontrolledenterpriseenvironments.

Governancemustcodifycustomerautonomythresholds,dataresidencyandsharingagreements,audittrails,andhumaninlooppolicies,aswellasdevelopandembedcontinuousfeedbackloops(suchasAI-assisted,humanreview)toimproveGEOandmarketplaceexperiencesandquantifybusinessoutcomesandmeasurementagainstkeymetrics.

©OliverWyman10

Theroleofcustomer-leddesigninconversationalAI

Acustomer-centereddesignapproachisessentialwhendesigningandimplementingconversationalAIsolutions,ensuringthateachchannelclearlydefinesitsroleandthespecificcustomersegments

itprioritizes.Organizationsshouldtailortheirstrategiesaroundsegmentprofilessuchasearly

digitaladoptersorpoweruserswhoseekefficiency,value-seekersmotivatedbypromotionsand

discovery,customerswithhigh-touchorcomplexneedstypicallyfoundinenterpriseorregulated

contexts,novicesorthoserequiringaccessibilityaccommodations,andprivacy-sensitivegroups.Thesesegmentprofilesmustguidedecisionsonautonomylevels,userinterfacefeatures,authentication

requirements,escalationservicelevelagreements,andmarketplacevisibility.

IncorporatingsegmentlogicintoorchestrationandgenerativeAIoperationsthroughmechanismslikesegmentflagsandsegment-conditionedpromptsallowstheunderlyingAItogenerateresponsesthatareaccurateandalignedwithuserexpectationsandtheirriskprofiles.Failingtodesignchannelswithclearsegmentspecificityriskspooruseradoption,lossoftrust,andpotentialregulatorychallenges.Conversely,designingwithcustomersegmentsinmindcreatesdifferentiatedexperiencesthatcan

drivehighercompletionrates,greatersatisfaction,andincreasedlifetimevalue.

Closingthoughts

ConversationalAIisastrategicadvancementthatrequiresorganizationstorethinkchannelstrategy,architectures,andgovernanceintandem.Successdependsontreatingconversationalexperiencesasenterpriseplatforms;optimizingGEO;embeddingsegmentawaredesignacrossapp,web,mobile,andcontactcenters;anddrivinginnovationthroughnewmarketplacepropositions.Whendesignedwithclearsegmentlogic,robustobservability,andappropriateescalationpatterns,conversational

AIcanreducecustomereffort,boostcompletionrates,lowercosttoserve,andunlocknewrevenueopportunities,whilepreservingtrustandregulatorycompliance.

AUTHOR

DanJones

HeadofQuotient—AIByOliverWyman,AsiaPacific

dan.m.jones@

CONTRIBUTORS

ChrisEvans

Partner

chris.evans@

TobySmith

Partner

toby.smith@

MichaelDelanty

PrincipalDataScientist

michael.delanty@

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