How interactive but intentional AI adoption in pharma will impact the customer experience

As it gets smarter and more reliable, AI will play an essential role in improving patient and healthcare provider (HCP) experience in pharma. The right tools, used in the right ways at the right time, will prove invaluable for supporting many different areas within digital customer experience, from data analysis to content personalisation.

With businesses keen to make use of new digital technologies to enhance capabilities, it is critical that they identify blind spots to ensure effective implementation in a digital experience setting.

From the granular to the ‘big picture’

With data playing a crucial role, particularly when it comes to understanding user behaviour, needs, and preferences, AI is already becoming indispensable. According to our latest research - The Digital Reality Check - half (49%) of pharma leaders believe AI is having the biggest impact on data analytics and customer insights.

This suggests that pharma is leaning on AI to make sense of complex datasets and to uncover actionable trends that will allow them to improve digital experiences. Until recently, pharma companies have had a wealth of data, but lacked the means to analyse it effectively. Now, AI, automation, and machine learning have the potential to allow them to understand trends, usage, and preferences quickly, presented in ways that can be easily digested by teams across the organisation.

While AI provides new capabilities for processing large data sets, there is a risk of over-relying on quantitative data for informing digital strategies, which could negatively impact the end experience. Only 3 in 10 (29%) pharma leaders say their organisation is using first-hand customer research as part of their decision-making process on digital engagement, with more than double that number (66%) preferring platform analytics and engagement data, and half (52%) using AI-driven predictive analyses.

Quantifiable analysis should be an important factor in decision-making, but without the qualitative insights from users that can reveal the motivations behind their actions and their lived experiences, pharma organisations will struggle to deliver effective, empathetic solutions.

Taking journey optimisation to new heights

There is growing confidence in AI’s ability to tailor experiences based on behaviour and preferences – a key step in making digital experiences more relevant and engaging, and helping to build trust by meeting users’ needs.

For pressured HCPs, options for personalisation and greater journey optimisation could save time by providing a more intuitive experience, such as by serving up complementary information on research and clinical trials within their specific therapy area automatically when they search for a product or service. Providing portals and other digital services that respond to user behaviour and preferences can reduce the frustrating feeling of being served irrelevant content, by putting HCP needs front and centre, rather than those of the organisation.

In a patient context, there are opportunities to provide personalised suggestions or guidance in line with personal data inputs, or to offer greater flexibility in terms of how interactions are delivered. Greater engagement can lead to greater responsiveness and adherence, potentially resulting in easier diagnosis and better outcomes.

However, personalisation and journey optimisation rely on the analysis of significant amounts of sensitive data, raising concerns about data privacy and security risks that are currently slowing down the rate of progression when it comes to AI.

Execution cannot keep up with strategic ambitions

Data privacy and security concerns are cited as the biggest barrier to AI adoption, which is understandable given the extreme care required when handling sensitive health-related data. In an age of increasing cyber security attacks, pharma organisations are rightly taking their time to ensure that the data they collect is tightly controlled and used responsibly, and those that prioritise transparency, consent, and governance will be best positioned to unlock AI’s potential.

This along with other barriers are impacting organisations’ ability to implement AI strategies as quickly as they might have planned. Laying the groundwork before embarking on new projects is critical, and around half (56%) of pharma leaders admit that their organisation is having difficulty integrating AI with legacy systems, which means additional – and sometimes unplanned investment – is needed for AI readiness.

While regulation and compliance are essential to the pharma sector, when it comes to digital experience – and particularly AI in the digital experience – they may be inhibiting progress. Laws, regulations, and policies have been slow to catch up with new technological capabilities, and more flexibility is needed for organisations to implement AI initiatives in line with their strategic ambitions.

A new frontier for digital experience

AI, automation, and machine learning all have the potential to impact the customer experience – for both patients and HCPs – for the better. If they can overcome the barriers, pharma companies will be able to gain a more detailed understanding of user needs and develop more responsive and intuitive solutions.

While exciting, it seems easy for pharma companies to get ahead of themselves, with strategies and timelines failing to take account of the challenges of implementation. A slow but steady approach will ultimately deliver the best results as companies take the next steps for the industry, facing an AI-enabled future for digital experience head on.

About the author

Rob Verheul is CEO of Graphite Digital, a digital customer experience agency with that collaborates with healthcare and pharmaceutical organisations to deepen customer connection through meaningful digital experiences.