
Ron Kaufman
CEO, Uplifting Service | Keynote Speaker | NYT Bestselling Author | World’s #1 Customer Experience Guru 2018-2024Redefining Customer Service Excellence in the AI Era

AI doesn’t replace the service mindset—it amplifies it. But only when humans bring curiosity, creativity, and care to the table.
As AI reshapes how companies engage with customers, the question isn’t just what we do with technology—but how we show up through it. At the heart of that is service.
To explore this intersection of AI, leadership, and experience, we sat down with Ron Kaufman—bestselling author of Uplifting Service and a global voice on service culture. Ron is known for challenging conventional wisdom and elevating service from a function to a philosophy. In this conversation, he brings clarity, challenge, and inspiration to how we think about AI-powered service.
Spoiler alert: He doesn’t hold back on rethinking the questions, either.
Q & A
In Uplifting Service, you emphasize that service excellence is a mindset. With the rise of AI-driven customer interactions, how do you see this mindset evolving?
Ron’s Answer
Let’s be clear—it’s not just a mindset. It’s a skill set and a tool set too. You need all three.
At its core, service is about taking action to create value. Uplifting Service? That’s taking the next action to create more value. And that means not just completing a transaction or fulfilling a service level agreement. It means asking: What does this person really need? What do they care about? Not just now, but going forward.
So, when AI enters the picture—it’s a tool. A powerful one. But it doesn’t replace the mindset or the skillset. It requires us to use it with purpose. Service excellence in the AI era means being curious, creative, and proactive. And then using AI to make those qualities even more effective.
SearchUnify Lens
We resonate deeply with Ron’s perspective. At SearchUnify, we see AI as a force multiplier for human intent. Our solutions—like Agent Helper—don’t just respond to tickets. They anticipate needs and empower support teams to create more value at every touchpoint.
Your Six Levels of Service range from ‘Criminal’ to ‘Unbelievable.’ Where do you think AI-powered support currently stands—and what needs to happen for it to deliver truly ‘Unbelievable Service’?
Ron’s Answer
Well, let’s be honest—AI support today is all over the place. Some of it’s downright criminal—think: chatbots that don’t understand you, waste your time, and leave you frustrated.
But here’s what people often miss: The Six Levels aren’t fixed. They’re not stairs. They’re an escalator going down. What’s unbelievable today becomes expected tomorrow. Think about GPT-4—it’s already just expected to be that good, and it’s barely three years old.
So “unbelievable service” is not a destination—it’s a moving target. And what gets us there is the constant pursuit of the next value-creating action. AI can help. It can even help us imagine what the next level might be. But the mindset has to be: “What more can we do next to make our service better, more distinctive, and more valuable for everyone we serve?”
You’ve spoken about the importance of leadership in shaping service culture. In the AI era, how should service leaders adapt their style to manage both human and AI-driven service teams?
Ron’s Answer
Hold on—let’s challenge the question a bit. A leader’s job is not to manage. That’s a manager’s job. A leader’s job is to set direction. To point the team where you’re going next.
That means clarifying: What kind of service culture are we creating? What kind of value do we want to be known for? What kind of customer relationships do we want to build?
Now, about “AI-driven teams”—I’d push back there too. Because all human teams today should be enabled by AI. It’s not “humans here” and “AI over there.” That division misses the point. Leaders should help their teams embrace AI as a powerful ally—and then recognize and celebrate when people use it well.
SearchUnify Lens
We empower leaders with visibility and clarity. From real-time dashboards to predictive analytics, our platform helps leaders allocate resources and reinforce behavior that aligns with their vision—whether that’s AI-powered assistance or human-first excellence.
In the AI-driven enterprise era, trust is increasingly tied to data security, compliance, and ethical AI use. How can organizations ensure that service culture, privacy, and ethics go hand in hand?
Ron’s Answer
Let’s zoom in on the real question here: How do you help people feel safe and confident in AI-powered interactions?
And the answer is: You talk about it. Proactively. Transparently. You don’t bury your AI ethics policy in a footer. You put it right there—where people are making decisions. A simple button: “Got questions about our AI approach?” And then you give a clear, friendly, even uplifting explanation.
Trust is not a compliance checkbox. It’s an emotional experience. And when you lead with openness, you build it.
SearchUnify Lens
Trust is the foundation of every digital interaction. With explainable AI, privacy-first architecture, and compliance baked into our Agentic AI framework, SearchUnify ensures that transparency isn’t a footnote—it’s front and center.
How can organizations strike the right balance between automation and human empathy in their customer service strategy?
Ron’s Answer
There are some moments where AI should never be on its own. Here are two critical ones:
- When you’re migrating customers from one platform to another. Don’t just throw them at a chatbot and hope they figure it out. Walk them through it. With a human. Encourage them. Praise them when they get it right. That emotional experience matters.
- When something goes wrong. That’s when a human needs to step in fast—and they need to be fully informed by AI about what’s already happened. The handoff is where most experiences break. But when done right, it can be a moment of magic.
Bottom line: Design with humans in mind. AI can optimize workflows. But humans uplift emotions.
What emerging trends in AI and customer experience are you most excited about?
Ron’s Answer
Proactive, personalized engagement. Not just “Buy this, buy that.” I’m talking about AI that knows who I am, how I use your product, what I care about.
Let me give you a real-life example: I was looking for sunglasses. Went online, got overwhelmed. What I really needed was an AI that asked me questions: What do you use them for? What’s the shape of your face? Do you prefer sporty or classic?
If AI had done that, I might have bought them online. But instead, I went to the optometrist. Why? Because I wanted human guidance and reassurance.
AI that delivers that kind of experience? That’s the future I’m excited about.
AI systems are increasingly making real-time service decisions. What best practices should enterprises follow to ensure those decisions align with company values and customer trust?
Ron’s Answer
Two things matter here:
- Guardrails. You’ve got to train your AI with data that reflects your values. Set boundaries for what it can and cannot do.
- Customer voice. Don’t assume what customers value—ask them. What builds trust? What breaks it? Then bake that into the system.
If your AI knows what customers care about—and stays within the values you’ve defined—it can make smart, real-time decisions that earn trust, not just automate it.
SearchUnify Lens
Guardrails are embedded in our design—from intent detection to response generation. And through customer feedback analytics, we continuously refine how AI shows up—so it’s always aligned with your brand, your promise, and your people.
Looking Ahead: Mindset, Skillset, Toolset
Ron’s message is clear: You can’t outsource excellence to AI. But you can use AI to scale it—if you bring the right mindset, build the right skills, and choose the right tools. In his words, Uplifting Service is about being curious, creative, and committed to the next step of value creation. And that holds true whether the interaction is with a person, a platform, or something in between. At SearchUnify, that’s the bar we set: AI that empowers humans to serve better, smarter, and with heart. Big thanks to Ron Kaufman for this candid, energizing conversation. Curious how this applies to your service team? Let’s talk.