The Latest

  • Amazon's Alexa for Shopping displayed on several phones.
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    Courtesy of Amazon
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    Amazon puts AI front and center with Alexa for Shopping

    More than 300 million customers used Rufus in 2025, according to Amazon. Experts believe Alexa for Shopping’s reach could be even greater.

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    Permission granted by Text
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    Sponsored by Text

    Text turns customer service into a profit engine with new agentic AI capabilities

    New features, including AI selling agents and custom skills and a major rebrand with bold, red visual identity, align with an important paradigm shift for the customer service software industry.

  • Close-up of teenage friends using mobile phone outdoors.
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    Getty Images
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    Opinion

    What CX leaders need to know about Gen Alpha’s influence

    Most companies still design customer experience strategies for a single user moving through a linear path, but that model doesn’t reflect how households now make purchasing decisions.

    Updated May 13, 2026
  • Three phone screens showing Flashfoods' loyalty integration capability
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    Courtesy of Flashfood
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    Flashfood launches loyalty integration to offer grocers more shopper insights

    The new capability, which Meijer has already implemented, is the start of the food waste company’s “major technical transformation,” CEO Jordan Schenck said.

  • A customer presses the image of the ChatGPT app on their phone.
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    Getty Images
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    AI referrals make shoppers more likely to either return — or never come back

    Companies need to quickly justify why the AI recommended their brand, Info-Tech Research Group’s Julie Geller said. “If that validation isn’t obvious, confidence drops fast.”

  • Travel booking apps on an Apple iPhone - Booking.com, Expedia, and Trip.com.
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    Getty Images
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    Expedia taps AI to enhance customer support, acquire new customers

    AI is handling a rising number of customer service inquiries, and the technology is enabling faster resolution when customers need to speak with human agents.

  • Ace Hardware's AI assistant on a smartphone.
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    Courtesy of Ace Hardware
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    Ace Hardware releases AI assistant for store staff

    Hey ARMA gives associates access to product knowledge, project advice and recommendations. 

  • People wait for cars in the Lyft pick-up area at JFK Airport on April 28, 2023 in New York City.
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    Getty Images
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    Lyft’s loyalty partnerships are driving customer acquisition and frequency

    More than one-quarter of Lyft’s rides in the first quarter of 2026 were connected to the rideshare company’s partnerships with other brands.

  • Travelers wait to board Greyhound buses.
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    Kevin Dietsch / Staff via Getty Images
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    Greyhound is making the bus an experience ahead of the World Cup

    Greyhound improved its on-time rates and connections to public transportation, which have boosted its net promoter score in recent years, Flix North America CEO Kai Boysan said.

  • A photograph of various hamburgers and nuggets from Wendy’s.
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    Courtesy of Wendy’s
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    Wendy’s bets order accuracy and clean stores will revive sales

    The chain is prioritizing implementing the customer experience initiatives of its turnaround plan after a 7.8% year-over-year drop in comparable sales.

  • The Airbnb logo is displayed on a computer monitor and cell phone.
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    Mario Tama / Staff via Getty Images
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    Airbnb’s AI assistant resolves 40% of customer inquiries

    The travel company’s AI assistant is resolving customer inquiries faster, helping to decrease the cost per booking, CEO Brian Chesky said.

  • A crowd celebrates during Chime's initial public offering at the Nasdaq MarketSite.
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    Andres Kudacki via Getty Images
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    How Chime overcame trust challenges when deploying its AI agent

    Customer satisfaction rose after the fintech deployed Jade. “Automation and cost savings don’t need to come at the expense of a great experience,” COO Janelle Sallenave said. 

  • A person holding a smartphone featuring Amazon join the chat.
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    Courtesy of Amazon
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    Amazon’s latest AI feature allows shoppers to interact with product summaries

    “Join the chat” enables real-time questions and answers while listening to AI-generated product summaries. 

  • A DoorDash delivery worker on his motorcycle.
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    Getty Images
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    DoorDash CEO: ‘We have to create the best end-to-end shopping experience’

    The ordering platform is keeping accuracy, speed and customer support in mind as it builds agentic capabilities and expands its grocery business.

  • A person walks in front of a Samsung display of products.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    How Samsung’s proactive post-purchase experience builds brand loyalty

    Samsung’s care team discovered that its most effective loyalty tool wasn’t a product feature or a new technology — it was keeping promises after a customer bought a product.

  • Uber cash payments credit
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    Uber expands into hotel reservations to build engagement, loyalty

    These “innovations are designed to deepen the everyday utility of our services,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said.

  • The exterior of a Hyatt Regency hotel.
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    Getty Images
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    World of Hyatt restructures loyalty program award chart

    Starting May 20, 136 hotels and resorts will shift to different award categories, while a new points redemption framework takes effect, as travelers prioritize transparency and flexibility. 

  • The buttons of the app Duolingo, surrounded by Dictionary, Vocabulary, Facebook on an iPhone screen.
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    stockcam via Getty Images
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    Duolingo improves free user experience to drive word of mouth referrals

    The company made more features available to free users to improve stickiness and drive daily active user growth, CEO Luis von Ahn said.

  • A Pinterest banner hangs from the New York Stock Exchange.
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    Spencer Platt / Staff via Getty Images
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    Pinterest credits AI personalization for double-digit user growth

    Personalization leads to higher relevance, which increases engagement and keeps users coming back, CEO Bill Ready said.

  • Agent with headsets work in a contact center
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    Getty Images
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    As AI proliferates, contact centers pursue workforce redesign over mass layoffs

    Nearly 9 in 10 service and support leaders are having representatives take on new responsibilities and tasks, Gartner found.

  • Screenshot of how a loyalty program's points system works.
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    Retrieved from Fresh Thyme Market on April 29, 2026
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    Fresh Thyme revamps loyalty program with new points system

    The Midwestern specialty grocer will give shoppers 10 points per dollar spent and perks like early access to weekly deals and sneak peeks at new products.

  • Best Buy loyalty points displayed on a phone.
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    Courtesy of Best Buy
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    Best Buy adds points to its paid loyalty offerings

    The retailer’s loyalty program has traditionally focused on immediate benefits, and the addition of points could add another layer to its value proposition.

  • Two men looking stressed working in an office.
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    Getty Images
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    Agents are overloaded. AI often makes it worse, experts say.

    “There are no easy calls anymore,” Experience Investigators’ Jeannie Walters said.

    Updated May 6, 2026
  • Two customers with long dark hair standing in the beauty section of a Walmart store
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    Courtesy of Walmart
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    Walmart is bringing beauty-focused store associates to hundreds of stores

    The "Beauty Expert" position, which features specialized training, is expanding this year after a successful pilot.

  • A rendering of Wayfair's store in Columbus, Ohio
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    Courtesy of Wayfair
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    Wayfair is willing to sacrifice margin for CX that will fuel long-term growth

    Wayfair Rewards can get customers to up their annual spend beyond the current average of $600, CEO Niraj Shah said. “The loyalty program is meant to bend that curve.”

  • Two people walk towards a Taco Bell restaurant
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Taco Bell grows loyalty and digital sales

    “It's because the loyalty program is resonating with consumers, and it's helping people to engage with the brand more and more frequently,” Yum Brands CEO Christopher Turner said.