The origin of customer is late 14c., custumer, "customs official, toll-gatherer;" c. 1400, "one who purchases goods or supplies, one who customarily buys from the same tradesman or guild," from Anglo-French custumer, Old French coustumier, from Medieval Latin custumarius "a toll-gatherer, tax-collector," literally "pertaining to a custom or customs," a contraction of Latin consuetudinarius, from consuetudo "habit, usage, practice, tradition." A customer is arguably the most important component of the supply chain. Without customers there is not supply chain.

So how can companies retain a "customs official, toll-gatherer" and create a habit? The emerging technology of artificial intelligence (AI) is making terrific gains in reducing churn and enabling companies to predict customer behavior. For over six hundred years proprietors have been seeking to convert, penetrate, and retain customers. Can AI be the emerging technology to create the best customer experience in the future?

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Guilding customers, converting magical coins, informing wisdom