Getting the AI Foundations Right in E-commerce CX (to Avoid Scaling Problems), with Leeor Cohen

AI will not fix messy CX operations. In fact, if you’re not careful, It will scale your existing issues. In this episode of CX After Hours, Anya and Guillaume sit down with Leeor Cohen, founder and CEO of CreateCX and Scale Your Team, to talk about what ecommerce brands need to get right before they try to scale customer experience with AI. Leeor argues that many CX teams are too quick to chase a new helpdesk, AI platform or BPO partner. More often, the real issue is what he calls CX hygiene: unclear processes, weak documentation, messy playbooks and systems that have not been properly maintained. The conversation gets into why better inputs create better outputs, how to think about AI like a junior team member, and why the same foundations that help human agents succeed are also what make AI agents work. They also discuss how to balance AI and human support, what great BPOs need to become in the AI era, and why proactive communication during shipping delays can be one of the simplest ways to build trust with customers. In this episode, we cover: Why AI amplifies whatever is already happening in your CX operation When switching helpdesks or AI tools is the wrong move What “CX hygiene” really means How to build better playbooks for both humans and AI Why AI should not be treated as a set-and-forget tool Which tickets AI should handle — and which ones humans should own How AI can make CX teams more proactive, not less human The future of BPOs in an AI-powered support model Leeor’s 10% Fix for handling shipping delays more transparently Chapters: 03:03 The Vent: Shiny Tool Trap 04:39 Helpdesk Hygiene Over Switching 07:44 Inputs Playbooks and SOPs 10:39 Crawl Walk Run with AI 12:50 AI as Junior Agent Maintenance 15:34 Balancing AI and Human Teams 19:01 Proactive CX and Retention 22:40 The 10%: Fix Shipping Updates 24:37 Proactive Shipping Updates 25:30 Turning Stockouts Into Loyalty 26:49 BPOs Facing The AI Era 28:04 Human First BPO Model 31:06 Choosing The Right BPO 38:58 Playbooks Before AI 42:42 Vendor Selection Tips 45:52 Wrap Up And Where To Connect Listen to this episode on: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5rXH... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Subscribe to the podcast via email on our website, and get new episodes delivered directly to your inbox: https://yuma.ai/cx-after-hours Follow the hosts: Guillaume Luccisano:   / guillaumeluccisano   Anya Kelly:   / anya-kelly   Follow this episode’s guest, Leeor Cohen:   / leeorc   CX After Hours is the podcast for CX leaders and operators in retail and ecommerce who are in the trenches scaling customer experience to drive real growth. Powered by Yuma AI, the show goes beyond polished talking points to explore the trade-offs, pressure, and decisions that shape whether customers come back, spend more, and stay loyal. Learn more about Yuma AI: https://yuma.ai/