How a jewelry insurer is driving customer engagement via AI

Dustin Lemick knows retail and the value of customer service, and the third-generation jeweler carried over those tenured skills when he founded BriteCo, an insurance technology provider aimed at transforming retail jewelry appraisal and the insurance experience for digital times.

The six-year-old company holds insurance licenses in all 50 states as well as Washington DC. Lemick, prior to founding BriteCo was president of his family's jewelry business, Cy Fredics Jewelers, a luxury jewelry retailer and watch company based in Chicago. His father Cy started the company in 1958. He started in the family business after graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Madison before obtaining his Graduate Gemologist degree and spent the next 13 years selling jewelry and processing and handling claims for large insurance companies.

That in-store experience gave him an in-depth understanding of everything from retail pricing models to diamond and gemstone markets.

Boosting the customer experience

Taking care of retail jewelry insurance clients is not any different than taking care of the retail jewelry customer in a store setting – the insurance client is a jewelry consumer, and both customers expect amazing service, strong communication and a seamless customer experience.

To meet those expectations, Lemick is counting on Generative AI tech to serve customers via chat on the company's website and using the technology to streamline processes internally.

RetailCustomerExperience reached out to Lemick via an email interview to learn more about why he deployed an AI solution, the pain points it's helping to eliminate, and tips for other retailers looking to drive a more rewarding customer experience.

Q. When did you first start deploying AI as a retail tool and what was the first focus?

A. We started deploying GenAI at BriteCo in 2023. Our first focus was our customer service. As a jewelry insurance provider, we deal directly with customers through our website where people can get a quote for coverage in seconds and coverage in a matter of minutes.

Q. How is AI being used for the retail customer experience — how is it improving the experience?

A. We are using GenAI through a chatbot interface to assist with customer inquiries on the BriteCo website. We've seen a significant improvement in customer engagement rates and question resolution that saves both our staff and our customers time and effort.

Q. Did you create your AI tech/tools inhouse and if so what did that require or are you using third-party tools.

A. We used GenAI to build a custom chatbot solution. We did the work in-house with our web team. It required a lot of time, strategic planning and effort to adequately create and train the technology to do what we wanted and needed it to do. The key is to allow yourself time to build it out gradually, testing and then adjusting responses as the solution "learns" your business and the appropriate responses.

Q. Depending on the answer above, what prompted that approach?

A. We've built a lot of proprietary and customized technology solutions in-house. It made the most sense to build and experiment with GenAI by our internal team. This gave us ultimate control and also allowed us to iterate and "fine tune" the learning of our chatbot solution.

Q. How would you describe AI when it comes to the retail landscape?

A. It has a lot of potential, which is enormously exciting, in particular for the retail business. GenAI and other AI applications have the capacity to help retailers across nearly every aspect of the industry. For example, it can help with much of the supply chain and manufacturing process, including preventing issues/hazards. Retail is a data-heavy industry in its purchasing, forecasting and other business initiatives. AI can provide potential value here as well as it can rapidly analyze and distill information and recommendations to help make better, faster decisions or determinations. In store and in virtual retail customer experiences, AI can help prevent fraud and theft, provide customer service and support, and drive sales/marketing efforts. Today, we are experiencing just the tip of the iceberg - there are likely other ways that will emerge showing how AI will provide value to retail businesses.

Q. Are you in the midst of planning another AI effort at this point?

A. Yes, we are currently exploring and planning other ways we can leverage GenAI at BriteCo.

Q.What tips or advice would you have for other retailers looking to embrace AI tech and tools?

A. You have to have realistic expectations and understand that it will take time, resources and a focused effort to experiment and use GenAI in a meaningful way in your company. Solutions are not currently turn-key. While this will likely change at some point in the future, AI solutions including GenAI need to be customized and programmed by an experienced software engineer.

You have to create and plan for parameters within the AI you use to train it properly for what you want it to do, including to prevent it from having any issues or making the wrong decisions, etc. Start by experimenting on a small scale to learn and see what it can do. For example, within a specific department or initiative. Test and constantly learn. Staying knowledgeable and familiar with new ideas, innovations and technologies can have enormous benefit to your company. Even if you don't move forward with an idea or solution, the knowledge you gain will have long term value and help in future decisions you may have to make.