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

AI will not fix your CX. But it will expose whether your foundations are strong enough to scale. In this episode of CX After Hours, Anya and Guillaume are joined by Leeor Cohen, founder and CEO of CreateCX and Scale Your Team, for a practical conversation about what ecommerce brands need to get right before they try to automate customer experience. Leeor has worked across frontline CX, e-commerce operations, consulting and BPOs, with experience spanning Bonobos and Coterie among several others. That gives him a clear view of where brands often go wrong: chasing new tools before cleaning up the foundations. The episode covers why CX teams should be cautious about rushing into helpdesk migrations, AI platforms or new outsourcing partners when the real problem may be poor CX hygiene. That means unclear processes, outdated documentation, messy playbooks and systems that do not give human or AI agents the right inputs. Leeor also explains why AI should be treated more like a junior team member than a magic solution. It needs training, maintenance, oversight and clear rules for when to act, when to escalate and when to hand over to a human. The conversation also explores how AI and human agents can work together, how brands should plan CX capacity around marketing and operational peaks, and why proactive, plain-text communication during shipping delays can make a major difference to customer trust. Topics covered include: - Why AI scales problems when CX foundations are weak - What “helpdesk hygiene” and “CX hygiene” really mean - When switching tools is not the answer - How to create better inputs for human and AI agents - Why playbooks still matter - How to take a crawl-walk-run approach to CX automation - Which support moments should stay human - How AI can free agents up for more proactive, revenue-driving work - The changing role of BPOs in an AI-powered CX world - The 10% Fix: communicating clearly during shipping delays 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 Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3678QkMxtMg?si=n-WJAMm6K\_-5P-tW 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: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guillaumeluccisano/ Anya Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anya-kelly/ Follow this episode’s guest, Leeor Cohen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/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/