Will AI agents replace traditional websites? In this interview, Maximilian Hummel, Digital Experience Ecosystem Owner at Siemens, talks about the potential of Agentic AI for customer communication, why he believes there is no alternative to building a conversational web experience, and how Siemens is shaping the AI transformation.
Mr. Hummel, the use of AI agents is currently being touted as a game changer in customer experience. What do you think: to what extent does Agentic AI enable a redesign of digital CX? Agentic AI gives us the opportunity to radically rethink the digital customer experience. This is particularly true in the B2B sector, with highly complex, individually tailored solutions such as those offered by Siemens. Each of these solutions must be configured down to the last detail in order to meet the specific requirements of customers and their existing installations. Our portfolio is becoming increasingly complex due to the integration of information and operating technologies as well as third-party providers – at the same time, interoperability is growing. This also increases complexity and the need for explanation. This is where Agentic AI comes in. By making our digital customer experience dynamic and user-centered, we can significantly simplify the purchasing process. In this way, we not only want to offer existing customers even better advice, but also make it easier for new customers to access the latest product information. Customers are increasingly turning to AI platforms such as ChatGPT in their search for new solutions. To secure the digital customer interface, companies must offer an equivalent or even better conversational web experience. Our goal must therefore be to develop the Siemens website from a pure lead generation platform into a central, personalized consulting touchpoint.
What exactly will this new type of web experience look like? Compared to ChatGPT and other search applications, we have the advantage of already knowing our customers and their history, and can provide up-to-date, detailed, and comprehensive information about our portfolio at any time. Customer data becomes our most important asset. It enables us to reduce the complexity of our offerings as much as possible and create a compact and personalized experience. The era of classic point-and-click websites with long scroll paths and complex navigation structures is coming to an end. These structures were never an end in themselves, but rather a necessary means of making extensive information findable – with the side effect of often overwhelming information density. Instead, in the future, we will be able to focus on natural language interaction with AI agents: these recognize individual needs in real time and generate precise, context-related content – exactly when it is needed. AI can thus initially provide support in pre-qualification. In a few years, it will even be possible for it to accompany our customers throughout the entire process – from the initial consultation to the final purchase.
What impact does this realignment have on the relationship between companies and their customers? Instead of generic communication, the focus is shifting to individualized advice. AI thus has the potential to substantially reduce customer effort despite increasing product complexity. It is precisely this seemingly contradictory combination that has great potential to strengthen customer loyalty and satisfaction in the long term.
The full interview with Maximilian Hummel can be found in our white paper "Road to Agentic AI. The Fascination of Automation."