What does it take to create a satisfactory user experience that blends innovative technology with real customer needs? Turns out a huge component is empathy, according to Amy Lokey (pictured), vice president of user experience, G Suite, at Google. At the Google Cloud Next event this week in San Francisco, Lokey weighed in on the qualities that make technology stand out for end users. And with G Suite now topping over 5 million paying customers, she has proven advice on the subject.

“I see my job as kind of like chief empathizer,” Lokey said. “What are those big goals that people have? What is the friction that they have in accomplishing those goals? And then how can our tools solve those problems for them and make a frictionless experience that brings delight and helps them accomplish great things?”

Lokey spoke with John Furrier (@furrier) and Dave Vellante (@dvellante), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Google Cloud Next event. They discussed the latest G Suite features and how to captivate end users (see the full interview with transcript here). 

‘Empathetic technology’ to enhance a global workforce

Empathizing and asking questions from a customer’s point of view is key to success, and Lokey and her team at G Suite have done user research to refine their offering in a number of ways to connect to the real-life desires and issue that face their clients.

“One of the most rewarding aspects is helping people accomplish their most important goals,” Lokey said. “And that could be in their personal life, it could be for education, and it can be in the workplace as well.”

G Suite has found some key demands in what customers are wanting out of technology today. One big desire from customers is mobility across cities, states and countries. No longer do businesses operate from one office at a local location. Employees can span thousands of miles — and they need real connection with each other in order to feel like they belong in a meaningful work environment. So technology is not about making productivity tools, but relationship tools, Lokey pointed out.

“Work is getting more distributed,” Lokey stated. “So what excites me about these [G Suite] tools is — I really see them as ways that we kind of build relationships amongst colleagues that may not get to spend face-to-face time together. So whether that’s through video conferencing, whether that’s through chat — all of these tools play a critical role in really building connectivity and culture of a team so that they can do their best work together.”

Another takeaway is that most people have two categories of work, according to Lokey. One kind of work is the repetitive, mundane tasks that have to be done, and the other kind of work gives a person meaning and advancement in their career.

“AI can play a really amazing role in helping alleviate that mundane, repetitive work,” Lokey said. “So what we look at is things like, say, a salutation in an email where you have to think about who are you addressing. How do you want to address them? How do you spell their name? We can alleviate that and make your composition much faster.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Google Cloud Next event. 

Photo: SiliconANGLE