Klarna pursues ‘Uber’ style customer service model

“If AI can do customer service, it means it’s going to be the cheap customer service,” Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said. “We said the future of VIP experience will be the human connection, the relationship.”

By Kristen Doerer • Feb. 20, 2026

Walmart sees speed and convenience boosting trust in its AI agent

Half of Walmart app users have interacted with Sparky, Walmart's David Guggina said. The average order value for users of the AI agent is higher, too.

By Bryan Wassel • Feb. 20, 2026

Walmart furthers gains with higher-income shoppers

The retailer released a conservative outlook as lower-income households remain stretched, but it reported wins with customers using its AI assistant Sparky. 

By Dani James • Feb. 19, 2026

Williams-Sonoma to test ads in ChatGPT

The home retailer is partnering with OpenAI to reach customers at decision-making moments and enhance product discovery.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Feb. 19, 2026

Uber debuts AI-powered personal shopper feature

Available on Uber Eats with grocers like Albertsons and Kroger, the feature can build full grocery baskets using simple text or image prompts.

By Peyton Bigora • Feb. 13, 2026

A guide to implementing AI in customer experience

From change management to adapting digital experience for AI assistants, brands must treat AI deployment holistically.

By Kristen Doerer • Feb. 12, 2026

Why brands need to optimize their mobile apps and websites for AI

Brands have built their digital experiences on Google’s search algorithm, but that needs to change as consumer behavior evolves, experts say.

By Michael Brady • Feb. 11, 2026

What Lowe’s has learned from the Mylow AI assistant

A year since launching Mylow, the retailer is improving how it uses AI to connect online and in-store experiences, fine tune personalization and instill trust.

By Bryan Wassel • Feb. 9, 2026

Albertsons unveils one-stop digital shop for party planning

The new platform, Celebrations, is equipped with the grocer’s new AI shopping assistant and gives customers access to a wide range of hosting and decorating necessities.

By Peyton Bigora • Feb. 9, 2026

Amazon CEO says retailers have upper hand in agentic AI shopping

Andy Jassy believes third-party agents are good at aggregation, but retailers still hold the advantage in customer trust and data.

By Bryan Wassel • Feb. 6, 2026

Fogo de Chão deploys AI phone system

The full-service chain has been leaning heavily on AI to manage various elements of its operations to enhance the guest experience.

By Julie Littman • Feb. 6, 2026

Google plans new checkout experience inside AI mode

Executives see agentic AI as a driver for growth and are working to improve the experience through its Universal Commerce Protocol, an open standard for agentic commerce.

By Bryan Wassel • Feb. 5, 2026

With reliability restored, Sonos focuses on customer advocacy

Having spent the past year working to win back customer trust, the sound company is ready to build on that, rolling out new products and previewing its AI ambitions.

By Kristen Doerer • Feb. 5, 2026

The Vitamin Shoppe opens AI-enabled store in NYC

The location debuts the company’s Shoppe Advisor, an AI-powered discovery tool that focuses on in-store education, engagement and personalization. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Feb. 4, 2026

AI is saving customer support teams time, survey finds

Other benefits include scaling support without growing headcount and reduced cost to serve, according to an Intercom survey.

By Bryan Wassel • Feb. 4, 2026

FedEx launches AI tools to answer customers’ last-mile questions

The tools automatically answer common queries such as “Where is my order?” and “Where is my refund?”

By Bryan Wassel • Feb. 2, 2026

What CX leaders need to consider as the AI regulatory landscape evolves

Despite the prospect of a more unified regulatory framework following the Trump administration’s executive order on AI, experts warn against treating the directive as a signal to relax AI oversight.

By Michael Brady • Feb. 2, 2026

Verizon plans to fight churn with better end-to-end experience

CEO Dan Schulman said the company will deploy AI at scale to help it reduce complexity, anticipate customer pain points and personalize interactions.

By Bryan Wassel • Jan. 30, 2026

The customer experience outlook for 2026

Inflation and economic uncertainty are leading companies to court wealthy customers with premium experiences, while AI could upend digital customer journeys.

By Bryan Wassel , Kristen Doerer • Jan. 29, 2026

As agentic AI ascends, companies are grappling with control

The rise of AI agents could put up barriers between customers and brands, leaving leaders to ponder how they can build loyalty and collect customer data in a new environment.

By Bryan Wassel • Jan. 29, 2026

Digital twins of the customer are ‘no silver bullet,’ experts say

While they can be more efficient than traditional customer research methods, many organizations are overly focused on cost and time savings.

By Michael Brady • Jan. 26, 2026

Home Depot’s key to great AI experiences? Ensure it remains an authority

The retailer started early and will continue to evolve its AI efforts “so that the brand voice shows up the way we want it to,” CIO Angie Brown said.

By Bryan Wassel • Jan. 26, 2026

AI fatigue is real: 4 ways leaders can cut through the noise to improve CX

Feeling AI fatigue? Learn four ways to cut internal noise and help your team deliver customer-facing AI experiences people trust.

By Katie Costanzo, President, CX, CSG • Jan. 26, 2026

Clean, accurate data grows in importance as agentic AI gains momentum

“I’m sorry, you've heard this 100 times, but you’ve got to get your data right,” The Vitamin Shoppe’s Andrew Laudato said at the NRF Big Show.

By Bryan Wassel • Jan. 22, 2026

Ulta teases future AI use cases

Executives from the beauty retailer hinted at building agents and utilizing AI to improve personalization for loyalty members.

By Dani James • Jan. 21, 2026