In this episode, host Russ Fordyce of the Business Intelligence Group brings together a powerhouse panel to tackle one of the most urgent challenges in modern customer experience:

How do we make AI and humans work together without losing context, connection, or quality?

With AI now embedded in every touchpoint—from call centers to underwriting to enterprise-scale CX—organizations are struggling with the “handoff problem”:
👉 What happens when a conversation moves from AI to a human, or from a human back to AI?
👉 How do we preserve context, reduce friction, and keep both customers and employees happy?

Our guests share real-world insights from the front lines of AI deployment across telecom, insurance, and global CX operations.

Chapters

00:00 — Welcome & Framing the Handoff Problem

Russ introduces the panel and sets the stage: AI is transforming customer experience, but the transitions between AI and humans are breaking down. The stakes are high—context, connection, and customer trust.

02:20 — Jason Valdina: What Businesses Get Wrong About AI Handoffs

Jason from Varen explains why companies still treat AI as “done” once a human takes over. He breaks down the critical role of context, how routing should evolve, and why losing bot‑collected data destroys efficiency.
“Businesses undervalue context—and it’s costing them.”

07:00 — The Hidden Power of Context in Routing & Prioritization

Jason dives deeper into how AI can route conversations based on behavior, sentiment, language, and history. Real examples show how smarter routing improves CX and reduces cost.

11:20 — New Metrics for the AI Era

Containment rate, AHT, and the surprising metric that matters most:
employee attrition.
As AI handles simple tasks, humans inherit the hardest cases—raising burnout risk.

15:40 — Emily McGinn: AI in Regulated Industries (Insurance)

Emily from Vertafore explains why regulated industries must use AI differently. Instead of making decisions, AI accelerates intake, summarization, and pattern recognition so underwriters can make better calls faster.

18:00 — Workflow First, AI Second

Emily shares a crucial lesson:
You can’t layer AI on top of broken workflows.
Teams must map processes, identify human checkpoints, and insert AI intentionally—not everywhere.

21:50 — Increasing Human Capacity Without Replacing Humans

AI isn’t eliminating underwriters—it’s multiplying their capacity. Emily explains how niche insurance markets are exploding and why human expertise is still essential.

25:30 — Advice for Small & Regulated Businesses

Start with low‑risk workflows. Add human checkpoints. Treat AI as a tool, not the operating model.

26:50 — Jamie Timm: Scaling AI Across 80,000 Employees

Jamie from TELUS Digital describes deploying 70,000+ AI solutions across global CX teams. She explains how TELUS built a secure, trusted AI backbone and what they’ve learned from real-world implementation at massive scale.

29:30 — The Future of AI + Human Collaboration

Jamie reflects on rapid changes in AI, the rise of autonomous agents, and why data quality and trust are the foundation of every successful AI deployment.

This episode is a masterclass in operationalizing AI responsibly and effectively. From preserving context in customer interactions to redesigning workflows in regulated industries to scaling AI across tens of thousands of employees, the panel delivers practical, grounded insights for leaders navigating AI transformation.