In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka sits down with Michael Quince from NiCE to explore why most AI implementations fail and what separates successful adoption from expensive disappointments. Michael reveals how NiCE's acquisition of Cognigy positions the company to lead in conversational AI while maintaining its 11-year streak in Gartner's Magic Quadrant top-right corner. This conversation cuts through AI hype to deliver practical strategies for IT leaders navigating customer experience transformation.

Michael Quince is the Regional Vice President of Partner Sales at NiCE, where he leads channel strategy and partner enablement for the AI-powered customer experience leader. With over two decades in technology sales across companies including Northern Telecom, Polycom, Shortel, and 8x8, Michael has built his career on the principle that influence and trust matter more than titles and org charts. At NiCE, he plays a pivotal role in helping partners navigate the company's evolution from contact center dominance to comprehensive AI solutions, particularly following the Cognigy acquisition. His "people first" leadership philosophy emphasizes building culture from within, enabling employees before expecting adoption, and creating ecosystems where technology enhances rather than replaces human connection.

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Michael explains how NiCE has maintained its position in the Gartner Magic Quadrant's top right corner for 11 consecutive years as a contact center leader, while simultaneously transforming into an AI-first company. The acquisition of Cognigy represents a strategic move to lead in conversational AI, bringing together market-leading contact center capabilities with cutting-edge AI orchestration across all modalities and workflows. This combination enables partners to cross-sell and upsell AI solutions within their existing customer base, creating new revenue opportunities while helping businesses enhance customer experience.

The conversation addresses a critical challenge in AI adoption: overcoming negative associations with legacy interactive voice response systems. Michael describes how older IVR technology relied on rigid decision trees that failed to provide the knowledge and flexibility customers needed, leading users to frantically press zero to reach a human agent. Modern conversational AI powered by platforms like Cognigy represents a fundamental shift, offering human-like interactions that understand context, share relevant knowledge, and build trust rather than frustration. This evolution requires partners to help customers "give it another try" while reducing fears that AI will replace human connection rather than enhance it.

Michael emphasizes that the number one pitfall in AI adoption is treating it like a "download and go" product rather than a strategic implementation requiring enablement, context, and calibration. Successful AI deployment demands investment in education, real-time feedback loops on customer objectives, and creating frameworks that allow for experimentation and quick scaling without getting stuck in perpetual beta cycles. Organizations must ensure customers understand not just the solution they're buying, but what that solution will accomplish for their business and how to use it comfortably. This approach contrasts sharply with simply adding AI to a product sheet as an SKU and expecting immediate results.

When asked to summarize his business philosophy in a single sentence, Michael responds with clarity: "People first." This leadership approach emphasizes that technology should do the heavy lifting while people remain the biggest asset in any organization. Michael believes in leading with influence and trust rather than titles and org charts, investing deeply in people and building culture from within teams rather than expecting organizations to create it top-down. For IT leaders implementing AI or any transformative technology, this means ensuring employees are comfortable with new tools, feel empowered and supported, and understand how innovation will enhance rather than threaten their roles. The results follow when people are prioritized.

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