AI-driven personalisation: The future of customer experience

Open your phone on a Monday morning. Spotify already knows the mood you’re in. Netflix suggests exactly what you didn’t know you wanted to watch. Your bank app nudges you with a timely offer, not a random promotion. This isn’t a coincidence its artificial intelligence quietly reshaping customer experience.

Personalisation has existed in marketing for decades. What is different today is scale, speed, and intelligence. AI-driven personalisation is no longer about addressing a customer by name in an email. It’s about understanding intent in real time and responding instantly, sometimes before the customer even asks.

And this shift is happening globally and closer to home in Sri Lanka faster than many brands realise.

From segments to “segments of one”

Traditionally, marketers grouped customers into broad segments: age, income, location. AI has blown that model apart. With generative AI, machine learning and real-time data streams, brands can now create what is effectively a “segment of one”.

Global leaders such as Amazon, Google and Salesforce use AI to analyse millions of data points — browsing behaviour, transaction history, device use, time of day, even micro-moments — to deliver personalised offers, content and experiences instantly.

The result? Higher engagement, stronger loyalty and significantly higher lifetime value. Personalisation is no longer a nice-to-have. It is the experience.

Why this matters more in Sri Lanka today

Sri Lanka’s economic reality has fundamentally changed consumer behaviour. Customers are more price-conscious, value-driven and digitally active than ever before. They don’t want more marketing they want relevant marketing.

A generic promotion sent to everyone feels wasteful. A timely, personalised offer feels helpful.

Sri Lankan banks, fintech platforms, telcos and retailers sit on rich data but often underutilise it. AI allows brands to turn this data into actionable intelligence predicting churn, identifying cross sell opportunities, and tailoring communication based on real needs.

For example:

• A digital wallet can offer customised cashback based on spending habits. • A retailer can adjust promotions based on real-time demand and inventory. • A financial institution can proactively guide customers during cash-flow stress periods.

In a challenging economy, relevance builds trust and trust builds retention. Generative AI: The game changer

Generative AI has added an entirely new layer to personalisation. Brands can now create personalised content at scale — emails, app messages, chatbot conversations, even visuals — without losing consistency.

AI-powered chatbots are evolving into intelligent assistants that understand context, emotion and intent. Instead of scripted replies, customers experience human-like, relevant conversations — 24/7.

For marketers, this is transformative. Campaigns shift from static to adaptive. Content evolves in real time. Customer journeys become dynamic, not linear.

The loyalty equation has changed

Loyalty today isn’t driven by points or discounts alone. It’s driven by how understood a customer feels.

When a brand anticipates needs, removes friction and communicates with empathy, switching costs rise naturally. AI-driven personalisation creates emotional loyalty — not just transactional loyalty. This is particularly powerful in Sri Lanka, where relationships and trust play a central role in purchasing decisions.

Ethics and privacy

With great data comes great responsibility.

As personalisation deepens, brands must be transparent about data usage, respect privacy and comply with evolving regulations. Trust can be lost far quicker than it is built.

The brands that succeed will balance intelligence with integrity.

Final thought

The future of customer experience will not be won by the loudest campaigns or the biggest budgets. It will be won by the smartest conversations powered by AI, guided by data, and grounded in empathy.

For Sri Lankan brands competing locally and globally, AI-driven personalisation is no longer futuristic thinking. It is the most practical path to relevance, resilience and long-term growth.

The question is no longer whether to personalise but how intelligently and responsibly you do it.

The writer is Head of Marketing, CrossBorder Payments (Pvt) Ltd.

Source: Sunday Observer