Can AI Make Shopping Easier Without Taking Control?
AI-assisted shopping can help customers turn product discovery into a more confident purchase decision. But TikTok product designer Zhengyang Yang argues that the technology must reduce uncertainty, show its evidence, and know when to step aside and allow customers to move forward without it.
Rhys Fisher · 30 Oct 2026
Why AI Handoffs Still Make Customers Repeat Themselves
We all know that AI can make customer service quicker, but too many customers still have to repeat information when a conversation moves from a bot to an agent. Twilio’s Sam Richardson explains why context, identity, and reassurance must travel with the customer.
Rhys Fisher · 26 Oct 2026
Has Salesforce Bought Its Missing Engagement Engine?
Salesforce has agreed to acquire Braze for $5.66B, adding real-time customer engagement to its CRM, data, AI, and content stack. But Constellation Research’s Liz Miller argues the deal is really about one missing piece: the execution engine that turns customer insight into action.
Rhys Fisher · 21 Oct 2026
Why Contact Center Efficiency Can Be a False Win
Deflection, containment, and shorter calls can make a contact center look more efficient. But if customers have to call back, switch channels, or give up, Natalie Beckerman argues that businesses have not removed effort. They have simply moved it somewhere else.
Rhys Fisher · 19 Oct 2026
Why Customer Engagement Is Still Too Slow to Be Personal
Brands have more customer data, dashboards, and campaign tools than ever. Yet turning a useful signal into the right response can still take days, multiple systems, and several teams. Amperity’s new AI agent, Pér, highlights the challenge of acting faster without losing context, control, or trust.
Rhys Fisher · 16 Oct 2026
Why Churn is a Customer Experience Warning, Not a Metric
Churn is often treated as a retention metric to manage at the end of the customer journey. But as NRG’s Suzie Dieth explains, it can actually be an early warning that trust, clarity, or value broke down much earlier, long before a customer decides to leave.
Rhys Fisher · 12 Oct 2026