Why pet insurer Pumpkin leaves customer cold calls to its AI agent

With its voice AI Poppy, the company is achieving a higher rate of customers transferring to a licensed human agent, higher sales conversion rates and improving NPS and CSAT interaction scores.

By Matt Vartabedian • Sept. 30, 2026

Where do associates fit in an AI world?

Customers are arriving at stores more educated than ever, but associates still need to support or build on what those shoppers learned from AI, experts say.

By Bryan Wassel • Sept. 29, 2026

Explore the Trendline➔

Agentic AI

In this Trendline, CX Dive explores agentic AI case studies and strategies for successful implementation.

By CX Dive staff

How one BPO is positioning for an AI future

As AI automates more customer service interactions, BPOs like TaskUs are figuring out where people will remain in the loop.

By Matt Vartabedian • Sept. 28, 2026

Consumer AI use a boon for the holidays as AI traffic doubles

Consumers using AI engage with brands’ offers at a higher rate than non-AI traffic and generate more revenue per visit, a survey from Adobe found.

By Matt Vartabedian • Sept. 28, 2026

When adopting agentic CX, don’t forget about your customer

The AI that wins isn't the flashiest pilot — it's the one built to last for customers.

Sept. 28, 2026

As consumers use AI for discovery, brands risk losing their relationship to the customer

Brands spent decades building direct customer relationships. Now, as consumers increasingly use AI tools for product recommendations, they are contending with a new reality.

By Matt Vartabedian • Sept. 25, 2026

Shoppers burned by bad AI recommendations

As more consumers turn to AI to suggest purchases, some regret following the technology’s advice, a new survey finds.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Sept. 24, 2026

Consumers trust AI to advise, but don’t consent to it purchasing for them

It’s fashionable to use AI to find deals, but consumers won’t delegate purchase decisions, an ACI Worldwide survey found.

By Matt Vartabedian • Sept. 21, 2026

Holiday shoppers have low trust in AI — except for certain tasks

The share of those who say AI will make holiday shopping easier is down year over year, but most shoppers trust it with shipping updates or product research, a Sinch survey found.

By Bryan Wassel • Sept. 21, 2026

How one mortgage lender deployed voice AI agents to improve borrowers’ experience

Mutual of Omaha Mortgage is using voice AI agents so that their loan officers can spend more time on the phone with borrowers.

By Matt Vartabedian • Updated Sept. 23, 2026

Target introduces AI-powered photo search, review features

The retailer is accelerating its AI capabilities to boost personalization and product discovery.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Sept. 15, 2026

Teens start to trust AI recommendations more than friends, parents

There's a generational shift among consumers as they bring AI into their purchasing process, according to a Mastercard report.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Sept. 15, 2026

Reliance on AI tools in decision-making can lead to risky CX business

AI assistance is only as good as the data it’s grounded on; decisions based on any single data point or disjointed systems can create unintended friction points.

By Matt Vartabedian • Sept. 14, 2026

Are AI-driven customer service cuts here to stay? Gartner predicts rehiring

Between AI tools that fail to deliver and leaders miscalculating the cost dynamics of AI, companies are being set up for whiplash and will likely need to rehire some of the staff they laid off.

By Kristen Doerer • Sept. 11, 2026

CX workforce budgets take a hit as organizations increase AI spending

However, organizations shouldn’t deploy AI to the detriment of the human agents, Gartner says. The two need to work in tandem.

By Matt Vartabedian • Sept. 10, 2026

Chewy’s beta AI assistant is already solving common customer issues, CEO says

Consumer-facing AI tools include Cai, a customer service chat assistant, and Callie, a voice AI that helps Chewy Vet Care locations confirm appointments.

By Bryan Wassel • Sept. 9, 2026

When websites aren’t in synch with AI assistants, trouble follows

Repercussions range from customers switching brands to giving up on the purchase altogether, a Contentsquare survey found.

By Bryan Wassel • Sept. 9, 2026

How AI virtual agents are changing the resolution standard in the contact center

AI virtual agents can now resolve issues end-to-end in the contact center — not just deflect them. Here's what resolution-first AI can mean for CX leaders.

Sept. 8, 2026

Better data decisions before the spend: Real-world results from predictive targeting and personalization

See how data-driven targeting saved $600 thousand and generated $1.5 million in incremental sales.

By Galina Petrenko • Sept. 8, 2026

How AI is powering Target’s back-to-school push

The mass retailer is utilizing AI for wish lists and recommended actions on its e-commerce site as it works to introduce more personalization to improve CX.

By Dani James • Sept. 4, 2026

Fewer than 25% of enterprises have scaled AI successfully

Not knowing how to measure a project’s success or when to shut them down can keep companies from finding success, Gartner data found.

By Paige Gross • Sept. 3, 2026

Retailers bet on AI for customer experience, ‘smart’ shopping

Large retailers are using AI to enhance supply chain operations and tailor customer offerings, the companies said on Q2 earnings calls.

By Paige Gross • Sept. 2, 2026

Customer service AI implementations have a knowledge problem

Only about one-third of organizations retain the customer context between systems AI needs to drive true customer service resolutions, a Talkdesk survey found.

By Bryan Wassel • Aug. 31, 2026

The customer experience stack was built for humans. AI changes everything.

AI is changing who does the work in CX. The architecture underneath it needs to change, too.

By Andy Lee, CEO of Crescendo • Aug. 31, 2026

Best Buy emphasizes expert support with AI shopping assistant

Rolling out in phases, Ask Blue can answer shopping questions or guide users to customer support as needed.

By Bryan Wassel • Aug. 27, 2026