Book excerpt: The old service model of delight-at-all-costs is out and a new model of low-effort, low-friction service powered by mobile phones and social media is here to stay. Phone trees and email are dead. Social messaging and automated, AI-powered bots supported by seasoned social agents are in. Yet only a handful of customer service leaders are embracing this future. Social messaging and artificial intelligence (AI) are ready and waiting for customer service leaders to use in the race to serve customers faster, better, and more efficiently than ever before. Message Me is part roadmap and part toolbox for customer service leaders who want to adapt to the changing service landscape shaped by social media, automation and smartphones. Conversocial CEO Joshua March draws on his years of experience in the social customer service space to provide case studies, clear recommendations, practical examples and a valuable framework that customer service leaders can start using immediately. Covering the rise of social messaging, bots and artificial intelligence, the book details the steps service leaders need to take to compete in this new environment, including the six pillars for the future of customer service: -Be prepared for crises in the social era-Lean-in to the power of messaging-Make effective use of bot technology-Deploy artificial intelligence effectively-Adopt a messaging approach to all digital channels-Use social agents as the model for future customer service teams