Zeus Kerravala
Customer experience voice
225 stories · newest first · 22 in 2026 · 6 in the last 90 days
Gartner Warns CX AI Budgets Are Surging
Gartner says customer service AI spending rose 38%, but CX leaders now face urgent governance, ROI, and trust challenges.
Rob Wilkinson · 6 min read · 2 Sept 2026
Genesys: AI Alone Won’t Fix Broken CX
Genesys’ 2026 State of CX report shows why agentic orchestration, data, cloud, and human agents will define AI-powered CX.
Rob Wilkinson · 7 min read · 1 Sept 2026
Avaya’s AI Strategy Warning: CX Vendors Are Splitting Fast
Zeus Kerravala of ZK Research joins CX Today to discuss which CX vendors are leading on AI, where Avaya stands, and what buyers should watch next.
Rhys Fisher · 2 min read · 31 Aug 2026
The Ultimate Guide to CX AI Pricing: Which Model is Right for Your Contact Center?
Explore six CX AI pricing models, from per-seat and usage billing to credits and outcomes, and find the best fit for your contact center.
Rhys Fisher · 9 min read · 20 Aug 2026
Fin Operator Drives 20,000 AI Support Improvements To Free Employee Capacity
Fin’s Operator aims to optimise AI support through human-approved changes to knowledge, workflows, automations and Fin settings.
Francesca Roche · 3 min read · 10 Aug 2026
Big CX News from Avaya, ServiceNow, NiCE & HubSpot
The latest and greatest news and insights from the biggest vendors in the space, including Avaya, ServiceNow, NiCE & HubSpot
Rhys Fisher · 4 min read · 7 Aug 2026
Avaya Names New CEO – Can He Keep Up with Agentic AI?
Avaya has named Jeff Clarke CEO. Can he protect its enterprise contact center base while keeping pace with agentic AI?
Rhys Fisher · 5 min read · 3 Aug 2026
How to Improve Contact Center Agent Efficiency with AI: A 2026 Evaluation Guide
Six AI capabilities that measurably improve contact center agent efficiency in 2026 - with benchmarks, expert quotes, and buyer evaluation.
Sean Nolan · 11 min read · 24 Jun 2026
What to Look for When Purchasing Contact Center Software: The 2026 Buyer's Guide
Evaluating contact center software in 2026? This buyer's guide covers the seven criteria that matter most, including key AI capabilities.
Sean Nolan · 26 min read · 24 Jun 2026
Salesforce's $3.6B Fin Grab: Smart Power Move or Integration Gamble?
Simon Leyland and Zeus Kerravala on why the Salesforce-Fin deal reshapes the entire AI customer experience market.
Rhys Fisher · 2 min read · 22 Jun 2026
Is Zoom the Most Interesting Company in CX Right Now? Zeus Kerravala Thinks So
ZK Research analyst Zeus Kerravala breaks down Zoom's shift from video meetings tool to AI-powered system of action — and what it means for CX
Rhys Fisher · 1 min read · 8 Jun 2026
Is Agentforce Contact Center the Fix for CX Fragmentation, or a New Risk Layer?
Zeus Kerravala and Dave Michels debate whether Salesforce's Agentforce Contact Center is a genuine step forward for CX or a new layer of risk.
Rob Wilkinson · 1 min read · 8 May 2026
Why the Network Layer Is Now a CX Problem
AI voice agents are exposing latency gaps that legacy SIP systems can't handle. With the UK PSTN shutdown looming, CX teams must act now
Rhys Fisher · 8 min read · 27 Apr 2026
Why CX Teams Can't Afford to Ignore the Network Layer Any Longer
PSTN shutdown pushes CX teams to rethink networks, latency and observability as AI voice reshapes performance
Rhys Fisher · 1 min read · 23 Apr 2026Big CX News from Twilio, Salesforce, FCC, and Sprinklr
This week’s CX highlights cover Twilio’s major renewal, AI layoff debates, FCC regulations, and Sprinklr’s AI upgrades.
Francesca Roche · 4 min read · 10 Apr 2026
The FCC Just Made Offshore Call Centers a Boardroom Problem
The FCC's proposed offshore call center rules connect data security, customer experience, and national security in one sweeping proposal.
Rhys Fisher · 8 min read · 9 Apr 2026
Agentforce Contact Center and the New Battle Line: Where Should CX Live?
Salesforce Agentforce Contact Center splits analysts and vendors. Here’s what CRM-native CCaaS means for CX leaders weighing consolidation vs flexibility.
Rob Wilkinson · 6 min read · 30 Mar 2026
Enterprise Connect 2026 Reflections: From Hype to Hard Questions
10 CX industry leaders. One show floor. Zero filter. We asked the hard AI questions at EC 2026 so you don't have to. Watch the full series now.
Rob Scott · 9 min read · 13 Mar 2026
Big CX News from Salesforce, Zendesk, NiCE & AWS
The biggest news and announcement from the world of CX: Salesforce, Zendesk, NiCE, AWS, Enterprise Connect
Rhys Fisher · 4 min read · 13 Mar 2026
From CRM Brain to CX Engine: Salesforce’s Bold Agentforce Contact Center Bet
Salesforce’s Agentforce Contact Center redefines the contact center as an AI-first, CRM-native execution layer. What it means for CX leaders.
Rob Wilkinson · 7 min read · 10 Mar 2026
The $50 Billion Question: How Do You Charge for an AI Agent Seat That Doesn’t Exist?
Per-seat pricing is breaking as AI agents take more contact center work. Here’s why CFOs are pushing back, why vendors face compute arbitrage, and what pricing models come next.
Rob Scott · 9 min read · 20 Jan 2026
Cisco-Axonius Talks Underscore Why Asset Visibility Is Now A CX Priority
Cisco’s reported talks to acquire Axonius highlight why asset visibility and cybersecurity are becoming critical to reliable customer experience.
Nicole Willing · 4 min read · 5 Jan 2026
CX Today's 12 Trends of Christmas: Expert Predictions for 2026
12 CX analysts, vendors, and practitioners share their biggest customer experience predictions for 2026, from agentic AI to data governance and personalization at scale.
Rhys Fisher · 1 min read · 23 Dec 2025
ServiceNow in Talks to Buy Armis for $7BN, in Next Phase of CX-Driven Cybersecurity Consolidation
ServiceNow is reportedly in talks to acquire Armis for up to $7BN, parts of a broader cybersecurity consolidation across customer experience.
Nicole Willing · 6 min read · 16 Dec 2025
Thoma Bravo Closes Verint Deal, Creating the “Industry’s Most Comprehensive AI-Powered CX Platform”
Explore the Thoma Bravo Verint acquisition and its implications for AI-powered customer experience platforms.
Rhys Fisher · 6 min read · 10 Dec 2025
Letter from AWS re:Invent: What Contact Center Leaders Actually Said About Deploying Agentic AI
Rob Scott reports from AWS re:Invent 2025, where contact center leaders revealed the real obstacles to agentic AI—fear, observability, and the robot pause—and how Amazon Connect is addressing them.
Rob Scott · 6 min read · 9 Dec 2025
Why Wall Street is Suddenly Nervous About Your Contact Center Vendor
Rob Scott and Zeus Kerravala discuss the end of the per-seat model. Discover why AI agents are disrupting contact center economics at AWS re:Invent.
Rob Scott · 3 min read · 5 Dec 2025
2025 CX Trends Part 1: How Agentic AI is Set to Deliver on Decades of Broken Promises
Gain valuable forecasts in CX Trend Series 2025 Part One, highlighting significant trends in customer experience and AI advancements.
Francesca Roche · 6 min read · 1 Dec 2025
The Latest on ServiceNow AI Experience, Qualtrics' $6.75MN PG Forsta Acquisition, & More
This month’s lineup includes: Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst at ZK Research Liz Miller, VP & Principal Analyst at Constellation Research Rebecca Wettemann...
Charlie Mitchell · 1 min read · 15 Oct 2025
Zoom Announces 15,000-Seat CCaaS Megadeal with Oracle, Advances Broader Partnership
Zoom has confirmed that its contact center solution will be used to support Oracle’s customer service operations. The 15,000-seat CCaaS megadeal will bring Z...
Rhys Fisher · 3 min read · 13 Oct 2025
Analyzing the Gartner Magic Quadrant for CCaaS 2025
CX Today's Charlie Mitchell hosts analysts Zeus Kerravala and Liz Miller to unpack the surprises and missing visionaries in Gartner's 2025 CCaaS Magic Quadrant.
Charlie Mitchell · 1 min read · 6 Oct 2025
CCaaS Market Set to Triple by 2030 – But Who Will Bear The Crown?
So far, the momentum is largely in the hands of a small group of dominant vendors: Genesys, NICE, AWS, Five9, and Talkdesk
Daniel Flatt · 4 min read · 30 Sept 2025
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) 2025: The Rundown
The Magic Quadrant for CCaaS is back, and once again, NiCE and Genesys lead the way. AWS, Five9, and Talkdesk join them in the Leader square, with the latter...
Charlie Mitchell · 10 min read · 10 Sept 2025
Why Legacy CCaaS Pricing Is Broken and What’s Next
Seat-based pricing has long been the standard for contact centers, and before the rise of AI, it worked well. Service teams had a fixed number of agents, and...
Charlie Mitchell · 5 min read · 9 Sept 2025
NiCE Closes Cognigy Acquisition to “Redefine the Future” of CX
NiCE has completed its $955MN acquisition of enterprise conversational and agentic AI provider Cognigy. The deal, announced in July , promised to bring Cogni...
Nicole Willing · 3 min read · 8 Sept 2025
Microsoft Completes a Big Move to Converge CCaaS and UCaaS
Microsoft has confirmed the general availability of Teams Phone extensibility for the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center. In a nutshell, Teams Phone exten...
Rhys Fisher · 3 min read · 4 Sept 2025
Who Leads the CCaaS Space in 2025?
CX Today's Charlie Mitchell and analyst Zeus Kerravala break down who's leading the CCaaS market in 2025, and who's falling behind.
Charlie Mitchell · 1 min read · 4 Sept 2025
The Latest on Thoma Bravo Rolling Up Verint, Salesforce's Acquisition Streak, & More
CX Today's Charlie Mitchell hosts a panel discussing trending news from across the customer experience space. Five prominent CX analysts join the panel to ru...
Charlie Mitchell · 1 min read · 3 Sept 2025
The Proposed US Bill to Mandate Human Customer Support: Everything That’s Wrong With It
In July, two US senators proposed the "Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025". If it passes, the bill would serve two primary purposes: Ensure customers a...
Charlie Mitchell · 5 min read · 2 Sept 2025Big CX News from Verint, Accenture, Google & Avaya
From a $2BN Verint takeover to Avaya's company-wide voluntary exit packages, here are extracts from some of this week’s most popular news stories. Verint Con...
Rhys Fisher · 4 min read · 29 Aug 2025
Avaya Offers All Its Staff Voluntary Exit Packages, Sources
Avaya has offered "everyone at the company" a voluntary exit package, a person familiar with the matter told CX Today. The source revealed that Avaya hopes t...
Charlie Mitchell · 3 min read · 27 Aug 2025
Google Is Building AI Mode Agents to Automate Customer Support Tasks
Google has unveiled a new AI Mode agent designed to take on basic service tasks, starting with restaurant reservations. The feature, currently locked behind ...
Rhys Fisher · 4 min read · 27 Aug 2025
The Contentsquare-Loris Acquisition: A Closer Look
CX Today takes a closer look at Contentsquare's acquisition of Loris AI, and how merging digital journey analytics with conversational intelligence reshapes CX.
Alex Cole · 3 min read · 26 Aug 2025
Verint Confirms $2BN Takeover by Thoma Bravo, Set to Merge with Calabrio
This article was first published following rumors that the acquisition was close. CX Today has now updated it to reflect that the deal has been formally agre...
Charlie Mitchell · 3 min read · 25 Aug 2025
Cisco Confirms Two $1BN+ Megadeals, Including Webex
Cisco has confirmed that two enterprises placed mega-orders worth over $1BN during fiscal year (FY) 2025. Notably, from a customer experience perspective, bo...
Rhys Fisher · 3 min read · 14 Aug 2025
NiCE Tightens Its Salesforce Integration, Opens Up to Agentforce
NiCE has expanded its Salesforce partnership, announcing a deeper CCaaS-CRM integration. The integration builds on the 2022 release of Bring Your Own Telepho...
Charlie Mitchell · 3 min read · 12 Aug 2025
A Verint Takeover Is Timely, But Would Have Industry-Wide Implications
Verint is the vendor many enterprises turn to when their contact center is missing one or two enterprise-grade solutions. Its workforce engagement management...
Charlie Mitchell · 3 min read · 12 Aug 2025
NiCE to Acquire Cognigy for $995MN, Wants to "Set a New Standard" for AI in Customer Experience
NiCE has agreed a $955MN deal to acquire Cognigy, the prominent enterprise conversational and agentic AI provider. Cognigy was one of the first enterprise te...
Charlie Mitchell · 10 min read · 28 Jul 2025
Zoom Drops an Auto Dialer, Expands Its Portfolio for Sales and Revenue Teams
Zoom has launched a new dialer to support sales teams in accelerating their customer outreach. Introduced as an "AI-first" offering, the Zoom Auto Dialer has...
Charlie Mitchell · 3 min read · 22 Jul 2025
Is CCaaS + UCaaS + CPaaS Compelling for Enterprise Contact Centers?
The CX industry has long touted the benefits of CCaaS, UCaaS, and CPaaS on one unified platform. Yet, a converged enterprise communications stack isn’t turni...
Charlie Mitchell · 4 min read · 21 Jul 2025
The CX Awards 2025 Winners Announcement
Agentic AI, technology convergence, new pricing models… many trends are sweeping across the customer experience space. The most visionary vendors understand ...
Charlie Mitchell · 7 min read · 10 Jul 2025Big CX News from Cisco, Microsoft, Salesforce, & Verint
From a tech giant reaffirming its support for on-premise tech to a hotly debated rebrand, here are extracts from some of this week’s most popular news storie...
Charlie Mitchell · 3 min read · 4 Jul 2025
Verint Is In Talks to Be Acquired by Thoma Bravo, Reports
Private equity giant Thoma Bravo is negotiating a takeover of Verint. That’s according to Bloomberg, with the publication citing "people familiar with the ma...
Charlie Mitchell · 3 min read · 2 Jul 2025
Mitel Exits Chapter 11 Bankruptcy: A "Fresh Start" or Short Reprieve?
Mitel has officially exited Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Having received court approval for its pre-packaged restructuring plan back in April, the move will elimin...
Rhys Fisher · 4 min read · 23 Jun 2025
Why Does Traditional CCaaS Pricing Need to Evolve?
Watch on YouTube CX Today's Charlie Mitchell hosts a conversation about the different CCaaS pricing models available to contact centers. To weigh up the pros...
Charlie Mitchell · 1 min read · 29 May 2025
CX Awards Deadline is Fast Approaching - May 23rd
The clock is ticking. In just seven days, the opportunity to stand among the customer experience elite will slip away as applications for the CX Awards 2025 come to a close.
Charlie Mitchell · 5 min read · 18 May 2025
Introducing the Judges for the CX Awards 2025
Every day, an AI startup, an industry stalwart, or a big tech giant seems to bring a new solution to market, promising to transform customer experiences. Yet...
Charlie Mitchell · 6 min read · 6 May 2025
Analysts React to Another Troubling Contact Center AI Lawsuit: "We’re Going to See More!"
In March, a lawsuit rocked the CX sphere, alleging that prominent CCaaS provider Genesys recorded domestic violence hotline interactions without permission. ...
Charlie Mitchell · 4 min read · 5 May 2025
The Latest on Another Big Call Center Lawsuit, Microsoft Teams' New Contact Center Integration Model
CX Today's Charlie Mitchell presents the latest trending news from the customer experience world. He's joined by four prominent CX analysts to dissect each s...
Charlie Mitchell · 1 min read · 2 May 2025
The Big Cisco-ServiceNow Partnership: A Closer Look
The latest models, innovations, and possibilities dominate the enterprise AI conversation. Yet, in terms of its practical application, there must be more roo...
Charlie Mitchell · 5 min read · 29 Apr 2025